When I grow up, I wanna be like...

Have you ever had someone in your life that you always said you wished you could be like? I'm not talking about some movie star or famous singer or anything like that. I mean just someone that you know or have met that you admired and wished that you could be more like them. Maybe have some of their redeeming qualities? Well, I've had a few such folks in my life. Let me tell you about one of them.

I've often written about my grandfather, Rev. Edd Spencer. As you probably have read on here before, he was the founder and pastor at both Highland Baptist Church and North Acres Baptist during his lifetime. Surprise, surprise, this post isn't about my grandfather, it's about another preacher.

My first memories of Rev. Charlie Lynch start way back when I was just a little boy. Charlie was the pastor at Highland Baptist for 10-years, between 1975 and 1985. The pictures on this post are from Highland's 1984 church directory. It was the year before he would leave to pastor North Acres Baptist church for 21-years. It always seemed to me that preacher Charlie was following in my grandfather's footsteps. I used to love to hear Charlie preach. The funny thing is, he never was my actual pastor. We didn't belong to either of those churches during the times he was pastoring them. But, anytime I was looking for a church to visit I would always find my way over to where he was at.

There is a song in the old red back church hymnal that is one of my very favorites in the whole world. It is on page 16 and it's title is, "I Know He Heard My Prayer." I will always remember sitting in North Acres Baptist church and the choir was singing that song. Brother Charlie was standing up there and he was singing along and big tears were streaming down his face. He was praising God and rejoicing, I don't think he even knew there was another person in the whole church besides him and God. I have loved that song ever since then and have always wanted to teach it to one of my choirs. I haven't found a choir yet that has been able to do it. We are always missing a part, whether it is good strong leads or the basses. I'm sure I'll never be pleased with any of them anyway because I'll always be comparing them to the way I remember it from when I was a kid.

Charlie always has a way of making you feel special. He has a big grin that stretches from ear to ear. Kind of reminds me of when Andy Griffith grins, it just takes up his whole face and looks so genuine. Charlie is a tall man, I'd guess around 6' 4. He towers above my short little 5'9 frame when I am beside him. Anytime I have ever met him, without fail, he'll stick out his hand, spread that big grin across his face and welcome me like an old friend. He always has something nice to say about my wife and children. He always tells me how lucky I am to have such a beautiful family. He usually says something funny like, "how in the world did you ever talk her into marrying you?" or something along those lines. I guess that's one of the things makes him so good at being a pastor. I've always admired Charlie's wife, Kathy, as well. She is always so nice and hospitable. Always faithfully there along with Charlie. I guess in my mind they are what I think of when I think of a good pastor and pastor's wife.

I've told my wife for years that if I die early, I want brother Charlie to preside over my funeral. It seems like he has preached the funerals of an awful lot of my acquaintances and loved ones that have went on. I guess the one that I remember most is my granny Spencer's. I'll never forget how loving and gracious Charlie was to my family during that time. He stood over her casket and spoke directly to us with such humbleness. I've also heard him at other funerals. One in particular was Paul Haire's funeral that he preached last year. The compassion that he had for the Haire family was overwhelming. I sat back about 4 pews from them and watched them as brother Charlie preached and talked about how Mr. Haire was such a hero. I remember wondering to myself if I would ever be able to handle a funeral service as eloquently as he can.

I guess it seems kind of odd to write about someone like this while they are still living. I doubt Charlie would ever stumble across my little corner of the blogosphere though. I certainly wouldn't want to embarrass him or anything, I've just had him on my mind a lot and felt the need to write about it. I don't know if I'll ever have as great of a ministry as he has had. I sure wish I could be more like him though.