Appreciating My Pastors

The church I have been privileged to serve for 9 ½ years, Fellowship Chapel, graciously honored her pastors tonight during our evening worship service.  Any minister of the gospel who has been favored to partner with believers who love the Word of God and soak in its preaching, who care for one another in word and deed and support the work of Christ at home and abroad…that minister is truly a blessed man.  I am such a one.  The precious people of Fellowship Chapel are a pastor’s breath of fresh air.

While pondering the encouragement I experienced, my thoughts turned to pastors who indelibly influenced my life through the years.  Some were instrumental in leading me to Christ, while others were disciplers, eventually resulting in my call to ministry.  While contact with most of these men was lost years ago, I hope to honor their lives by mentioning my memories of them.

Andrew Rushing was the first pastor I can remember.  He was a motorcycle riding minister that preached hard, but enjoyed life.  He liked to laugh, cut up and be with his flock.  Andrew was influential in my parent’s early life in Christ and was a great friend to our family.  As a joke, we even named a family pet dog after his wife…Dixie.  They were not offended, but thought it funny and laughed along side us.

Dan Allen was a singing preacher.  With guitar in tow, Bro. Allen sang in our small church with a tone comparable to Elvis.  He traveled with a gospel singing group before surrendering to the pastorate.  Dan was fairly “no nonsense” and preached straight.  If my memory serves me correctly, he volunteered with the fire department and was called out of services on occasions.  While Dad was at school for his work, Mom was forced to wrestle with rowdy boys.  My brother back-talked Mom after church one Sunday and Bro. Allen happened to overhear.  He got my brother’s attention and proceeded to inform him that if he back-talked my mother again, he would personally whip his backside in my father’s stead.  He made believers out of us and we didn’t misbehave in his presence again!

I vaguely remember Bro. Gill.  He was a big man whose suit coats were always too short for his muscular, long arms.  Gill played a little pro-football for the Browns, was a brown belt in Karate and taught self-defense in the military.  His testimony is what I remember the most.  Upon being called to ministry, he ran from the Lord and His calling.  On a family outing, Pastor Gill dove from a boat and hit his head on a submerged rock…paralyzing his body.  As he was sinking in the water, unable to move, two blonde haired boys swam to him, took his arms and brought him to the surface.  He awoke on the bank to the frantic calls of his family members.  He informed them of the two boys who saved his life only to find that no blonde haired boys were seen anywhere in the vicinity.  He was convinced that God sent angels to rescue him…and he submitted to God’s call to pastor.

My recollection of Bro. Jenkins is quite limited except that his pastorate taught me something very important.  This lesson lay dormant in my mental banks until God called me to ministry and I began serving in churches.  It was then that the principle modeled took on meaning.  While Bro. Jenkins pastored our church, he was forced to deal with a difficult situation that threatened to split the church.  He made a hard decision as biblically correct as he could.  A number of families, most of them kinfolk, were offended and eventually left the church to start a split off congregation.  Before leaving, these disgruntled members were determined to come against the pastor with all their might in hopes that he might pack his bags and leave.  My dad had a decision to make and his decision was to stand beside the pastor.  Dad concluded that as long as a pastor preached the Word accurately and kept himself morally clean, he should not be “run out of town.”  I physically observed my father being unfairly chastised by these petulant “brothers and sisters” in Christ.  He was addressed in such spiteful and unchristlike ways that these confrontations are still etched in my memory.  Bro. Jenkins’ pastorate taught me that a pastor must make hard decisions as biblically correct as possible, even when they have potential to cause him great criticism.  I also learned that believers should stand with their pastors unless they have good reason not to do so.  If a pastor preaches the Word rightly and maintains integrity of character, members should support him, no matter what may come.

Dr. Don Dunavant, better known to me “back in the day” as “Brother Don” had an enormous impact on my life and call to ministry.  My family moved to Jonesboro, Arkansas while I was in junior high school and we quickly found ourselves uniting with Fisher Street Baptist Church.  Several things drew us to the church, but one of the chief factors was Dr. Don’s preaching of the Word.  Church has been my life all of my life, affording the privilege to sit under the ministry of numerous pastors.  In most of our previous churches, we enjoyed the preaching of men who loved the Lord and did their best, but Don added a new element we had never experienced.  While he preached with great passion and conviction, his sermons reflected deep study of biblical doctrine, along with practical application.  His sermons were well prepared, easy to outline and anointed.  I grew more under his ministry than ever before.  I can truly say that we feasted on the Word in each service.  Don’s ministry was also marked by a passion for making disciples.  Numerous people came into our church during those years, not to mention a huge influx of college students.  Many of these were new converts who were won and discipled by Dr. Dunavant.  A significant number of these followers were called to full time ministry.  My calling to ministry actually took place under Don’s leadership after coming back to our church some years later as interim pastor.  I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Dr. Don Dunavant for modeling a true preacher of the gospel and pastor before my eyes, preparing me for what was to come.  An educated guess would lead me to believe that Don had no idea what a tremendous influence he was having on my life…a good lesson for all of us to remember.  And, he’s still very much “at it” today.  Kudos, “Bro. Don!” 

Last, but certainly not least, how could I mention pastors who helped shape my spiritual life without mentioning one of my dearest friends in all the world, Scott Price.  As a “fresh out of seminary” greenhorn young minister, Scott and Leighton Baptist Church in Alabama called me to be their second, full-time staff member.  With a head full of seminary learned knowledge and an empty bucket of experience, Scott took me under his wing and showed me the ropes.  I grew under his preaching, learned from watching his interaction with the congregation and was deeply impacted through the awareness of his prayer life.  It was under Scott that I learned how to study for a sermon, how to outline a passage, how to seek useful illustrations and how to preach with passionate urgency.  This young “Timothy” needed a “Paul” and God gave me one in Scott.  While ministry is a very serious calling that requires its shepherds to be sober minded, Scott also taught me that ministry can be very joyful.  We have cried many tears together, but we have also cleansed our lungs with much laughter.  With incredible gratefulness, our Lord is allowing our “Timothy/Paul” relationship to continue to this very day.

As you can readily see, many pastors invested in my life.  I am who I am, in part, because of the influence of these men of God.  While my involvement with most has been nonexistent for a number of years, I still want to give a “shout out” to them all and say “thank you” for giving of themselves to the work of the Master.  My life is a constant reminder that their labor was not in vain.