Saturday, May 19, 2001
Storefront church hires Simmons/Cox
as pastor
By Loretta Fulton
Reporter-News Staff Writer
James Simmons, who was known as Barre Cox
when he disappeared on a Jones County road 17 years ago, is pastoring
a church in Garland after resigning from another Dallas-area congregation
that failed to give him a vote of confidence.
Faith Community Church, a storefront church
in a Garland shopping mall, formed shortly after Simmons resigned
from White Rock Community Church in February, said Michael S.
Mullen, a spokesman for the Garland church.
The new church’s approximately 50 members,
most of whom left White Rock with Simmons, are trying to keep
a low profile after all the media attention they received when
Simmons was recognized in December as the former Wesley Barrett
“Barre” Cox.
“Our members have had to go through
a lot of healing and we’re just trying to keep the spotlight
off them,” Mullen said.
At the time he was recognized in December,
Simmons was auditioning for the pastorate of White Rock Community
Church, which ministers primarily to gays and lesbians. Simmons
claims to have suffered amnesia the past 17 years.
Simmons was hired by the church, only to
resign in February after he failed to get a two-thirds majority
vote of confidence from the congregation.
Mullen said the Garland church considers
itself an inclusive congregation that ministers to gays and lesbians
as well as other people in the community. Simmons was unavailable
for comment, but Mullen said his sermons have been on traditional
topics and that he hasn’t talked about his own experiences.
“They’ve been pretty much what
you’d expect,” Mullen said. “They’re not at
all about himself.”
When Simmons resurfaced in December, he
claimed to know nothing of his past, including a wife and 6-month-old
daughter he left behind when he disappeared. His wife, Beth, and
daughter, Talitha, now 17, live near Nashville, Tenn., and have
met several times with Simmons since he resurfaced.
In an interview with the Reporter-News in
April, Beth Cox said she questioned her husband’s story from
the beginning but wanted to believe him.
“We all kind of believed the amnesia
story sounded kind of strange,” she said. “But we didn’t
know.”
Despite the doubts of others, members of
Faith Community Church believe Simmons’ claims of amnesia
and are pleased with his ministry, Mullen said.
“He is touching a great number of people
and that’s what we’re interested in,” he said.
Contact spirituality writer Loretta Fulton
at 676-6778 or fultonl@abinews.com
Send a Letter to
the Editor about This Story
Start or Join A
Discussion about This Story
Send
the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend:
Copyright
©2001, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps.
Publications
|
