Page 11 - February 2018 | Catalyst Magazine

in heart and mind; Christianity is about intimacy with Jesus! Stephen concluded if the essence of Christianity is oneness with Jesus – the outside God getting to be in- side, living and sourcing one’s life – then it is critical to keep one’s focus upon Jesus throughout the day, not merely a few min- utes each morning in devotions and prayer.As a way to develop such a habit of focus, Stephen decided every time the school bell rang he would pray: “ ank you Jesus for living inside of my life.” is became so much fun he decided every problem he had, he would bring to Jesus and allow Him to be a part of the solution. Soon, he in- volved Jesus in every good thing; desiring His involvement and activity moment-by- moment throughout the day.During these formative high school years, Stephen devoured every book he could get his hands on about the depths of intimacy with Christ. It was then he discovered he did not invent the concept of “practicing God’s presence,” but found great encour- agement by those who had written about such a life long before his own. is con- cept became a growing aspect in young Stephen’s life. He was constantly growing in intimacy and oneness with Jesus in an attitude of surrender and dependency.None of his reading compared to his de-sire for the Word of God, which became the bedrock and platform for Stephen’s life. Stephen found that as he dove into the written Word (Bible) he was diving into the Living Word (Jesus). e Bible was not a dreary book to study in order to prepare sermons, it was an exciting av- enue through which he could experience the living Person of Jesus, develop deep intimacy with Him, and be continuously pressed and transformed by Truth (Jesus). As he is so fond of saying, “We do not handle the Word of God; it handles us.” Even now, some fty years later, the Word continues to become more precious and important in his life.At age seventeen, now attending Taylor University and pastoring a local Method- ist church, Stephen met, and two years later, married Delphine Oliver. For the next ve years, Stephen and Delphine ministered in the pastorate of both the Methodist and United Missionary Church Denominations.While in the pastorate, the Manley’s ad- opted their rst child, Stephen Christo- pher Manley, in March 1967. e fol- lowing year, July 1968, they adopted their second child, Evangeline Faith Manley (Vangie). e expansion of the Manley family came at a critical time in Stephen and Delphine’s call to ministry. After pastoring for seven years, Stephen, now twenty-four, made the leap into full-time itinerant evangelism, which became his call for the next forty-one years.For his rst four years in evangelism, Ste- phen traveled alone. In 1971 he moved his ministry under the umbrella of the Church of the Nazarene; and in 1972, Stephen brought his wife and children onto the road, where they ministering together for the next ten years.Again in 1982, Stephen found himself traveling alone as the two children, now in their high school years, stayed at homeContinued on next pagefebruary 2018CityLight.org 11