A Tribute to My Dad

In the year 1944 an average price of a new home cost only $3,450.00. You could visit the locally owned grocery store and purchase a loaf of bread for ten cents. You could purchase twenty-five gallons of gasoline for what the average price of one gallon of gas costs today.

Also something else, with less recognition, was happening in a little South Georgia (USA) country church called “Dunn Chapel.” It was a cool March evening and you could hear Ms. Lelia Graham, the church organist, bearing down on the old pipe organ as the congregation sang Amazing Grace. When the evangelist, C. T. Piper, gave the “altar call” a 15-year-old lad in tattered jeans (worn out of necessity and not because of style) was among many that responded to the call. This event didn't make history books, but somewhere beyond cyberspace, there is a record of this revival service.

This lad wrote later, "When I knelt at the altar in a little county church called Dunn Chapel, He (Jesus) washed away my sins... Something got hold of me that night and it was the Lord. I didn't have any money in my pocket but Jesus took me just as I am." 

The 15-year-old boy later in the week accepted the call to preach and his pastor, J. W. Roland, encouraged him to pursue the call on his life. This started a new journey for this young lad.  At the age of 16, this young lad was licensed and commissioned by his church to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. (Bishop J. H. King of the IPHC presented his credentials during a conference in Elberton, GA. Rev. W.J. Nash was Conference Superintendent of the Georgia Conference IPHC.) 

Billy Lamb
Emmanuel College Campus

He later attended Emmanuel College in northeast Georgia. His family had limited funds to send him to college so he returned home shortly afterwards. But he did not allow this to stop him from pursuing the call to preach the gospel. He served faithfully as an evangelist and later as a pastor for over 50 years of ministry. This man was my dad, my mentor, and my best friend!

I watched him as he worked bi-vocationally, working to provide for his family and serving as a Senior\Lead Pastor. He taught me many things including how to play ball, fish, and drive. I never felt that I mastered any of the things that he taught me. If you have been fishing with me, played ball, or rode with me, you might agree. Some would even say, "A jack at all trades, but a master of none." 

However, one thing I do feel I mastered, that I learned from my dad, and that is how to respect others. He taught me how to always treat others, as I would want to be treated. He taught me how to love God and love people, and that without one you can't have the other. It goes back to what Jesus said:

"You must love the Lord your Go with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:38, 39 NLT).  

I am thankful for a Christian heritage, that includes loving God and loving people. I am thankful for being taught the importance of knowing God, loving family and friends, and serving in the local church. Many things have changed over the years, but the biblical principles of loving God with all we have, and loving our neighbor remains the same. I am thankful for all the things my dad taught me as a child.

On this Father's Day, I pay tribute to my dad! "Dad, thanks for being a great dad and my best friend. I know you are having a great time in heaven today. Love and miss you!" Happy Father's Day!