The Clarion Call: Decade #2B

7/7/2020

Something about a Saturday night conversation must have resurfaced this morning as a Neil Diamond song came rolling through about 4:30am. We had a discussion about his acting in The Jazz Singer, and about the storyline, about a young Jewish singer who didn’t want to follow tradition and become a Cantor. Today, the SIMH was one of Neil’s hits:”Holly Holy.” He said of this song he was trying to show a spiritual connection between “a man and a woman instead of between a man and a god.” He missed it a bit. It was very well done, borrows phrases from the bible and he used a church choir as backup, but he missed it a bit, primarily because the real God of the Universe was not what he was talking about. Just another SIMH.

Carrying on into our 2nd decade of married life: from January, 1974 on, we were involved in continuing bible study. We learned about the method God wrote down (through His Apostle Paul), a practice that cannot fail to teach us the Lord’s plan. It is referred to by Paul in his instruction to the young Timothy whom he knew would be carrying the work of the Lord on after his demise. He told Timothy, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”-2 Tim.2:15. When we saw these simple words and desired to be able to say we were “rightly dividing” instead of “wrongly dividing,” we truly began to understand the plan of God for the time frame in which we lived.

From then on many changes came our way. The business which I had started in Anniston (which was already being ill-affected by the “oil-crisis” non-crisis) fell into worse shape than I could get a grip on and I was forced to close it in April, 1974. That didn’t deter personal bible study. After closing, I found a job which I was good at, but for reasons I will not bore you with, I only kept that job for one week after training. That didn’t deter personal bible study. I found another job which was about as boring as a box of rocks and required considerable driving. The miles on the road gave me quite a lot of time to listen to cassette tapes of the bible, different preachers, many radio programs—almost like another college education! Especially since it was more like an informal “seminary!” That didn’t deter personal bible study. Nothing took time away from personal bible study! It was somewhere along about August of 1974 that I became aware of my lifelong intended commitment to the word of God and the overwhelming desire to teach and preach what I believed. Hard to explain, but I knew I must become a preacher.

Looking back on that decision, it came about solely through a continual mental insistence that I speak (“we also believe, and therefore we speak”-2 Cor.4:13): speaking of the Word of God. Having seen through most of my life, but specifically the 10 years from when I trusted the Lord for salvation, that church-isms, 4 points and a sad poem sermons, or long “altar calls” and invitational pleas did not truly show anyone the plan God had for their lives in the way four or five “rightly dividing the word of truth” bible classes would make it known.

So, I knew I was going to preach and teach the bible. I didn’t know where or how or to whom, but it was my sole intention from then on. Still is. Retire? Not a chance. The Lord knows when my last day in this life is, but I see no reason at all to be deterred from the purpose the Lord had when He followed up the “study” instructions to Timothy (and all us little Timothys) by saying to us, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”—2 Tim.4:2. The next verse explains that there will be a day when men will not receive the truth, will seek to just be pacified and hear fun stuff; will be unable to accept rebuke and want mostly “pablum” for their spiritual food. I think we’re almost there, folks. Not many want to know what God said about the stuff we see in this world.

So, with that decision made, late in the Summer of 1974, I started a bible class which was for the most part, a disaster. Thankfully, I was among a couple of good friends and some family and they didn’t shout me down or throw me out. And, discouraged by the experience of how poor I was at it, yet not one single that of forgetting about doing it. And, even that, didn’t deter personal bible study!

By November of ’74, I really was not doing a good job for the folks I worked for and my friend John Sanford had gone to work for a franchisor of pizza restaurants. He said, “Come go to work for me.” I said I don’t know anything about the restaurant business. He said, “Neither do I, we’ll learn it together!” So I did. Life changed radically, once again. 

Restaurants require time, I mean lots of time. Lots and lots of time, especially if you know very little about the business. We moved to Birmingham, I was put in charge of the “company owned” 5 restaurants. About the time I was getting comfortable, the company took back 5 more restaurants from failing franchisees and guess who became their supervisor? Yep, the novice Jerry! What a travesty. But, John said keep doing it, you’re doing fine, these stores are doing so poorly they’ll look good just because you get them cleaned up! So, we hired some trustworthy people to manage them, turned a couple of them around and put up with the rest of them.

I learned many things on that job, I learned how to talk with people (mostly employees) about the Lord without intimidating them or being over-bearing (I really needed to learn that one—I was so sure I was right I just bowled people over! That’s not good, not good.)

But other things I learned—here’s a short list: I learned to public speak; I learned to train people about detail work, patiently; I learned the pattern of the executive mind (I had to constantly deal with the top three of the company, luckily one was my friend who hired me.) I also learned office politics!?! An altogether different subject which is best avoided. 

So, somewhere in the middle of the second decade of our married life, Barb and I had come from Trafalgar, IN, to Birmingham, AL and with our 3 children growing up so fast, we were hanging on, hanging on, mostly to the Lord our salvation in more than one way.

More to come, hope it isn’t boring.

Thanks for reading, the Elder