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Brother Ray was always sticking his nose into my business. He stuck his nose into the business of all my friends, too.
Ray Newcomb was the longtime pastor of First Baptist Church, Millington. He was active in Tennessee Baptist Convention life, served as TBC president, worked on boards and committees, and was a trustee of Union University. He was probably best known as a determined soul winner.
But like everyone else, I knew him simply as Bro. Ray — the pastor who bounded through the front doors of the sanctuary every Sunday and into the pulpit like a one-man battalion charging hell. He saturated every sermon with the name of Jesus. He lightly punched my arm, wagged his finger and often said, “If sinners entice thee, consent thou not” (Proverbs 1:10).
And yes, he was definitely nosy.
He wasn’t the only one. Every “old guy” at First Baptist Church Millington seemed nosy: Carter Hooker, Bob Booker, Dennis Wages, Ernie Carter, Albert Hutchison, Jack Leonard, Ernie Owens, Randy Brown and many more.
At least that’s how it felt being a teenager at FBC Millington during the 1980s. Like a genie appearing from a rubbed bottle, Bro. Ray — or one of the old guys — would pop around a corner with a furrowed brow and ask, “Are you boys up to no good?” Frankly, it was a bit annoying. How were we supposed to be up to no good if we never had a chance to be up to no good? Those men were everywhere.
The irony is that most of the “old guys” were probably in their 40s, with some in their early 50s. All adults look ancient to teenagers, especially teenagers who might be up to no good.
But being present and “nosy” was the point, wasn’t it?
Chris Turner
There was an engaged group of men and women during my formative years at FBC who collectively influenced the church’s youth toward godliness and maturity. There were no secret parental meetings to strategize and mobilize — at least none that I knew of — but whether intentional or not, we teenagers benefited.
The recent passing of Marylin Boyer sparked reflection on those days. Mrs. Boyer was a quiet, dignified woman. She and her husband, Darrell — who also recently passed away — were part of that cadre of engaged adults.
So were Larry and Barbara Van Neste, George and Sarah Berthelson, Bill and Francene Autrey, Violet and Ernie Doyle, Emmy and Alvin Maples, Ernie and Deana Carter, Pam Hutchison, Betti Owens, my parents Cleve and Carol Turner, and many others.
They taught our Sunday School and Discipleship Training classes. They cooked Sunday night dinners for the youth choir. They hosted progressive suppers and opened their homes, offering cookies and hot chocolate after driving the bus around town while our youth group sang Christmas carols for shut-ins.
And they didn’t hesitate to give us “the look” in church if we were disruptive or not paying attention.
I was talking at Bro. Ray’s funeral in 2017 with Ray Van Neste, Union University’s dean of theology and missions, and Larry and Barbara’s son. Ray is about four years younger than me. We shared stories about Bro. Ray and about growing up at FBC Millington. Then we began naming men — 28 of them — from a few years younger than Ray to a few years older than me, who went on to some form of vocational ministry. We were certain there were more.
I don’t believe that is a coincidence.
We had a pastor who preached an unadulterated gospel and parents who collectively invested in the children and youth of our church.
Our church was not perfect, but it was a community — a family.
Some of us from those days have weathered life’s struggles, but there has always been a spiritual foundation to which we could return because of the stones laid in our lives by those adults. Many of them have now arrived in glory, and surely the Lord has rewarded them for their faithful service to a bunch of teenagers.
Surely, the Lord has rewarded them for sticking their noses into our business. B&R
