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The Ken George story |
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By Ken
Horn* |
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The year
1954 was a great one for 19-year-old Ken George. He was married, licensed to preach
and took the pastorate of his first Assemblies of God church in |
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But his
life would suddenly hit rock bottom. |
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Late at
night on Memorial Day 1954, Ken and his young wife, who was expecting their
first child, were driving down the |
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Ken himself
hovered near death with internal injuries, a severe concussion and a crushed
hip. His face, shredded by the jagged windshield glass, had 60 stitches sewed
into it — half the number needed since he was not expected to live. But he
did live, as Christians across the nation went into intercession. |
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In those
dark days in the hospital, Ken realized what he had lost. His wife of only 10
months, his child — and now the doctors wanted to amputate the badly mangled
left leg. Feeling he had nothing to live for, in his weak moments, "I
prayed I would die," he says. "The devil would tell me that the
flowers that people had sent me were my own funeral flowers." |
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But Ken
rallied, desperately holding on to God to get him through. "I thought
there was no way that I could survive," he says. "But I would ask
the Lord for help, and night after night He would come amid the pain and
suffering and minister to me. He gave me strength to come through." |
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Ken had
been an athletic standout, competing in track with top-flight athletes,
including Olympic champion Rafer Johnson. He couldn’t bear the thought of
losing his leg. Doctors told him he would never walk on it again; and, if
kept, it would be a source of lifelong pain. Repeatedly they placed the
release form for the amputation in front of him; each time he refused to
sign. |
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Now
weighing only 129 pounds, Ken was far too weak to undergo a serious
operation. Doctors advised him to go home with his parents to |
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Forced to resign
his church, Ken could not even return to tell his congregation goodbye. His
father, Roy George, preached his farewell sermon for him. |
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Leaving
his ministry was one more burden in the weight of his trial. Ken had been
called to preach on his 12th birthday and had been active in ministry ever
since. He was first credentialed at only 16 years of age. Now, along with
everything else he had lost, it seemed that ministry was gone too. |
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When Ken
was strong enough for surgery, bone surgeons cut his leg apart and
reconstructed it, using a surgical procedure that was later banned. The leg
did not respond and began to atrophy. Painful physical therapy was a
desperate attempt to keep the leg from dying. But it continued to wither and
now arthritis set in, drawing it up until it was far shorter than his other
leg. |
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Ken gained
strength gradually but was severely hobbled. When a trio of young evangelists
came to the church his father pastored, God began to move. As he saw people
touched and healed night after night, Ken refused to go forward. "I was
determined not to go forward for prayer and walk out on crutches," he
says. "If I felt the Lord wanted me to go forward for prayer, I would
give up my crutches and crawl out if I had to." |
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The night came
when Ken knew it was his time. "I stood in the prayer line," he
says. "When it came my time, I handed my crutches to my father and he
tossed them over on the platform. I stood with all my weight on my right leg
and they anointed me with oil and prayed. While they were praying, the Spirit
touched me. I began to raise my feet back and forth, kind of walking in
place. Then I began to realize that I was raising up my right leg, so that
meant all my weight was on the left one. And it was not collapsing so I began
to walk. I even ran a little, jumped a little. From that day to this I have
not picked up a set of crutches." |
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Ken felt
he was ready to minister again and attempted to launch an evangelistic career
— with less than sterling results. Letters to all of his father’s friends
netted just one postcard — from the pastor of a tiny church who told Ken he
wasn’t even sure he could pay his expenses. Undaunted, Ken boarded a
Greyhound bus with his trombone and traveled to Cisco, |
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As people
were saved and dramatic healings occurred, the crowds grew and it became
necessary to move into the city auditorium. Those four weeks launched Ken
into a national ministry. He and his brother, Don, later formed the George
Gospel team, which included Ken’s new wife, Patsy. |
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J. Don
George, who today pastors Calvary Temple Assembly of God in |
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Ken went
on to pastor churches in |
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In 1993,
Ken went in for a full physical. When the bone specialist mounted the X-rays
of Ken’s hip, he was astounded. He began asking Ken questions: "Can you
walk any distance?" |
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"Absolutely,"
Ken said. "I play golf, hunt and fish." |
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"Do
you climb stairs with both feet on the same level?" |
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"I
climb stairs like anyone else would." |
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The doctor
was astonished because the X-rays revealed the outlawed procedure. He could not
believe that Ken had been functioning normally for 40 years after such an
operation. Today Ken still has a visible limp, with one leg an inch shorter;
but the limp is simply a reminder of God’s mercy and miracle working power.
It has not impaired his life in the least. |
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With a
lovely wife, two beautiful daughters, two granddaughters and a rich, full
ministry, Ken says he has much to thank the Lord for. Though once Ken prayed
to die, today, 46 years after the accident that changed his life, he says,
"God has given me much to live for. I can never thank Him enough." |
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Ken George
serves as an example to those who are tempted to quit or withdraw because of
great trials. No matter how bad your circumstances look, don’t give up.
Though Satan wants you down and out, when God is for you, nothing can stop
you from fulfilling His will for your life. |
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*Ken Horn
is managing editor of the Pentecostal Evangel. |
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