Spiritual Fathers

I had a good old Dad...and today, I miss him very much.  A few days ago, I got to thinking about some of the other men, besides my Dad, that have had a great influence in my life.  I decided that today, I would give tribute to one of my "Spiritual" Fathers.

In 1975, Reverend Floyd Parks and his family came to pastor the Junction Hill Pentecostal Church (JHPC).  Brother Floyd and his brood hailed from Oklahoma and included Sister Alveta, Bill, Gary and Nancy.  Bill and my brother Ralph were the same age - Gary and I were about the same age, so we hit it off from the git-go.  However, this post is not about those friendships...

Brother Floyd was a man of prayer.  I can still remember hearing him in his study, (that he had converted from an old smokehouse) interceding before the Lord for his church and family. Those prayers for wayward sons (and their wayward friends) must have caught the ear of the Almighty.  Gary has already gone on to his reward, Bill is Pastor of the House of Prayer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Ralph is a vital part of the music ministry at JHPC....and God has blessed me to be a servant in many ministry positions.

Brother Floyd was a man of Biblical convictions.  I may not be able to remember a single message he preached but he stood for Holiness standards and proclaimed the Pentecostal experience.  I heard a song yesterday that just about sums up Brother Floyd's stand in the faith..."Your talk talks and your walk talks but your walk talks louder than you talk talks"!

Brother Floyd was also a man of wisdom.  I have to step into story mode to emphasize this point.
In my early teens, I was a sinner and did what sinners do....I sinned.  One of my vices was tobacco.  I thank the Lord that my brother and the others wouldn't let me smoke but I got hooked on chewing tobacco.  I kept my plug of chew in my billfold so it would be handy and would never get far out of reach.  Well...one day I LOST my billfold!  I looked high and low but it couldn't be found.  The next Sunday night after church, Brother Floyd called me off to the side.  He explained that he had found the billfold at their house, looked inside to find out the owner and wanted to get it back to me.  Then, as kinda an afterthought (which was his main thought all along) he said "And Son, I also found what else you had in there."  He went on to kindly admonish me, as a concerned Father would, that tobacco was a nasty habit and I would be better off to just throw the plug away.  I was in tears by this time and assured him I would take care of it.  I deposited the plug in the out-door privy and vowed to never touch the stuff again.  I wouldn't really keep this vow until I was genuinely converted at age seventeen but this incident has impressed me through the years.  It just seems to me that Brother Floyd "acted" (as opposed to "reacted") in the manner that Jesus would toward a lost sinner boy.  I have tried to follow this example through the years in my dealing with young people.

Brother Floyd and Sister Alveta are presently the Pastors at Landmark Holiness Church near Jay, Oklahoma.  I don't know if Brother Floyd will get the opportunity to read this blog post...but if he does...Happy Father's Day Brother Floyd!