MEADVILLE &045;&045; More than 20 years after Lee and Teresa Miley found their way to southwest Mississippi for a one-year stay, they are back again. In 1983, the couple moved to the area for Lee’s first assignment as a state trooper. Now they have returned to serve a church.

&uot;He put us where we are. It wasn’t just happenstance,&uot; Lee Miley said, marveling at the irony of their journey and of God’s plan for them.

Two months ago, the Mileys accepted a call to become co-pastors of Praise Cathedral Church of God in Meadville. &uot;And we’re already growing,&uot; Lee said. The Lord is blessing us. I know he sent us here for a reason.&uot;

Lee Miley spent an entire career as a state trooper with the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, 1982 to early 2004. His first assignment sent him to Gloster in Amite County. &uot;I didn’t even know where it was when I got the assignment right out of patrol school,&uot; he said. But he and Teresa fell in love with the place and the people.

After about a year, they moved to Columbus, where he spent the rest of his career. It was the kind of work he had dreamed of doing from early childhood.

Known among his friends as a deeply spiritual man, he found people questioning whether he could be the tough law enforcement officer and the committed Christian at the same time.

&uot;I’ve been assaulted, kicked, cussed &045;&045; I’ve been through all that,&uot; Lee said. &uot;Some people said you can’t be a true Christian in that kind of job, but you can. The key is to treat every person as you would want a member of your family to be treated.&uot;

In fact, as a trooper, Lee found many opportunities to be a witness to his Christian faith. &uot;You can do your job without lowering yourself to be abusive and vulgar,&uot; he said. &uot;I’m six-feet-four and 240 pounds. I could do my job,&uot; he said. &uot;I have locked up hundreds of people. But I can look back over all those years and can’t think of anytime I mistreated a person.&uot;

Lee and Teresa met at Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., where she was a music major. The daughter of a minister, Teresa knew early in life she would minister through her music. &uot;And when I met Lee, I told my mom, ‘this man is going to be a minister,’&uot; she said.

Like Lee, she pursued another career, serving as assistant director of the Golden Triangle Regional Airport for more than 20 years. During that time, she also served as a minister or director of music.

Then in 1996, Lee acknowledged the call he had postponed for many years. &uot;I had felt that call basically all my life, but it didn’t materialize until 1996,&uot; he said. &uot;I had taught Sunday school for years and had talked to groups at meetings, but I had not been behind the pulpit until then.&uot;

The couple established Flaming Dove Ministries and began to travel throughout the South to hold revivals and visit churches.

&uot;The Lord began to open doors, and it began to snowball,&uot; Lee said. He arranged his trooper schedule to fit the evangelist schedule. Teresa accompanied him when the revivals coincided with weekends that she could get away.

&uot;It became our vehicle for ministry,&uot; Teresa said. &uot;We expect to continue it even though we are pastoring now. Without outreach, a ministry will die and become stagnant.&uot;

The couple sensed something new was about to happen for them in early January, they said. &uot;I told Teresa months ago the Lord was going to move us, but I didn’t know when or where.&uot;

Lee was holding a revival in Bude when he learned of the opportunity at Praise Cathedral. &uot;The state overseer for Church of God asked us to fill in, and there was discussion going on about my taking that pastorate,&uot; he said. &uot;I said to Teresa, ‘this is where the Lord wants us.’&uot;

With her strength in music and his in words, the two complement each other as they minister together. &uot;Music is not only preparatory to the word going forth; it is worship,&uot; Teresa said. &uot;I believe very firmly that God brought us together to do what we’re doing now.

&uot;We’re co-pastors because we work so closely together. We’re a complete package.&uot;

Another irony of how his life has worked out is the role his grandmother has played, Lee said.

&uot;I know the Lord works this way. My grandmother was Thelma Bentley, who held revivals in Natchez in the 1950s. People still remember her,&uot; he said.

&uot;Her mantle was passed down to me. It’s always been there and has finally come to fruition.&uot;