AND THEY'RE STILL TALKING ABOUT IT
This blog is about my dad and things that I remember about him. I am taking the title of this Post from a Homecoming message I heard preached by Rev. Charlie Lynch a few weeks ago titled "And They're Still Talking About It". The sermon was about the woman who brought the alabaster box of very precious ointment and poured it on the head of Jesus. The scripture was "Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her," Matthew 26:13. Throughout the message things that my dad had done or said over 65 years ago when he was the Pastor of this church and other churches were mentioned that is still being talked about today and I thought to myself if I don't write down what I remember and what other people remember about my dad these stories will be lost forever.
THE LOST SHEEP
One of the most talked about messages that I remember my dad preaching was about the lost sheep. As he preached from this scripture, "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?" Luke 15:4. I don't know how old I was at the time this message was preached at Highland Baptist Church but I can still see my dad as he preached it. As he talked about the lost sheep he began to go into the choir and through the chairs looking for the lost sheep. He then walked through the sanctuary toward the back still preaching all the time. Then he walked down the steps into the basement of the church and you could still hear him preaching and calling for the lost sheep. Some said it sounded like he had opened the door of the furnace because you could hear his voice coming up from the registers. He found the lost sheep down in the basement (not sure what he used it wasn't a real sheep) he wrapped it in a blanket laid it on his shoulder and brought it up out of the basement still preaching all of the time."And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. Luke 15:5. Then according to one source I heard he then climbed into the window sill and said, "Come Rejoice With Me." From the verse, "And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me: for I have found my sheep which was lost." Luke 15:6. I have always heard that he climbed into the window sill in one of his messages but I didn't remember it connected with this message but I am sure I don't remember everything.
THE LOST COIN
The message preached also at Highland Baptist Church of the lost coin was similar to the one about the lost sheep as dad preached and searched for the lost coin. What I remember being told about this message was the fact that he was looking everywhere and he came down into the alter area in front of the pulpit and there was a register where the heat come up into the sanctuary. He took the register cover off and was looking down into the register when my brother Jim got up from where he was sitting and came down and got down on his knees looking down into the register trying to find the coin with dad. This message really caught the attention of a little boy. I am not sure how old Jim was at the time but he was three years older than me so he was probably 5 or 6. I don't know if I actually remember this message or just remember my mom and dad talking about it. I am guessing at Jim's age but much older than this he probably wouldn't have done it.
THE PINNING OF THE FLOWERS
Dad used to tell this story about the pinning on of the flowers. He said when he was at Highland Baptist Church they decided to have an appreciation day. They had a big tub full of Gladiolas and if there was anyone in the service that meant something to you or was special you were to show your love to them by pinning one of the Gladiolas on that person. By the way my dad loved Gladiolas. So people began to come and start pinning the flowers on my dad and he said by the time they were all finished he was nothing but a walking Gladiola that he was pinned from head to foot with flowers. And then he went on to tell the rest of the story. He said in just a few months they pinned him again with just the pin's and no flowers. Stuck them all over his body. Of course this second pinning didn't physically happen but this showed how the church could turn on a pastor that a little while before they had shown nothing but love for.
THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL SON
The story of the prodigal son was one of my favorite memories. And I personally remember being at the tent revival where this happened. This particular time the tent was set up down around Valley View area. My dad was preaching on this scripture. "And he said, A certain man had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living." Luke 15:11-12. He preached about how the father divided and gave to his son what he asked for. The son then took everything his dad had given him and wasted it with riotous living. After he spent it all there was a famine and he began to be in want. "And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed the swine." Luke 15:15. Now this is where the action came in. My dad disappeared out of the tent. He went around behind the tent still preaching all the while and when he came back inside the tent he had his shirt sleeves rolled up, shirt tail hanging out, pants rolled up almost to his knees, shoes and socks off, hair ruffled and carrying a 'slop' bucket. He was feeding the swine. " And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat; and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger? I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee." Luke 15:16-18. You can read the rest of the story from Luke but this was the part that pertained to the story I had to tell.
CLIMBING THE TENT POLE
This story was also set in a tent revival. Dad was preaching on this scripture, "And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zaccheus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zaccheus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully." Luke 19: 1-6 As you know a tent is set up with poles down through the center and then along the sides. Well when dad preached on this scripture he climbed to the top of one of the center poles preaching all the time he was climbing and while he was at the top of the pole. My dad at his heaviest weight was 147 pounds and he was less than 6 feet tall. He had no problem shimmying up and down that pole. While I am on the subject of dad's weight I will tell you about when he weighed. Dad worked downtown at a place called Albers Drug Company. He would go to the S&W Cafeteria for lunch. When you stepped inside of the S&W just before you would go down the stairs there sat a big scale. Everyone weighed on either them or the ones in front of Woodruffs Furniture Store. But my dad would always step on those scales and here they would go 147. I guess it was all of that physical activity when he was preaching that kept his weight down.
THE MUSTARD SEED
One day we were going to a revival somewhere up Rutledge Pike and my dad wanted to stop at the store to get some Mustard Seed. One of the boys that worked in there knew my dad and he said, "Preacher I know what you are going to preach on tonight." Sure enough my dad gave out mustard seeds to everyone in the service as he preached on this scripture, "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief; for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Matthew 17:20.
TRUE VINE
I had not heard this before but Charlie Lynch told it in one of his messages. He said someone told him that dad was walking to Highland Baptist Church down through the woods (we walked to church a lot because it was probably about 1/2 mile) and he pulled up a vine. During his message they said Dad would whip the pulpit with the vine. Since I don't have any more detail than that I will assume he took his message from John 15:1-2, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away;and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit."
RIDING IN THE CAR TRUNK
I don't remember this but my sisters June and Phyllis said they remembered riding in the trunk of the car because dad would load the car up with people to take to church. There was a thing kinda like the one that used to hold the hood of the car up that would hold up the trunk. I guess after the front and back seats were full the rest were loaded into the trunk. Some of us may have rode there when we weren't picking up other people because there were 10 of us. Mom and Dad and 8 kids and there was always some neighbors kids at our house.
THE GOSPEL SHOES
My dad only had one pair of shoes. One Sunday afternoon he had a baptizing and wore his shoes into the water. My mom trying to be the helpful wife that she was put them in the oven to dry out before service that night. Well putting a pair of wet shoes in the oven is not a very good idea. The next thing she knew the shoes had turned toes up. Having to preach that night my dad had to do something about some shoes. Now my dad just wore a 7.5 size shoe. His cousin Ernest Warwick lived next door so he asked Ernest to borrow his shoes. Now Ernest wore a much larger shoe probably at least a 10 or larger. My dad said when he preached that night he could see the shoes coming around the pulpit before he got there.
HOW POOR CAN A PERSON BE?
While we are on the subject of shoes my dad used to tell us all the time that when him and mama were first married they were so poor that his shoes were so thin that he could step on a dime and tell whether it was heads or tails. And my mama would just say "now Ed."
THE SPECKLED EGG
This is one of my all time favorite tales about my dad. If you remember my dad always sat at the end of the table or I guess you would call it the head of the table and he could look across the table out the double side windows. He sat there many, many times not just at meal time but to read the paper or his Bible or to talk to mama when she was cooking. When I picture him I can see him sitting there at the end of the table. Well one day he was sitting there at the table and he said "Conilee, I would sure like to have a chocolate pie. My mama was always in the kitchen cooking and the dining room joined the kitchen with a large opening between the two. I guess you could really consider it one room. My mom said "Ed I would make you a chocolate pie but I don't have any eggs." He sat there a little while longer and he said, "Come here Conilee I want you to watch me out the window." So my mom watched my dad go out of the house and around to the side yard and laying right in the middle of the yard was an egg. Now the wonder or miracle of this was the fact that we had no chickens. Our neighbors on the right had red chickens and the neighbors on the left had white chickens but this was a speckled egg. Not knowing which neighbor it belonged to my dad knew God had sent him the egg so he could have a chocolate pie because if it had been a brown egg he would of had to return it to the neighbors that their chickens laid brown eggs or if it had been white to the neighbors that their chickens laid white eggs. But no it was a speckled egg. So my mom made my dad the chocolate pie.
PRAYING FOR GAS
As most of you know we were always poor as far as money was concerned. We never went without a roof over our head or food on our table but it was week to week survival. So most of the time we had very little money. Well my dad was holding a revival in Newport and it had been going on all week and it was now Friday and he was not only out of money but he was out of gas for the car. So he was sitting on the front porch praying and asking God to provide some way for him to get to church that night because he knew if he could get there it was Friday night and they always took up a love offering for the Evangelist on Friday night and he would be able to get gas to come home. As he sat there in the old swing on the porch he was looking out over the field across the road that belonged to the Reeser family. This was quite a large field and it joined a patch of woods. On the other side of the woods was Ritta School and Stoffel's Dairy. Across this field and down through those woods was our route many times to school. Dad was looking at the field and the tall grass began to wiggle a little. The grass would get quite tall because they would use it for hay. The movement in the grass kept getting closer and closer and finally a boy and girl appeared out of the high grass. They came up to the porch where my dad was sitting and said, "we heard you were a preacher." Dad told them yes he was and they went on to tell him that they lived down in the Stoffel's Dairy houses and had got their license and needed someone to marry them. So my dad married them and they gave him $2 and he got gas and went to the revival at Newport. I never knew the name of this couple and my dad didn't keep any records of marriages or funerals or salvation's but I know God knew their names because he had sent them.
TALKING ABOUT MARRIAGE AND MONEY
While we are on the subject of marriage I will never forget this couple that my dad married at the house and when he had finished marrying them the groom called my dad into the other room and my dad went assuming he wanted to pay him for doing the ceremony. Low and behold he didn't want to pay him but asked him if he had $10 he could borrow. I can't remember if my dad gave it to him or not but it was funny and we talked about it forever.
He also married a couple and the groom passed out. Several years after that my dad would say he should of left him passed out because they ended up getting a divorce.
MEMORIES FROM MARY
These memories were sent to me by my sister Mary. I will write them as she remembered.
1. When daddy would preach about the rain he would get up on top of something and pull his pant legs up because Elijah had seen a little cloud in the sky and knew the rain was coming.
2. And the next thing I can think of is when he would preach about the knock on the side of the house every Sunday morning. A man kept coming to invite him to Sunday School and Church over and over and they got back in church. That was when they lived in town. (Sue's note: before mom and dad moved to Edmondson Road in 1941 they lived on Oak Hill Avenue over in the Lonsdale area. They went to Grove City Baptist Church when they lived there.)
3. The other thing was when he preached about the "Passover". He would pretend that he put the blood above the door and the lentils.
_________________________________________________________________________________ At this time no one else has given me any stories or memories that I have not already written about. If they do I will edit the post and add them. So to end this blog I will say:
MY DAD DIED IN DECEMBER OF 1972 AT 62 YEARS OF AGE. HE HAS NOW BEEN GONE FOR ALMOST 44 YEARS AND "THEY ARE STILL TALKING ABOUT IT"
