Men of God Part 7

As I sat and read over the past 6 Men of God blog posts that I have made, I suddenly realized that I have left out 3 of the most influential Pastors that have been in my life. All 3 of these have went on to be with Jesus now but the impact they had on my life will remain with me forever.

Preacher Edd Spencer - Preacher Spencer was my grandfather on my mother's side. Back in the 50’s and 60’s, my papaw, James Edward Spencer, was one of the most popular preachers in all of Knox County, heck maybe even East, TN. I called him “Paw.” He was a tall, lanky man, filled with the Spirit of God. He preached hell-fire and damnation, but he also preached of God’s love and forgiveness. One thing that made his sermons great was his showy antics. For example, when he preached of the Prodigal Son, he would open the side door of the church and call out as if the long lost son was out there somewhere; he also got down on his hands and knees and ate from an imaginary hog’s troft. To demonstrate Zacchaeus climbing up in a tree to see Jesus, papaw would climb in the window seal of the church or scale a revival tent pole. In 1942, Paw was one of the original founders of Highland Baptist Church where he also pastored 2 different times for a total of 9-years. Then, 12 years later, in 1954, he founded North Acres Baptist Church, where he preached for 19 years, right up until his death. Still to this day when people find out that I am Preacher Spencer's grandson, they start telling me of all the times they listened to him and how they considered him their favorite preacher. I've got one of my papaw's sermons uploaded on the internet and you can listen to him preach a message titled, "Neglect So Great Salvation," just click HERE. 

Preacher Adral Glenn Hall Sr. - My Great Uncle Adral was a little more “citified” than my papaw Spencer was. His sermons were a little more relaxed and he was softer spoken. I don’t recall hearing any “hell-fire and brimstone” messages from him; however, I wasn’t present in as many his services as I was Paw’s. Uncle Adral pastored several churches; the one that I remember the most was Elm Street Baptist church in Knoxville. That is where I accepted Christ as my Savior. It was during Vacation Bible School, back in 1972, I was 6-years old. I remember sitting through the preaching service and it came time for the invitation. Everyone was standing and singing, “Just As I Am.” My heart was pounding out of my chest; I was gripping the pew in front of me so hard that my fingers were hurting. I had been feeling conviction for quite some time but this time was more than I could stand. I heard uncle Adral beckon, “If you are out there and you are lost, don’t put it off any longer…come. If you leave here tonight without being saved, you don’t have the guarantee that you will ever get the opportunity again…come.” All of a sudden I felt the chains just fall from my shoulders. I practically ran up to the front. I was bawling my head off and it was right there on that altar, with my uncle Adral’s arms wrapped around me, that I uttered the sinner’s prayer and accepted Christ as my Savior. Never before had I felt such relief. Uncle Adral passed away on January 10, 1999. Now all I have to remember him by are my memories and a grave marker in Union Cemetery. I visit his gravesite occasionally and wonder if he would be proud of me today, or if I would be a disappointment. I wish that I had spent more time with him during his last days. Unfortunately, I don't have any of Uncle Adral's sermons to share, I sure wish that I did. 

Preacher Jamie Porterfield - Pastor Jamie is the man that I call "my pastor." He was the Pastor at House Mountain Baptist Church where my family and I attended. Jamie was one of the most talented singers you have ever heard and he could have made a living professionally singing. But not only was he a great singer, he was a great preacher and pastor. He always preached with great compassion in his sermons. Jamie took interest in me and would go out of his way to help me in my Spiritual walk. It was he that taught me how to lead congregational music and conduct a choir. He worked with me on how to keep proper time with my hands through all of the different time signatures. He would give me pointers and correct me when I would do something wrong. He always stressed that I needed to lead the songs with my heart and he gave me books that told the stories behind the hymns. He encouraged me to read the books and find out why the authors wrote them. It was during Jamie's pastorship that I received the call to preach. He encouraged me all of the time. He saw potential in me and would give me opportunities to preach. I will never forget the night we got the terrible phone call telling us that Jamie's 19-year old son, Joe, had fallen asleep while driving and had died in a car accident. Jamie and his wife Judy were so distraught. I took it upon myself to try and lead the church during this difficult time. One night we all drove to Jamie's house and stood in the driveway and prayed. He came outside and even in his grief and mourning, he told me how much he appreciated me and thanked me for stepping up. Jamie resigned from House Mountain shortly after that and went on to pastor at a Church in South Knoxville. I only saw Jamie one more time after he left our Church and he helped me tremendously with a struggle I was going through. Just three years later, at only 49-years old, Pastor Jamie passed away from cancer. He has been gone now for 11-years at the time of this writing but I still think of him nearly every day. He had a lasting impact upon my life. I loved him and miss him but I know I'll see my pastor again one of these days. I"ve got one of Pastor Jamie's sermons uploaded on the internet that you can listen to. It is titled, "Be Still and Know that I AM God," you can listen to it HERE. 

If you are interested, you can read the other 6 blog posts I have made of Men of God by clicking HERE.

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Earnestly desire your prayers

There are so many emotions going through my head. I feel overwhelmed, excited, nervous, and unworthy. Last night at church, the members voted on putting me in as interim pastor. I've already been fulfilling the position since July 5 of this year but they made it official last night. It has always been my heart's desire to pastor but really never thought it would be at my church. I've had several offers from other churches to pastor but the Lord just wasn't leading me to accept any of them. I was glad He worked it out to be this way because I have a love for the people there and a desire to minister to the needs of the community around the church. My grandfather, Ed Spencer, knew there was a need back in 1942 and the Lord lead him to build the church. If there was a need then, there is even a greater need now.

I know it's going to be a long hard road. I've been in and around church work all of my life and I know it's no bed of roses. I just pray for the Lord's strength and wisdom to lead me in being the best Shepherd that I can be for the people. I desire the prayers of those that can get through to God. I'm not looking for any hollow promises from people that don't pray, I need those that will sincerely pray and petition God on my behalf. I need those that can pray like Elias that are mentioned in James 5:16-18:  

16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

So, if you are looking for a church to visit, why not come out and try Highland Baptist? If you need information about the church just visit our website. You might want to check out the "first time visitors information" as well.

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A little church history from my granny Spencer

This short 4.5 minute clip is part of a video that was shot at the home of Arpie Fowler on November 2, 1986 during a Spencer Family gathering. This is my granny, Mrs. J. Edd Spencer, telling the history of how my grandfather, Rev. Edd Spencer, along with some other folks, established Highland Baptist Church.

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Delivering souls from hell, one holly bush at a time!

"Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell." - Proverbs 23:13-14 KJV

This morning on my way to the dentist, I noticed how beautiful the Holly bush is that is growing outside of my front door. Then some old memories smacked me right upside the head and caused me to shudder, read on...

I grew up in church. My grandfather, Rev. Edd Spencer, was the founder and Pastor of North Acres Baptist church. That is where we went up until he passed away in 1972. So, my memories go all the way back to when I was 5 or 6 years old. Where I come from, we take the Bible literally. I was taught this from a very early age. The above Scripture from Proverbs doesn't beat around the bush (no pun intended). I remember as a young boy sitting on the church pew, 3rd row from the front, on the left hand side of the church. My sister, Pam, and I would sit toward the middle and my mother and Granny Spencer would sit toward the wall. Granny was the church pianist so she would sit on the end so she could slip in and out easily. My mother kept a pretty close eye on me in church, making sure I didn't act out or cause embarrassment to myself or anyone else. If I started moving around too much or talked or giggled, she would be quick to look over at me with a stern look. That was her sign that I needed to settle down. If I kept on acting up, she would make me sit between her and Granny. If I didn't behave while sitting between mom and Granny, both of them would reach over and pinch my leg REAL hard and threaten me with; "you better settle yourself down or I'll wear you out with a limb off of that holly bush!" You would think I would have learned my lesson, but, nooooo. At that point, a kick of the bench in front of me, a look behind me at somebody, or a giggling glance toward my sister meant I was really going to get it. "Okay big boy, you asked for it, let's go outside!" That's when mom would drag my little degenerate hind-end down the aisle and out the front door of the church.

I don't know if you have ever had Proverbs 23:14 enacted on your backside with a Holly bush limb, but brother let me tell you, a pair of thin polyester Sunday britches doesn't offer much protection! I can't remember how many times I received a butt blistering in the churchyard but I know it was more than once. I've always had a deep respect and silent hatred for the Holly bush ever since. The good Lord only knows why I planted one of those blasted things outside the front door of my house!

I've never had to resort to a Holly bush beating on any of my kids, but they've had their share of discipline. You won't catch any of them acting out in church! I see and hear kids and teenagers at my church talking during the service, laughing, cutting up, walking around, etc.. and it astounds me that they don't have any respect for the church and the service, especially during altar call. When I was a kid, if I had made a peep during altar call (other than praying), I would have had hell fire and brimstone rained down on me! I think some kids today could use a little old fashioned Proverbs administered through the loving limb of a Holly bush. Who knows, it might just deliver their souls from hell!

This post has been a re-post taken from my Tug's Life blog.

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For all you listeners out there in radio land...

I was tickled to death to get my hands on an old cassette tape of my papaw, Edd Spencer, doing a WKXV radio broadcast back in 1954. I'm not sure where my aunt June got the tape but she loaned it to my mother and I brought it home and connected my stereo to my computer and used some audio editing software to clean up the tape hiss and voila! I am amazed at how good this tape sounds after 55-years! As a bonus feature, there is a quartet that sings on it and my other papaw, Lorn Chesney, is singing the bass part in it. Man, this is the kind of thing I live for!

Well, enough of my blabbering, if you want to listen to the broadcast, just click on the play link below:

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