Our Alabama Baptist retreat at Shocco Springs is a gorgeous place, and I’ve enjoyed every event I’ve attended there. Several years ago, I attended a two-day training course for pastors. A conference for senior adults was on site at the same time. I saw that the other group was having a concert that night when our group wasn’t meeting, so I went.
The singer did a great job. He sang some “oldies” like “Silhouette” by Peter Noone and “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” by Elvis. He sang the latter as a ballad, and the group spontaneously began to sing with him, including yours truly. It was a beautiful moment. Since Elvis has been dead nearly 50 years it was a tribute to him that we knew his song, and an affirmation that all of us were certifiably old!
Another memorable song from that era was “Yesterday When I Was Young” by Roy Clark. I concur with this song.
It seems like yesterday that I was an eager high schooler, earnestly seeking God’s plan for my life. Our church asked us to serve on our annual Youth Sunday, and the adults patiently endured our teaching classes and speaking from the pulpit.
Our denomination doesn’t have an official training program for young pastors. We announce we’re called, and then we get opportunities to speak in the churches. I have sermon notes from those pre-electronic days and would be embarrassed for others to see them now! I’ve often suggested great is the reward in heaven for those church members who encouraged, and tolerated, us kids.
And then there was college and seminary. This was before we had schools we could click on, so ministers had to determine which city to move to for study. I chose our mother seminary in Louisville and enjoyed serving a church in southern Indiana on weekends.
Then life events passed quickly: the death of parents, our children being born and the challenges of serving churches.
I accepted a new ministry in 1998 and spent 15 years on the faculty and administration at Judson College. I also had the opportunity to serve two wonderful churches in the area on a part-time basis. My nearly four years at Marion Presbyterian Church as “stated supply” gave me an appreciation for my PCA brothers. This prepared me for our daughter now on staff at a local Presbyterian church where our son-in-law serves as deacon. Another Presbyterian bonus is three wonderful grandsons!
Now I’m in the “back nine” as the late Rush Limbaugh called it—a time to reflect with gratitude, a time to enjoy friendships and a time to encourage a new generation, just as my boyhood church encouraged me. -
