In 2008, I reached the United Methodist Church mandatory retirement age of 70. Some people invited me to lead a non-profit ministry to train Pastors and lay people for leadership. The John Ed Mathison Leadership Ministries was formed. Mike Hutson and Ken Love were leaders in forming this ministry and served on our Board for 18 years. They both died in September 2026.
Mike Hutson and his family moved to Montgomery just after I moved to Frazer in 1972. I visited them. When I rang the doorbell, Mike’s wife Sharon wouldn’t open the door because they had just moved from Atlanta and they didn’t open the door to strangers. She told Mike it was a Methodist preacher. He said, “Tell him to go away.” She was nicer and invited me in.
Mike was the CEO of Burford Caterpillar Equipment Company. Mike came to church and we developed a great relationship. He experienced the redeeming grace of Jesus Christ and his whole life changed.
His son, Rusty Hutson, now a Methodist minister, told of how one night Mike came home from church and called the family into the den. He shared his new life in Jesus Christ. He then reached up into the liquor cabinet and took all the bottles and started pouring out the liquor into the sink. He said this is a sign of my new life. He was changed, and God started using him to change others!
Mike became a great leader at Frazer, his business, the community, and at John Ed Mathison Leadership Ministries. He initiated a devotional time for Burford employees at their staff meetings.
Ken Love was also an original member of the board and had a great career in accounting and then was asked to give leadership to a couple of large companies. I met Ken when his wife brought him to church.
Ken had become an alcoholic and a compulsive gambler. On February 1, 1999, Ken’s life changed forever when he accepted Christ as his Savior. The grace of Jesus Christ covered him and washed him clean of all his past. Part of his new commitment to Christ was never to take another drink and never to make another bet. He lived up to that promise.
Ken started a great recovery ministry at Frazer. He often times went with me to different churches and would give his witness. His witness brought live-saving hope to many people!
Ken, Mike, and the Board made financial accountability a priority. We joined the ECFA—Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Billy Graham started this organization years ago for financial accountability and now it is the most stringent accountability system for non-profit ministries.
I am greatly indebted to the leadership of our board. When I initially asked people to serve on the board, some of my friends told me that I had really picked extremely strong leaders and they might not let me do a lot of the things I wanted to do. I responded that those were the kind of leaders I wanted—people who are committed to Jesus Christ and who would give accountable leadership to this board. Mike and Ken filled that dream exactly. That describes our entire board.
I know that the population of Heaven has changed because of the witness of those two men. I know that their leadership to this ministry has helped to make Heaven crowded. I am one of the most blessed ministers anywhere to have been so positively influenced by men like Mike and Ken and to have had the privilege of serving with them. Thank you, Lord.
Is yours a changed life that God is using to change others?
