From Hall To Gothard

I could have a bit of fun with the title, but no,it has little if anything to do with sports or a law firm  or politics. It refers to pastors, from my first to my current. You can learn quite a lot about my current pastor who is listed on my blogroll. And  I would invite you to do do. As for the others, that will take  a little time and space.

I have only referred briefly to my various pastors but thought it might be  interesting to do so in more depth. First, some general info and guidelines. The term pastor refers to men who led a church that we attended or I attended as members. As  has been the case in recent years we have not officially joined the churches we have regularly attended but these pastors still make the grade.

I was interested to note that there are 11 names but 12 people on my list, on e being there twice, like Grover Cleveland. With the exception of the last 2, all were older than I when I was under their ministry. Several came from Tennessee(don’t know what that says) and  a couple  from South Carolina. One played minor league baseball and one has an inexplicable attachment to the Detroit Tigers. Two were independent Baptists, two were Assembly of God,  six were Southern Baptist and one was non-denominational.

I have learned and grown spiritually under most of them, some more than others. I counted two of them as very dear friends, each of which was  a minister to me in a difficult time of life.

• Rev. Odell Hall – Bethel Baptist Church- Eden, NC
• Rev Eugene Wood           “                                       “
• Rev. Harry Wood-  First  Baptist Church – Eden, NC
• Dr     Ken     Altom                 “                                       “
• Dr     Harry  Smith                “                                        “
• Rev.   Bob Potts                     “                                      Columbus, GA
• Dr       Harry  Smith              “                                        Eden, NC
• Dr       Cris Cannon                “                                                 “
• Dr       Phil  Cooley                “                                         Salisbury, NC
• Rev    Glynn  Dickens         Rowan Christian Assembly- Salisbury, NC
• Rev  Clay Manos                  New Life Assembly of God- Elizabeth City, NC
• Rev   Mike Gothard            New Community Church- Elizabeth City, NC

I owe a spiritual debt to each of these individuals . Having said that, I will attempt to explore in the coming days  what I  have gleaned from these men and what I think one should realistically expect from ones pastor.

Shalom!

Madonna the Political

During the presidential campaign there already have been and will continue to be many voices seeking to persuade us to vote this way or that way and for a multitude of reasons . An unexpected one has joined the fray so to speak and defines our choices in a very stark comparison . Yes , it’s Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie , well known singer, songwriter and political adviser ? ( she did play Eva Peron in a movie, I think ) . The fifty year old entertainer (yikes ) is currently on tour in England and will proceed elsewhere , I suppose . Her show featured a video juxtaposing John McCain, dictator Robert Mugabe and Hitler who seems to be many people’s favorite Republican comparison . And, in the other corner the video gave us  John Lennon, algore , Ghandi and Barack Obama . So there you have it . Madonna has presented  two groups  of well known individuals – past and present,  and allowed us the privilege of drawing our own conclusions . As a aside , CBS newsman Harry Smith chose to mention that she really looked good and must have been working out a great deal .  It seems that the singer and Mr Smith share the same apartment building in New York and he had seen a number of personal trainers coming and going . Momentous  indeed . Thanks Ms Ritchie for your unsolicited political advise. We will take it under advisement .