Rev. Robert Laverne Brown

Robert L. Brown, 75, passed away Tuesday, July 4, 2017. A memorial service and celebration of his life will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday at Snow’s Memorial Chapel, Pio Nono. Burial will be private. The Rev. Robert Bedford will officiate. The family will meet friends from 10:00 a.m. to service time on Friday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a memorial contribution to your favorite charity.

Robert was born on May 21, 1942 in Pittsfield, Pennsylvania the son of the late Ronald L. and Gladys D. Cady Brown. His father was in the Army. At the age of seven years old they moved to Vallejo, California. The family attended the Nazarene Church. God called him into the ministry at a young age. He delivered his first message when he was just seven years old. During his teenage years, he preached on the radio and at camp meetings to an audience of over 2500 people. He also opened youth revival in New Castle, Pennsylvania. He was a guest speaker a various churches throughout his teenage years.

At the age of eighteen, he walked away from God for a period of twenty years. He became a member of the Dusty Trail Boys, a western music Band, playing at various night clubs. During this time he worked at a company owned by US Steel. He suffered a fall from the top of a building, which was over one hundred feet tall. He fell into a limestone pit and was rushed to a hospital in Youngstown, Ohio. He suffered a cracked skull which had to be sewed with continuous stitching. The hospital called his wife stating that it was serious, and perhaps he would not live through the night. Five days later, he walked out of the hospital under his own power.

At the age of thirty-eight years old, he went back to Christ. He entered his ministerial studies and became a licensed minister with the Wesleyan Church Denomination. He also entered Indiana Business College and earned a degree in accounting. He later entered Northwood University, earning a VA in Business Administration with a GPA of 4.0. He then continued his studies and graduated from Webster University, earning an MBA in Business Administration.

For the next twenty-five years, in addition to the ministry, he climbed the corporate ladder working his way up through the ranks from staff accountant to corporate controller and then the Chief Financial Officer. His responsibilities included up to nine corporations, which covered a five state area.

At the age of fifty-nine while working as a Chief Financial Officer for multiple corporations, he suffered a severe stroke, which scarred his brain. He continued to minister and God gave him the strength.

He moved his family to Macon, Georgia where he transferred to the Nazarene Church Denomination and became pastor of the Macon Trinity Church of the Nazarene which is located on Hartley Bridge Road. Eight months ago he suffered another stroke that was worse than the first.

A local doctor who had all of his prior medical records including those showing scars on the brain, ordered a CAT scan to determine if there was additional damage. Now came a time of waiting for the results.

During this waiting period, he prayed to God, he told God: I cannot ask you to heal me again. You have healed me twice, sparing me from death. He said that he would not ask God to do it again. He stated that he was ready to meet God if it was God’s will at this time. He said that he only asked God one thing: If this was my time to go, please take care of my family.

He went to see the doctor to hear the results of the test. The doctor looked at him and said: The original tests, from up North, show the original damage and scars, and she said that she knew that this last stroke was worse that the first, then she gave him the results of the test just taken. This test did not show the original scars, and there are no new scars. She said, “I don’t understand it. The only explanation is that the brain is healing itself.” Rod said: I know exactly what has happened, I put myself in the hand of a big God, and asked for the will of God to be done. God has healed me three times, and the rest of my life belongs to God.

He has just received a four-year call at the church he is pastoring. His ending statement is: Let the will of God be done. Praise His Holy Name.

Pastor Brown is survived by his devoted family, his wife, Jackie G. Brown, Dublin; two sons, Paul (Becky) Brown and Robert Paul (Christin) Brown of Macon; his daughter, Billie Jean Brown of Macon; his brother, Ray (Linda) Brown of Michigan; his sister, Gladys Brown (Nick) Barber and countless brothers and sisters in Christ. He was preceded in death by his son, Robert L. Brown, Jr.