Howard Martin Part II
The Early Church
Publisher: StClairCountyAl.com
Written by Mark Martin
*As told to his son before his death in 2005.
Sunday brought a day of rest for everyone in the family except mamma whose work never ended. In those days almost everyone respected the Sabbath. Only the essential work such as cooking and taking care of the children was done. You never saw anyone with a fishing pole or heard the sound of a hunting rifle being fired. Families and neighbors spent their afternoons visiting and sitting on the porch when the weather permitted.
For our family Sunday also meant attending church. Most rural churches only had preaching every other Sunday. A few churches had services on Saturday because it was the only time the preacher could get there. A preacher might travel many miles to conduct the service. He would then spend the rest of the day and night with a member of the congregation. The next morning he would begin the journey home. On those Sundays when there was no preaching churches usually only had Sunday School.
There was a greater desire to attend church in those days then there is today. Many people would walk or hitchhike for miles in order to attend. People had a great love for their church and very few seemed to die. I saw churches close their doors in the winter when traveling was difficult but they would open them up again when spring rolled around.
My first church experience was at New Lebanon Baptist Church located on Simmons Mountain. The mountain was named after my mother's family and each family among New Lebanon's charter members was either a Simmons or married to one.
Services usually ran rather long in those days. The preacher got the blame most of the time. The truth is that most services ran long because we were late getting started. Most people had not seen each other all week and there was a tendency to do a lot of talking before the service began. As a young child, I remember falling asleep many Sundays lying on a pew or on a mat in the aisle.
Most rural churches in those days had a front door and a side door that opened into the Sanctuary. Entering the side door at New Lebanon immediately brought you into direct view of the pulpit. There was an 8 x 10 ft. offset on the right that contained 8-10 pews. This was known as the Amen Corner and was quite common in those days.
My dad was ordained a deacon at New Lebanon at the age of 22. For most of his life, he sat in the Amen Corner. Dad did not say much in church. He usually sat quietly and only spoke on rare occasions at business meetings. He was opposed to any kind of quarrelling in church. He was not opposed to a good chaw of chewing tobacco. He would be remembered by many generations for silently sitting through worship services chewing his tobacco and spitting in a spittoon or on the floor.
My mother loved attending church. She loved her Lord and the fellowship with the other women. Mamma had to miss church more often then dad did. When one of us children was sick it was always mamma that stayed at home and take care of us. There was never any doubt which member of our family made the most sacrifices.
Revivals were usually held in August and lasted two weeks. Most churches had both day and night services. A preacher from another church would be invited to preach the services and live with the people in the community those two weeks. Both adults and children enjoyed revivals. It was a time of spiritual awakening for many adults. For us children it was a time when we could play in the wagons and buggies instead of working in the fields.
When I was eleven years old, I met two great men who would make a tremendous impression on my life. One was Brother James Bryan who was pastor of Third Presbyterian Church in Birmingham. The other was a man who traveled with Brother Bryan named Jimmy Cantrell.
Each Sunday afternoon these two men would travel from Birmingham to Fork Inn located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 11 and Old Springville Road. They would hold services in a small church built by Marcus Pearson who owned Pearson Lumber Company in Springville. The church was called Bryan's Chapel when I attended; today it is the Springville Church of God.
I started attending church at Bryan's Chapel along with many other children and adults in the area. All of us loved Brother Bryan so much. He would call us children together and we would flock to him like sheep to their shepherd and listen to him tell us about Jesus.
Before Brother Bryan and Brother Jimmy left each Sunday Brother Jimmy would play games with us kids. He was such a fun loving man and helped provide a great ministry to so many of us. He only had one leg but that never stopped him from participating in sack races or any other games we played.
Brother Bryan was a simple man. His gentleness and love for people and his Lord left an impression on me that would last the rest of my life. I do not know why the Lord led Brother Bryan to Fork Inn but I am so thankful that he did. In later years when I was called upon to minister to people, I would recall the memories of this great man and how he had ministered to me.
At the early age of five, I felt that the Lord was speaking to me. I knew that I was lacking something that my mother had and I truly wished to have it. My mamma and dad led us in all things by example. I never found the nerve to ask mamma how I could know God like she did
About the same time, I felt the Lord speaking to me, my grandpa Simmons passed away. I was standing next to my mother during the graveside service at New Lebanon Baptist Church. As they lowered the casket into the ground, I fainted. The fainting spell at my grandpa's funeral left a deep print in my mind that lingered with me for many years. From that day forward, I had a terrible fear of death. My mother never made me attend another funeral. It would be nine years later before I attended another one.
I knew that God was real. I not only felt his presence, saw his handiwork in nature while on the farm but I saw the change he made on the lives of other people. I could never attend Sunday School or sit in a worship service that I did not feel God speaking to me.
At the age of fourteen we moved to the Tucker farm that was located in the Oak Grove community. Today that community has been annexed into the city of Springville. Baptist churches at that time offered a program for teenagers on Sunday nights called Baptist Young People's Union or BYPU. There were a good many of us teenagers living in the Oak Grove community and we attended Oak Grove Baptist Church. On Sunday nights we would attend BYPU and worship service.
My mamma and dad continued to attend New Lebanon Baptist so I would walk to Oak Grove Baptist on Sundays. One Sunday night at the age of sixteen, I attended but very few of the other teenagers came. Our pastor was a coal miner by the name of Buzz Fulmer. As he preached that night the Holy Spirit dealt with me in such a powerful way that I could not refuse him. I had been a good boy but like all who do not know Christ, I was not too good that I did not need to accept Christ into my life. When the invitation was given I opened my heart completely to Jesus Christ and went forward and surrendered my entire life to him. It was the single greatest feeling I have ever known.
We do not use the word "regeneration" today. It means a total renewal or rebirth and that is exactly what happened to me. I became a new creature; a changed man and I would never be the same again. From that day until this, I have tried the best I know how to follow in the footsteps of the one who saved me.
As I walked the two miles back home, my steps felt two feet high. I was so happy to have given my life to Christ. The conviction I had been under for so long because my life did not belong to God was lifted. The fear of death was lifted and it has never returned. For over 60 years there has never been a day that I was not aware that Christ was with me and I belonged to him.
When I returned home that night the first person I told was my brother J.B. My cousin Ward Simmons was spending the night and he and J.B. had joined the marines. I burst into the room and said "I got saved tonight" but they were not interested. The next day they would begin their journey overseas.
The next morning I told my mother that I had accepted Christ as my savior and Lord. We were both so happy as she cooked the morning breakfast. I was finally getting to know God in a personal way just as my mother and dad knew him.
My brother J.B. was shipped to the Pacific. I had the great privilege of praying for him each day he was away. I was standing in a field 3 ½ years later when I saw my prayers answered and my brother returned home. It was such a great day and I was so thankful God allowed him to return home from the war safely. Through the years, the Lord has not always answered my prayers the way in which I had wanted. I do know the Lord has always answered my prayers according to his will and purpose and I have never questioned him. He has blessed me far too many times for me to do that.
I am an old man now and I have learned through the years that it is not how much we ask or beg God but how much we trust him. My experiences with God through these many years have taught me to trust him with all of my heart and know that he has never failed me.
Looking back I never dreamed what God had in store for me the night he saved me and lifted the burden of death forever. I do know that I love him and have tried to serve him the best I could each and every day. The decision I made as a sixteen-year-old boy to accept Christ was the best decision I have ever made. I have never regretted it and never will. I proudly proclaim Jesus Christ Lord of my life.