The Fred Wooten Suit

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of preaching a revival service at a church in Dublin, GA.  In the midst of that message, I remembered someone who had been a special person to me during my early days of ministry.  I suppose that I am often prone to be nostalgic about the folks that God has used in my life, but we are all today a product of what we were molded into from the past.  Let me share a poem I wrote many years ago about a suit that was given to me as a gift from a special individual.

The Fred Wooten Suit

Tis Easter morn and soon our crowd will be tightly pressed

Tradition will require that most present will be finely dressed

Eyes will turn and roam to see the splendid forms of new attire

Though very few eyes will gaze upon my old suit and admire

But this old friend, this faithful suit that is mine

Has a history that will be dear through the ages of time

He was a lumbering giant who walked upon one foot and a memory

He lost the other while in a foreign land serving his nations’ ministry

His voice was coarse, gravelly, and even gruff

But hide the love within?  Never that rough

His eyes often twinkled with mischievous glee

And just as quick could turn and weep with me

Though none of these were really his most important part

The attribute that often moved me most was a loving heart

He seemed to watch over me with the greatest of care

Whatever I thought I needed, he often found a way to share

Once a turkey, next a C.B. radio, and an occasional loaf of bread

His care was so constant; I had to use care when speaking with Fred

The turkey grew and was eaten, and the radio broke

But another moment yet, the thoughts still provoke

Twas a brown plaid suit hanging on the clothing rail

I hesitated to look at it for it wasn’t even on sale

I told him my suits were fine, it wouldn’t hurt to wait

But he’d come to buy his preacher a suit, no debate

I looked at this brown friend of mine and grimaced at the price

He asked if I liked it, said I “something cheaper would be nice”

“Didn’t come to save money” was his stern reply

“Pick up the suit, that’s the one I’m going to buy”

From that day forth this suit of mine had a little extra part

For somewhere in it was a sliver of Fred Wooten’s heart

He bought it for Easter Sunday of 1977

It’s still here and he’s gone on to Heaven

Now prone to unravel and often needing repair

Of today’s fashions, it doesn’t seem to be aware

Yet, each time I put it, on I pause to meditate

How a simple piece of cloth has such love to radiate

So today, please enjoy your new suits and dresses and even boots

But my joy is even fuller when I’m wearing my “Fred Wooten” suit

Tom Vann

I wish that I still owned that suit, but over the years it seemed to shrink (at least that's my story) and I could no longer wear it.  Bro. Fred would never allow me to tell where I got the suit while he was alive, but with his family's permission I shared this poem the Easter after his death.  We all should cherish the people who loved and supported us over the years, and I think it would be good if we could follow their example and invest into the lives of those that we can bless and help.

I Love VBS!

I am approaching my fortieth VBS as a pastor, and it continues to be one of my favorite activities on the church calendar.

I attended several VBS programs as a child at Concord Baptist Church and Tenth Avenue Baptist Church.  In all honesty, I can't say that I really enjoyed them.  The missionary stories were good, but most of the schedule was a bit boring to me.  The highlight of each day was the Kool-Aid and the butter cookies.

When I became a pastor, I determined that VBS would be much different and no child should ever go home complaining that they were bored.  During the early years of my ministry, we wrote much of our own material and we designed a lot of action into the final program each evening.  We had giants a few years, we even designed our own "Teenage Mutant Ninja Vegetables", and we almost always had someone dressed up as the Devil.  Fortunately, we always saw the Devil soundly defeated on the last day of VBS.  I still remember the year that the Devil and I had a boxing match.  When I knocked him out, a little boy wearing cowboy boots got so excited that he left his seat and kicked the Devil in the ribs while he was on the ground.  I wish more of us could hate the Devil that much.  I will always be thankful for Hazel Brewer's labor to fashion and sew our costumes, along with all of our faithful workers that labored every day to put on the best event possible.  I also remember with great thankfulness Jim Strong, Marty Snodgrass, and others who played the part of the giants and the Devil.

During my ministry at Rentz Baptist, I have been in awe at the faithful work of our folks who give their best to make VBS work.  Sherri Knight, Leann Skipper, David Gay, and many others sacrifice their time and talent into this annual outreach program of the church.  I love VBS because it gives us the opportunity to reach children and their families that we may not reach otherwise.  I love VBS because it draws our people together to work for a common goal.  I love VBS because it gives us the opportunity to fulfill our duties according to the Scripture "And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."
(Luke 1:17; II Timothy 3:14-15)

I remember a preacher friend of mine telling me that he took his vacation every year during VBS so he wouldn't have to be bothered with it.  I still believe that's a great waste of a good opportunity to impact the life of a child for Jesus.

I still love VBS!

God Can Use Feet of Clay

This Sunday is Father's Day!

Every time I approach this day of recognition, I am filled with gratitude that God allowed me to be a father and I am so grateful for each member of my family.  At the same time, I always wish that I could have been a better dad as my kids grew up.

Although, I am encouraged when I look at Scripture and see that God often used men who undoubtedly had feet of clay.  King David has always been a conundrum of sorts to me.  His life reflected the heights of total devotion to the Lord, and it also revealed the depths of failure when the Lord is not kept in proper focus.  Yet, through it all God declared that David was a man after His own heart, "And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.  Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:" (Acts 13:22-23).  Moses is also an example of a great man of God who suffered moments of indignity and failure, yet there is no doubt that he was used mightily by the Lord.

Throughout my life, I have been blessed by the influence of men who helped to mold my life.  My own father illustrated the necessity of dedicated hard work.  My Granddaddy Vann showed that you can find humor (even if it's sarcastic) in almost every situation.  My Granddaddy Daniels showed love and devotion even in the midst of personal struggles.

I am also thankful for those men that God used to influence my life in spiritual matters.  Charles Faust was the faithful Sunday School teacher that taught my class, even when I was the only student present and encouraged me to trust Christ.  Raymond Hancock, the pastor of Providence Baptist Church, was used by God to challenge me to surrender to God's will and make my life count for the Lord.  God brought Daylon Moore to work with our Youth when I was an angry and confused young man.  Mr. Moore became a mentor, teacher, and father figure at a crucial moment in my life.  I will always be thankful for the investment he made in my life.  Dr. Merle Huffmaster, one of my Bible college professors, was used by God to not only teach me Biblical truths, but he was also a role model for the appropriate pastorate.  Jim Wade, who would become my father-in-law, was also a source of inspiration and served as a wonderful role model.  I am so thankful that he welcomed me into his family and loved me as a son.  He was perhaps one of the most consistent Christians that I ever had the privilege of knowing.  His legacy lives on in our family.

In recent years, God also used a number of other men to help and encourage my life.  Wayne Robertson befriended  me when I was new to the state of Georgia and gave me a number of opportunities to serve the Lord in a broader way.  Wayne Hamrick became a very special friend and example to my life.  His passion for growing Sunday Schools was infectious and his devotion to God's Word, God's work, and God's people was unquestionable.

Some of the men that I have cited lived exemplary lives and others faced times of criticism, yet God used each of them.  It encourages my heart to know that God can take every man and use him, if he is willing to surrender his life under the direction of the Holy Spirit.  We may all realize that we have feet of clay, yet God is willing and able to use our earthen vessels for His glory "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (II Corinthians 4:5-7).  Praise the Lord!

If I Had Wings

Have you ever had those moments when you felt like the pressures of life were so great that you would like to simply fly away and find some peace and solitude?  I think that most of us, if we are honest, would have to admit that there have been times when we felt overwhelmed and under-appreciated.

David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel, shared his innermost emotional struggles in many of his psalms.  He reveals to us that frustration and despair are not foreign things to the people of God, "Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.  Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;  Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.  My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.  Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.  And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.  Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah." (Psalm 55:1-7). We sometimes set ourselves up for spiritual and emotional failure when we assume that dedicated Christians always live in peace and security.  There will be times in all of our lives that we would long to simply escape the rat race and warfare of daily existence.

Jesus never promised that life would always be easy.  In fact, He often directed the disciples to launch out in their boat when He knew that a storm would come.  His presence in the storm is that which should give us Divine peace.  Life will never be easy on this side of glory, but His constant companionship should carry us through the moments of worry and despair.  Our existence, at present, will encounter many storms.  In fact, I have heard it said that we are either currently in a storm, or we have just emerged from a storm, or we are preparing for the next storm.  The promise of Jesus that He would never leave us should at least give us hope and comfort.

Why do we face trouble?  Sometimes our difficulties are the result of our own foolish or sinful choices.  God will always forgive our sins when we come to Him in repentance, but we may still have to suffer the consequences of our choices.  Sometimes it is the actions of others that will cause us grief.  Sometimes we must simply see that we are part of a fallen race that suffers the consequences of our sinful nature.
Sometimes our present suffering will be a mystery to us until either God reveals His plan, or we enter Heaven's glory.  Regardless of the reasons for our struggles, we can be assured that God loves those that are His, and He has a purpose for all He allows in our lives.

I must confess that I am prone to allow a level of despair to sometimes overwhelm me, but I am glad that God is faithful even when I am fearful.  I like the way David ends the previously cited psalm, "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.  But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee." (Psalm 55:22-23).

God does not promise to remove the difficulties that make us want to fly away, but He does promise to sustain us in the midst of our trials.  There is coming a day when there will be no more tears, but until then we have the presence of Jesus to help us through the times of joy and despondency.

Thank you Jesus!