JIM

Written by Hayet Gessese

April 26, 2016. Brooke Ligertwood preached a message on the concept of a good father during the Sunday PM services at Hillsong LA. At the end of the 6PM service, Brooke asked Jim Hoag, a respected elder in our church to come on platform and pray for those who never had a father or never had the representation of a father in their lives. Jim being a father figure and loved man in our church prayed a bold prayer, a prayer that those who felt like they never had fathers. That night in that very special moment, for a brief period of time, Jim reminded us who our true father is and always was. It was the last time Jim was ever on platform during a service at Hillsong Church. That night there was a special presence in the room. Holy Spirit, for sure. It was an embrace and never let go moment. It was the first introduction that many had to Jim, a Caucasian, grey haired elderly man who spoke with conviction, passion, gentleness and used words that sparked a fire in your soul. Nearly four years later, that night, like many other nights has undoubtedly never been forgotten.

It was the first introduction that many had to Jim, a Caucasian, grey haired elderly man who spoke with conviction, passion, gentleness and used words that sparked a fire in your soul

Throughout the generations, key figures in American history have risen in times of war, slavery, segregation, and stood up and fought for the marginalized, the downtrodden and defenseless of society. Men and women like Rosa Parks, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Debois, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, Martin Luther King Jr., Harvey Milk, artists like Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Tupac Shakur. These were the voices of once in a ‘generation type leaders’ who ushered in a new era of equality and fought and died for the civil liberties that our constitution evokes, stating that all men are created equal in the eyes of God.

Jim Hoag (left) with Nick Hoag (right)

Jim was an evangelist, a poet, an activist, peacemaker, a Jesus loving prophet and martyr

These people labored until those who opposed them stopped them or until they succeeded. In today’s modern world activism and advocating for social justice while more common, is an uphill battle for those fighting for civil rights like gay rights, justice for undocumented immigrants, justice for police brutality against people of color and the unlawful discrimination against people of color, Muslims, Latinos and blacks. Today activists in this generation like congresswoman Alexandria Osacio Cortez, Shaun White, filmmakers like Ava Duverney and artists like Kendrick Lamar are fighting much or less the same battles like their predecessors fought against in a 21st Century take on the same issues like racism and discrimination. With every generation of prominent leaders, there are the unsung heroes of that time, people who history never tells us about or hasn’t written nearly enough of. Leaders like Baynard Rustin, Martin Luther King Jr.’s right hand man, was nearly written out of history because he was a gay black man in the 1960s during an area when homosexuality was widely panned. Then there are the unsung heroes this generation, people who historians will never initially recognize but those within a certain movement would know. In this fight against injustice, police brutality and equal rights for minorities and challenging authority, there hasn’t been any person to parallel to what Jim Hoag has fought for. His passion was inspiring, as was his zeal to see the church be on the forefront of issues that affected the very people he surrounded himself by and the church members that he did life with as well as all the homeless he encountered during his life and during the time attended church at Hillsong LA in Downtown Los Angeles and Hillsong NYC. Jim was an evangelist, a poet, an activist, peacemaker, a Jesus loving prophet and martyr. When history writes itself and wraps this portion of time, we wont see names like Jim Hoag in textbooks taught in schools but the movement will be lauded to be included with men like Jim who fought for every man and woman who represented what Jesus proclaimed as the least of these.

Early Days

Jim was born in Newark, New Jersey. In his teenage and early adult life, he got into drinking and drugs during his high school days and later in his 3 year stint in the army during the Vietnam War (which never had to go). He later found himself in a rehab center in Miami and eventually became a junior counselor within the program. It was through a friend at the rehab center that he met his wife Bobbi. Within a year In 1973, they were married.

During a work trip in Central Florida, Jim wanted to see his wife Bobbi and after drinking, drove home and was involved in a car accident that involved a broken vertebra. It was that moment in the hospital that Jim wanted more for his life and on that day in a random city, in random hospital all alone, Jim gave his life to Christ. He had no idea that a forty-year faith journey lay ahead of him and that he would ignite leaders around him, pastor a church for many years and develop a tenacity, a grit to see the church be the voice to carry the mission of the gospel.

The Fireman

In 2014 when Jim moved to Los Angeles, he was already an active member in the Hillsong community during his time with his family at Hillsong NYC. Jim lit a fire wherever he went, encouraging and championing any person he came across with a fresh word of encouragement that felt authentic and genuine. It’s no surprise that despite a liver cancer diagnosis in June 2015 and with no real options of treatment, Jim kept going along, meeting with people, hosting studies, weekly justice talks with other church members like nothing was wrong because the faith he shared with Bobbi was stronger than any diagnosis. There was a certain fire that Jim had and it couldn’t be contained and held. Everyone around him sparked, creating fires within and inciting young guns to pick up their tools and become a voice for justice. His frustration with the church being silent on social issues in the mid 2010s became evident and what grew out of that frustration was a fire, a fire that never seemed to burn out. One only needs to look at the posts of his Instagram account to see the genius, the breadth and prophetic edge Jim carried. He wanted to see justice, justice for all people… and he wanted it now.

The Pulpit

Jim with congregants on a Sunday afternoon

There’s a Starbucks in Downtown Los Angeles on the intersection of South Grand Avenue and 11th Street. In usual Starbucks fashion there’s outdoor tables with the Starbucks branded green umbrellas. It was on that corner Starbucks that Jim took the pulpit to preach every Sunday. There on the table would be his iPad, covered by an Occupy All Streets sticker. He was infamous for his selfies and almost any conversation would end in an iPad selfie. The pulpit was a table and the sermon was a dialogue, a conversation with those he sat across from at at the table, speaking about the injustices happening in America and globally. Sometimes the conversations took place outside, weather permitted and a lot of the conversations took place inside the store but every Sunday, like a local pastor leading his congregation, Jim came ready and prepared to talk about about the heart of the church, what we should doing as Christians to be on the forefront of these issues and how we as a people and the church needed to address issues by name, not just in passing; every single issue and every single person that was affected or being murdered.

“There was a sense of urgency to his message, his tone, his demeanor... Every word that came out of Jim’s mouth was a solicitation to be a different maker. To be a change maker, to act on the current issue”

And the time was now. There was a sense of urgency to his message, his tone, his demeanor and his steel cut glaze. Every word that came out of Jim’s mouth was a solicitation to be a different maker. To be a change maker, to act on the current issue. He encouraged and petitioned us to use our platforms, to use our voices to make a change. The times were never more desperate and the change needed to happen now. Speaking about Jim, one would be remiss not to mention the other part of his double edged prophetic sword that he used to speak God’s words. If conversations were one side of his sword, the other would be his Instagram account. It’s easy to downplay the effects social media can have on a society but to a particular people group, Jim’s Instagram posts, pictures and captions ignited a need for change in the church and as a people, to live life the way Jesus intended us to see life and to live intentionally, in community, caring for the least of these as Jesus commanded. With his thoughtful words, commentary on society, endless selfies with friends and the homeless of Downtown LA, he beckoned those who dared to read through a post to see how Jesus would view our society and church. He challenged us to see those we tend to overlook, the homeless, the undocumented immigrant and to see life the way Jesus would, the way Jesus intended us through a gospel focused lens. And that, is what Jim lived for. To bring those in community and just talk about Jesus.

Jim’s favorite verse in the bible was Luke 4:18, the story when Jesus reads a passage from the book of Isaiah in the synagogue: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” There hasn’t been a man like Jim who has outlived this verse in his pursuit for the lost, the poor and in his quest to do so, He became the very man he emulated every day for forty years until his very last breath.

In Loving Memory Of Jim Hoag (1954-2017)