The Journey from Boyhood to Manhood: Beating the Odds Guided by the Mystical Supernatural True Adventures of the Authentic Hardy Boy An Autobiography

By Bishop John Nathaniel Hardy

Humans were created to discover the unknown.

All you have to do is look at history:
• around 600 BCE, the Greek philosopher Thales discovered static electricity;
• in the early 1600s, Hans Lippershey discovered the telescope;
• in 1687, Newton discovered the infinitesimal calculus;
• In 1966, Bishop John Nathaniel Hardy discovered the invisible, mysterious intelligent Being called the Almighty God.

In this book, the author shares the lessons he learned on an incredible journey that resulted in him meeting our Almighty God. While he does not claim to have ever seen the Lord, he has felt His energy – and is still feeling it to this day.

His purpose is to provide an accurate account of his sojourn with natural and supernatural phenomena and to propose the idea that there must be a supernatural being somewhere who monitors our affairs. We may not understand how it is done, but as Scripture tells us, “The firmament sheweth his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1 KJV).

Join the author as he challenges us to discover God and shares powerful truths about what it means to be one of His faithful servants.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9798385008933

Bishop John Nathaniel Hardy

Bishop John Nathaniel Hardy is a popular convention and motivational speaker as well as a Bible teacher. He has been a freelance writer for the Jamaica Observer Newspaper for several years, focusing on social, economic, and religious issues. He has also been a freelance journalist and television talk show host. He earned an MBA from the University of South Wales – UNICAF, England and has earned numerous other degrees and certificates.

Book preview

Copyright © 2023 Bishop John Nathaniel Hardy.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

844-714-3454

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version.

ISBN: 979-8-3850-0894-0 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-0893-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023918599

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/02/2023

ENDORSEMENTS

I have been acquainted with Bishop John Hardy for approximately thirty years as Island Youth and Christian Education Director for Jamaica and Grand Cayman. He is an academician of no mean order; a man of distinction, fortitude, and gravity; a visionary who accomplishes where others have failed. He has ministered in many places and particularly Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he tended to us personally. His ministry is cutting edge, electrifying, informative, and soul stirring.

Bishop Dr Michael Coulson

DD Senior Pastor, Unity New Testament Church of God

I am so very humbled and honoured to direct the torch of one of my greatest encounters on my own journey through life: John Nathaniel Hardy, Brother John.

An old village sage once instructed me about purpose. He said that purpose cannot be killed; it must be served. It was a hazy rain-drenched morning when a young bright-eyed boy entered my quiet village of Glengoffe, Saint Catherine; he was seemingly raw and innocent in his humanity, as if commissioned by unseen Commanders, to plough pathways, to reach the human spirit existing in such a place.

On this trail, like many others to come, his own life was emerging in a chartered path that saw him transcending sunsets, some haunting and dreadful. I watched him from the shadows of the many years, as he emerged from his personal cocoons one after the other, always emerging with triumph. With great determination, he ploughed his chartered courses past the rocks of child abuse and dysfunctionality, to find new avenues of civility and promise.

He embraced that great universal truth which opened his eyes to see that he was suspended between heaven and earth. Once he realized where he stood, a new spirituality dawned upon him. He then became engulfed in encounters with the supernatural and the divine that would unfold mysteries around him. These mysteries opened trails into halls of academia, and from obscurity, this boy’s name became etched in registers of renowned colleges and universities, allowing him vast and varied learning that baffles the ordinary mind. Without embracing pride and arrogance, he used his acquired knowledge to help many to move towards self-actualization. Still, he finds quality time to serve as a full-time pastor and mentor to many congregations and organizations.

John Nathaniel Hardy, thanks for beating the odds from boyhood to manhood, to be able to share this journey with us, for using this book to connect our minds to a new depth of perseverance, obedience, and trust in that higher calling that has allowed one man to transcend time, leaving footsteps of change for others to follow.

Dr Loretta Sewell-Drummond, PHD, MA., BA, Dip. Sp. Ed. Dip. Th.

Psychotherapist, Lecturer, Educator

From the rustic environments of the communities of Grants Pen and Barbican Roads, John and I grew up facing many challenges, although from a humble upbringing, he had an attitude of a good conversationalist. As children, we had the responsibility of getting our parents the Daily Gleaner each morning before we went to school. John was not a literate person in his formative years, but his arguments were very constructive.

It is evident that John possesses an indomitable spirit that can surmount any obstacles in life. Even from his childhood days, it could be seen that he was a tough Hardy boy. He had been through many dark days as a child, yet it did not daunt his spirit or blunt his vision to aspire to heights of excellence in life. Although he did not have the privilege of an early childhood education, his determination and tenacity allowed him to defy the odds, and today he has emerged as a poet, a journalist, and a lover of academic pursuit. His inspiration will no doubt live with many generations to come.

Doreen Morris, BSc. M. Ed., Dip. Admin. Mgt.

Former Academic Dean, Shortwood Teachers College

It has been stated that people and movements can be defined by the books they read and remember, so it is with great expectation that I introduce Bishop John Nathaniel Hardy’s book From Boyhood to Manhood to the world. As the co-founder, president, and CEO of Gateway Church, I have witnessed the growth and transformation of Bishop Hardy and his ministry over the years. The Miracle Tabernacle organization is one of the most productive ministries we have supported as a mission’s outreach in the West Indies.

As the late Zora Neale Hurston once said, there is no greater anguish than having an unimaginable story inside of a person. Bishop John Hardy has shared his sojourn in life, how he arrived at pivotal choices, his extraordinary rites of passage to manhood, and the wisdom gained from his growth and transformation to lead him to the realization that there must be a supernatural God. He faced the daunting task of opening his heart and pouring his soul to share his understanding of the metaphysical without focusing on his pain or prior abuse to demonstrate the rewards and possibilities for personal growth in his tales of the authentic Hardy Boy.

By bearing his untold story, Bishop John Hardy has unlocked the challenges of facing the supernatural and exploring with his readers as his future self. My late husband and Founding Senior Pastor of Gateway Church, Rev. Dr N.G. Hyatt, and Zora Neale Hurston (1942) would share in my joy in the revelation of the divinity in this autobiography.

Rev. Dr N.R. Hyatt, President and CEO, Gateway Church

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

CONTENTS

Endorsements

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1

From Birth To Five Years

Plagued With Childhood Sickness

A Miraculous Survival In A Storm

First Encounter With The World Of The Supernatural

A Strange, Mysterious Voice

Freaky Frog In The Garden

The Black Magic Stick

The Skull In The Foundation

The Mysterious Mongoose

The Twilight Ghostly Experience

A Strange Dream

Chapter 2

From Six To thirteen Years

Dysfunctionality Sets In

The Lying Lips Of A Woman

Talkative Children Could Cost Me My Life

The Purple Hatred of a Father for His Last Child

The Life Of A Hermit

The Day My Hands Were Set On Fire

History Of The Banana House

Near Brush With Death

The Paradox Of My Love For My Father

Primary School Bad Experiences

Childhood Dysfunctionality Deepened

A Murderous Conspiracy

The Day I Met My Father In Court

My Journey In Swift Purcell Approved School

A Devilish Conspiracy

Chapter 3

From Thirteen To Sixteen Years

The Miraculous Start To An Academic Ascent

The Death Of My Father

The Ghost Of The Stinking Haunted House

The Silver Lining Of Hope During Darkness

The Late Hon. Norman Washington Manley Gave Me a Break in Life

A Strange Phenomenon That Changes The Course Of My Destiny

My Next Move Sent The Camp Community In A Frenzy

A Love Affair That Was Never Meant To Be

Chapter 4

From Nineteen To Twenty-Three

A Deeper Encounter With The Divine Supernatural

My First Experience With Divine Healing

Supernatural Disruption In Production

Chapter 5

From Twenty-Three To Twenty-Six

Mysterious Academic Revolution

The Shock Of My Life

A Rude Academic Awakening Was Awaiting Me

The Authenticity Of Miracles

Miracles Do Happen

Rapid Ascensions Up The Church’s Stratified Ladder

Chapter 6

From Twenty-Seven To Thirty-Eight

An Intriguing Twist In The Life Of Romance

Beating The Odds To Climb The Academic Ladder

The Twisting, Mysterious Road Of Pastoral Vocation

The Daunting Challenges Of A Ministerial Life

The Frenzied Easter Bun Rush

Chapter 7

From Thirty-Nine Onward

Miraculous Escape

The Congregants Who Defy The Odds Mysteriously

The Apex Of The Supernatural In Ministry

Supernatural Divine Protection

The Changeling Side Of A Ministerial Journey

The Abortion Of A Mission

The Mystical Dawn Of A New Day

The Supernatural Intervention In Decision Making

The Voice Of God Spoke Through A Man

A New Move Of The Mystical Supernatural

A Step Of Faith In The Supernatural

The Prayer Factor

The Sunday Morning Supernatural Manifestation

Tragedy During Triumph

When The Love Bug Bites Twice, It Is Splendidly Nice

The Crowning Apex Of Divine Financial Intervention

Fasting and Prayer That Move the Hands of God

The Miraculous Financial Breakthrough After 20 Years

Chapter 8

The Four Dimensions Of Human Consciousness

The Sperm Dimension

The Fetus Dimension

The Terrestrial Dimension

The Celestial Dimensions Of Consciousness

Poems of Inspiration

The Youths

The Sinful Man

The Other Side of Man

Come Home

The Movies

The King Cometh

When

Personal Philosophical Thoughts

Philosophical World View

Personal Governance for Life

Thoughts and Reflections

Bibliography

FOREWORD

John Hardy is a Jamaican and an ordained Bishop of the Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee. He has been in Christian ministry for over forty years. During these years, he served in many capacities in the church such as pastor, district overseer, and national youth and Christian education director for the New Testament Church of God in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

This book is an authentic narrative that is very unique in its contents and portrays the true experience of the author. The author, Bishop John Hardy (the authentic Hardy boy), is personally known to me for over five decades. He is known to his ministerial colleagues as a very dignified, honest, respectable, trustworthy, and hard-working gentleman. He hails from a very respectable and law-abiding family. He is a person whose word can be relied on, and he always complies with such rules as he is required to adhere.

Born into a dysfunctional family and having to live without a mother for most of his teen years, in addition to enduring medical issues and parental abuse, John Hardy has become a force to be reckoned with as an entrepreneur and as a successful agent of change in Christian ministry. This change, from victim to victor, he attributes, with narrative testimony, as the work of the miraculous and transforming Hand of God.

I agree with Bishop Hardy that many of his life experiences seem to defy logic, yet they are all too real to be denied. As you read this book, you will be convinced that the author has had a transforming encounter with God, the Holy Spirit, and that his entire life is divinely ordered and directed. Despite the loss of his first wife, Rose (of thirty-four-plus years), through illness, the author is grateful to God for his life, for not only does he have two sons (Oneall and Neison) from his first marriage, but God has blessed him with another welcome love, in the form of Veronica Burke, whom he wed in December 2009.

Without hesitation, I affirm Bishop John Hardy’s autobiography (The Authentic Hardy Boy) as a true story with genuine spiritual nuggets for every reader. It is my sincere prayer that all who read this book may be empowered to develop faith in God and earnestly impact others for their own good and for God’s glory.

Bishop Dr Fedlyn A. Beason, J.P., D.D., Ph.D., Notary

Former Caribbean Field Director for the Church of God

PREFACE

The journey from child to adult is a memorable one. No matter whether you traverse its choppy waves successfully or not, there is bound to be the contemplation of life, its complexities and, of course, the divine purpose behind it all and the continuous unfolding identity of the person you are predestined to become.

In Beating the Odds—Tales of the Hardy Boy, Bishop John Hardy explores what it is that is truly experienced when one is in the Potter’s hands from birth throughout their lives. In some ways, this book is written like a piece of music in which a single theme of God’s developing purpose is explored, questioned, modulated, and restated.

This coming-of-age story set in Jamaica from 1946 to present day provides a sensitive, honest, and in-depth look at a variety of personal experiences and perspectives in Bishop Hardy’s life from birth through his teenage years to adulthood. And it tells the compelling story of his struggle through childhood sickness, abuse, family dysfunction, mysterious spiritual encounters, and his rise to encountering God and the call to full-time pastoral commitment.

But beyond all that, Beating the Odds argues that victory in life is a personal choice and that we should never stop searching, questioning, and trying to understand, both our own views on why we go through what we go through, and God’s definitive plan through it all. God wants you to know He did not create you to be mocked, used, abused, or mistreated. And if you are still struggling with scars from your past, this book is a must read. Your current place in life doesn’t have to be a permanent stop unless you want it to be. God is always working things out in your favour.

Bishop Dr Preston Williams II

Senior Pastor, Lecturer, Gateway Church

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Mrs Veronica Hardy

It is almost impossible for a successful man to be made by himself. A woman’s partnership to a man is like fuel in the combustion chamber of an automobile. Without the assistance of my wife, Mrs Hardy, the undertaking, and completion of this manuscript would be virtually impossible. She served as first editor for the work, and no praise and thanks can ever be too much for her countless hours of sleeplessness and sacrifice while editing the script.

Mr Oneall And Mrs Tavia Hardy

It is said a wise man cannot work without tools, and not even a fool works without tools. Today, we are prone to wonder, before the advent of the computer, how did we ever survive in the composition of literature? Oneall, my first son, a computer technician, has given me yeoman service in seeing to it that my computer is virus free and is up to date with the latest applications. His wife, Tavia, a peach of a daughter, is very studious and professional in her work; without her assistance in typing many segments of the script, the task would have been very laborious for me.

Dr Bevolyn Johnson (M.Ed., Bba., Dip. Ed)

I should like to acknowledge Dr Bevolyn Johnson for the profound contribution she made to the production of this book. I consider myself a very poor and notorious writer; my brain and my fingers do not coordinate when I am writing, my brain moves much faster than my fingers, so my grammar and my sentence structures can be just abominable.

Dr Bevolyn Johnson took on the mammoth job of editing the work before it went off to the press. When I was studying at one of our tertiary universities, one of our lecturers, Senator Anthony Johnson, would advise us as students not to trust our eyes and brain to proofread our own writing; he said the eyes and the brain are highly deceptive. If I had taken it up on myself to proofread this script, the editor of the printing press would no doubt reject it because of the multiple errors, but thanks to Dr Johnson for making the work presentable.

The Pastoral And Administrative Staff Of The New

Testament Church Of God, Miracle Tabernacle

Leadership can be a very lonely and a daunting task if there is not a supportive team to help share the load. As senior pastor for the congregation at 6 Rhoden Crescent, I was blessed to have a very dutiful team of pastoral and administrative personnel, who have given and are still giving sterling support when it is needed most: Ministers Riccardo Strachan, Paulette Burke-Ellis, Cornelius Brown, Derron Pusey, Jennifer Brown, and Patrick Jackson. All these yoke fellows have worked arduously in the management of the congregation when I had to be absent.

With a heart of gratitude, I do acknowledge the contributions of all these people who assisted in one way or another to make this publication possible.

Bishop John Hardy

INTRODUCTION

I have always believed that as human beings, our lives are shrouded in deep mystery, from the cradle to the grave. It was C.S. Lewis who once said, Privations in many instances equip ordinary people for an astonishing destiny. Often it is the dark and dismal events of one’s life that serves as preparation for his or her destiny.

Although it is very difficult for me to explain many of the supernatural encounters I have passed through in my life’s short journey, I cannot doubt the fact there are mysterious forces that intermingle in our everyday activities. I have not engaged myself in any great deal of study of the supernatural, but it is clear in my understanding that we are not alone on this planet. There are other invisible beings, and they do have an interest in our lives.

It was the head of the Cairo University Archaeology Department, Dr Ala Shaheen, who told an audience in December 2010, that there might be truth to the theory that aliens helped the ancient Egyptians build the oldest of pyramids, the Pyramids of Giza. On being further questioned by Mr. Marek Novak, a delegate from Poland as to whether the pyramid might still contain alien technology or even a UFO with its structure, Dr Shaheen, was vague and replied, I cannot confirm or deny this, but there is something inside the pyramid that is not of this world. (Ala Shaheen)

In my sojourn through life, I have experienced many events that defy logic, yet I have undisputable evidence I was not hallucinating during those encounters. Many of these unexplainable events I have kept secret for the better part of my life until now; I always felt if I shared my inner mysterious world, people would think I am a notorious liar, a great storyteller, or worse, a person of an insane mind.

The purpose of my treatise is to provide an accurate account of my sojourn with the natural and supernatural phenomena and to postulate the idea that there must be a supernatural being somewhere who monitors the affairs of people. We may not understand how it is done, but as the scripture said, the firmament sheweth his handiwork (Psalm 19:1 KJV).

Although I have my own hard-core philosophical and theological viewpoints about life and our world, it is not my intention to impose on my readers my personal belief system, but simply to raise some enquiries about the mysteries of the cosmos in which we live. I embarked on this discourse of my autobiography with an open mind to investigate the supernatural occurrences. As such, we all can pause and reflect on the mysterious events we have encountered at one time or another, events that have little or no logical human explanation.

CHAPTER 1

From Birth To Five Years

It is said that the first five years of a child’s life are crucial for growth. The experiences they have in these years help structure the adults they will grow into. More than anything else, a relationship with a child forms the way the child understands and nurtures.

—Raising Children Network

If the above statement is true, and there is scientific and sociological evidence that it is so, then I can declare without any contradiction that I defied the odds of my first five years of life by surviving the extreme hardships I encountered as a child.

I cannot recall much about my biological parents’ relationship, my conception, or my birth, because neither of them ever said much about their relationship. My father told me that my mother abandoned me at the age of one year and nine months. Incidentally, I did not meet my mother until I was sixteen years of age, after the death of my father. I was raised as a motherless child. This is no doubt one of the darkest chapters of my life.

64530.png

Plagued With Childhood Sickness

I was born on a Friday evening in July 1946, but I had a late registration, one month after my birth, according to my father. I was registered as being born on August 19, 1946. He also said he named me after my grandfather, Nathaniel Hardy, who was an outstanding deacon in the Grove Methodist Church. He died at the age of thirty-six and was buried in the churchyard at Grove. My father said I was a very sickly child from birth. When I grew older, he told me I suffered at a very tender age from what was known as marasmus. Colloquially, this illness is called marasmy. A medical student by the name Carenlee (2012) describes the symptoms of the illness I suffered with during my childhood in the following manner:

Marasmus is a severe form of malnourishment. The disease is commonly seen in babies. The reason for Marasmus is due to severe loss of persistent waste of fat, muscles, and other tissues of the body. The disease happens due to absence of basic nutrition, proteins, vitamins, and calories to the body. Marasmus is a severe problem and is generally detected in emerging regions like Africa, Latin America, and south Asia. The disease is also generally known as kwashiorkor.

I was too young to have any knowledge of my infant illnesses, but from what my father and others told me, I suffered from all the above symptoms. As I grew older, I can remember my father telling stories of how many times he thought I was dead. Incidentally, my father never believed in medical practitioners. After his thirty-four years of life without stepping foot in a hospital, the first time he went to one, he died. I was never once seen by a pediatrician in all my childhood days. It must have been a miracle that I survived my childhood. In my early stage of life, I believed my real name was Mr. Hardy’s bang-belly boy, for so I was called by other children. They did so because of my distended abdomen due to my early childhood malnourishment.

I have memories of suffering from whooping cough, a bacterial infection that gets into the nose and throat. It spreads very easily. The WHO reported that 5.9 million children under age five died in 2015 from whooping cough: sixteen thousand