“Hold Such Men in Esteem”

by Bryan Gibson

February 20, 2009

We should never exalt men too highly (1 Corinthians 3), but certain men (or women), because of their labor in the Lord, should be acknowledged (1 Corinthians 16:18), or held in esteem (Philippians 2:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:13). The following is about a man that I hold in high esteem.

His life began on June 20, 1933, when he was born in Bell Creek, an Indian community in Escambia County, Alabama. His new life began in his early 20’s when he was converted to the Lord. His conversion was identical to those in the Book of Acts. He heard the gospel, which not only produced faith in his heart, but also convicted him of his sins (Acts 2:36-37; 8:12). He repented of his sins (Acts 2:38; 3:19), confessed his faith in Jesus (Acts 8:36-37), and was then baptized in the name of Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 8:12; 18:8; 22:16).

A few years after his conversion, he and his wife, along with several other families, became very disturbed over the practices of their local church. Things were being done for which there was no authority in the New Testament, and when efforts to resolve their differences with the other brethren failed, they decided to begin a new congregation—one that would be dedicated to following the New Testament pattern. What other churches around them were doing mattered none to them; they were determined to go back to “the beginning” (1 John 2:24) for everything they did. Thanks to him and a number of other fine Christians, that church has remained firm in that commitment to this day.

His dedication to the word of God continued to grow through his adult years. He was by no means a polished speaker, but he preached whenever needed, and took regular turns teaching Bible classes in the local church. He determined early on to spend at least four hours studying before he taught a particular class. He did this, despite working a full-time job at a paper mill, running a small farm, gardening, picking up pecans, and working various side jobs at different times. Maybe that explains why he took his Bible to work with him, and to the deer stand in his later years. He wasn’t a highly educated man, but he was determined to learn the word, and that’s exactly what he did (1 Peter 2:1-3).

“Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39) was exemplified by him in a variety of ways. He looked out for his brethren in Christ, even more so when he became an elder in his later years. He took very good care of both his immediate family and his extended family. He was good to his co-workers, to the people in his community, and to the many young boys he coached in Little League and Babe Ruth. He wasn’t the syrupy, sentimental kind; he wasn’t much on hugs and sweet words, but he demonstrated the love of Christ in many practical ways (1 John 3:16-18). Several people even remarked that he was like a “second father” to them.

One of the ironies about this man was that although he was a man of few words, he said what needed to be said. Perhaps he was a little too blunt at times; maybe he didn’t always season his speech with salt (Colossians 4:6), but he didn’t want people to be lost, and so if he needed to say something to get someone back on the right track, he said it. It must have been effective, because a number of people came back to thank him for the warnings he gave.

Some of you may have already figured it out, but this man was my father. He passed from this life on December 2, 2007, but he has not passed from my memory. He taught me a lot, and even though he is dead, he is still teaching me today (Hebrews 11:4). I hold him and other men like him in high esteem.