How is that for a boring title!
But, I assure you, I’ve got some incredible memories tied to my organizer.
This afternoon, I was in Louisville at a Kentucky Baptist Convention conference. At the conclusion, I was introduced to some 20-somethings by a mutual friend. One of them asked me where I purchased my organizer. A boatload of memories flooded my mind as I gave them a brief answer.
In August 1994, I was in seminary in Memphis and started attending Bellevue Baptist Church. I had heard much about it, and its pastor (Adrian Rogers) from my former pastor in Lexington, Kentucky (Hershael York).
Soon after joining the church, I heard that they were looking for an assistant to the Military Minister. I have never served in the military (wish I had), but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to apply for the position. I got an interview and was hired. My duties required me to oversee Bellevue’s outreach to military personnel in Millington.
My new boss, Bill Hendry, was a former Marine and was disciplined with a capital “D.” As he welcomed me to his team, he told me that if I purchased a Franklin Quest binder, he would supply the first year of the “innards” (monthly dividers, daily pages, goal pages, etc.). I went to the local Franklin Quest store and paid about $100 for a leather binder.
That leather binder got started in 1995. And today, thirty-one years later, I’m still using it. It is showing signs of wear, but I have so many memories of using this at Bellevue that I just can’t get rid of it as long as it’s still usable.
So, what is so special about my time at Bellevue from 1994-1997? Let me share just a few of the special memories. First, I loved my pastor. Pastor Adrian Rogers was a man on fire. He was passionate about Jesus, about the Word, about evangelism, about achieving great things for God, and so much more.
Yes, I was on staff, but it was a very low-end staff position. They called those of us who were seminary students who worked part-time at the church “Work-shippers.” I only met Pastor Rogers one time. I wish I had reached out to him to see if I could have about 30 minutes or so for some questions for him. I’m absolutely certain he would have given me that time.
On one occasion, while I was working at Bellevue, his car was in the shop, so he asked a group of “Work-shippers” (unfortunately, not my group) if one of them would drive him to his meetings that day. He could have easily gotten transportation, but he loved young preacher boys (he called us “embryonic theologs”), and enjoyed helping them any way he could. So, one of the guys got to spend quite a few hours with Pastor Rogers that day.
If I’m not mistaken, he pastored 5 churches. His fifth was his final. He was called to be the pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in 1972. Under his ministry, the church exploded in growth, moved from downtown Memphis to its current location in Cordova, TN, engaged in untold ministries, and so much more. His preaching and his leadership drew crowds and was so contagious!
I remember the Sunday (next picture) well. It was August 4, 1996. Dr. Rogers was out of town. He was on the board at Focus on the Family so he took periodic trips to Colorado. All I know is that he invited a pastor from Alabama, who I did not know, to preach that Sunday. When you get used to listening to Pastor Rogers preach, everyone else is boring … except the pastor who preached that Sunday. His name was Steve Gaines. As Pastor Rogers invited Steve back to preach 2-3 times during my tenure at Bellevue, I couldn’t help but wonder if Pastor Rogers was grooming him to be the next pastor at Bellevue. My hunch was correct because Steve Gaines became Bellevue’s next pastor upon Pastor Rogers’ retirement.
The picture below is from the broadcast of that Sunday’s sermon. I drew a red circle to show where I sat each Sunday with the military personnel who came from Millington. We always sat in the first two rows. However, you will never see me or the military guys and gals in the audience if you watch videos from that time period. The videos were always from the first service and I always attended the second service (after Sunday School).
When Steve Gaines came that Sunday, I had been dating Kim for about 4 months. By December 1996, I was certain she was the one I wanted to marry. So, she came with a group from her singles Sunday School class from Ashland Avenue Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. They came to see Bellevue’s Singing Christmas tree performance. Tens of thousands of people would show up each December to watch a Disney-level theatrical performance that always ended with a three story tall Christmas tree, packed with a hundred or so youth and adults singing Christmas songs.
After the Singing Christmas Tree performance on December 14, 1996, I knelt down in front of Kim under the cold night sky on Bellevue’s front lawn and asked her to marry me.
A few months later, on April 13, 1997, Kim and I stood near the spot where I proposed to her. In a month, I would leave Bellevue as Kim and I would marry and start our life together as Husband and Wife in Lexington, Kentucky.
Pastor Rogers had another book that had recently come out (Spring 1997), and he sat down at a table in one of the church hallways to sign books. The line was long, and I couldn’t wait. Fortunately, a friend of mine got him to sign his book for me.
On occasion, we went back to Bellevue for the Singing Christmas Tree. In the picture below, we went in December 1998. It was two years after I proposed to Kim after one of these performances and we had been married a year and a half at this point.
In June 2017, Kim and I spent a few days in Memphis. While there, we stood at the spot near where I proposed to her. We like to think that they planted the beautiful trees and bushes in that spot to commemorate the event. LOL
Well, there you have it. The organizer I had with me today is the organizer that I purchased and started using while I was on staff at Bellevue Baptist Church.
There are so many other wonderful stories from my time at that place, but time doesn’t allow me to share any more right now. But this is why I just can’t give up my 31-year-old organizer. It reminds me of some very, very special times in my past.
Matt’s Musings 