2. Why My Own Father? 1. He was a pastor of the same church for 47 years. 2. He was a great shepherd of his own people. 3. He was faithful during very difficult times. 4. He stood by his convictions even when it was costly.
3. Early Family Life Born in 1910 in Arcadia, Florida to a Christian mother and father. Moved from Arcadia to the “booming metropolis” of Indiantown (by wagon rather than car) when he was five or six years old.
4. Early Trauma Came home from school in the first grade to find his mother gone; she had been taken to the Chattahoochee mental hospital. He was not told what or where his mother was.
5. Continued Trauma His mother came back when he was about sixteen but still suffered from severe mental sickness. As an adult he was able to visit his mother, but she did not know him.
6. Family Married my mother, Ruth, and fathered 6 children of whom I am the last. My father was 50 years old and my mother 40 when I was born, leading to the duel pregnancies of my mother and older sister. My paternal grandfather was 49 when my father was born (my grandfather was born in 1862, the middle of the civil war. The streak of 50 year old fathers will not continue!
7. Family Trauma My sister “Mary Louise” (nicknamed Weezer) was killed in an automobile accident in 1980. My father and myself were brought face to face with the existential problem of evil.
8. Ministry West Side Baptist Church was started in 1945 in an old bakery near what is now “City Place” in West Palm. Later, the church built a new building right beside the old bakery
11. Ministry Became know in West Palm as a minister who would always do a funeral no matter what the financial circumstances of the family
12. Ministry Growth During the 1950s and 60s the church grew and did very well. With the aging neighborhood and congregation the church began to shrink during the 70s and 80s I became the “assistant pastor” upon graduating from Bob Jones University in 1981 at 21 years old. Five years later, he passed away and the church elected me as the pastor. The church never recovered.
13. Lessons from my father 1. The power of ministering to those with whom you have a long history; thus the value of “staying” during difficult times. 2. Concern for those who are in difficult circumstances. 3. The high calling of the minster and ministry. 4. The lack of concern for money, fame, or power.
14. Lessons The value of thinking carefully before speaking. 2 Timothy 2:24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men,
15. Lessons The love of books and especially “The Book” The importance of study The necessity of preparing for death The importance of valuing the Kingdom of God over the kingdom of man
