As church elder becomes a bishop, celebration prompts reflection about his long, exemplary life | Opinion
Once, after the late Miami Herald Columnist Charles Whited had visited a Black church and enjoyed the preaching and choir singing, he sat down to write his weekly column and had this to say about his church visit: “… My soul felt like it had had a bath…”
I thought about my friend and his words after church service on Sunday, June 25, when at The Church of God Tabernacle (true Holiness) in Liberty City, Elder Thomas P. Edwards, the newly installed pastor of the church, was consecrated to the role of bishop.
To say that “a spiritually good time was had by all” doesn’t describe the joy, praise and fellowship that was manifested during the worship service, which was officiated by Bishop Arthur Wilson, pastor of The Sure Foundation Church of God of Prophecy in Hallandale.
Bishop Jimmie L. Williams, pastor of Lighthouse Worship Center Church of God in Christ in Fort Lauderdale, and prelate of the Florida Eastern Ecclesiastic Jurisdiction, which is comprised of 81 churches in Florida, served as the officiating prelate. He not only graced the service with his eloquent preaching and teaching, but he also brought the congregation to its feet with his rendition of the gospel song “My Soul Has Been Anchored in the Lord”.
So, yes, I understand Whited’s feelings after his church visit. On Sunday I, and the entire congregation, had a spiritual bath.
While sitting prayerfully in the congregation, I allowed my mind to take a journey down a spiritual memory lane.
Edwards, 93, was saved when he was 17. He Married when he was 21, and was 22, when he was called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And to those of us who have watched his walk with the Lord over the years, this honor seems way overdue.
I first met Edwards when I became a member of the church in 1962 and was touched by the way he unashamedly showed affection to his wife, the former Maxine Bullard. At that time, they had been married about 12 years. They worshiped together and brought up their children in the way of the Lord.
Aside from their faith, it was the loving way he treated his wife, and she him, that really touched me. I was the product of an abusive marriage. And once when I tried to talk to my now-late husband about how we should live lovingly in our home before our children, he informed me that I lived in a dream world and that “…nobody lived like that…”
So, when I met the Edwards and his wife, it confirmed my faith in married love. They were living examples of how the Lord intended married love to be.
Over the years, their love for God and each other just seemed to grow stronger.
Maxine’s sweet spirit drew me to her, and we became close friends. In the early days of my career when I struggled with blatant racism and hostility, from within the newsroom and outside in the community, she remained one of my constant cheerleaders.
She continued to encourage me not to give up and when the going really got tough, her simple words of “Oh, Bea, I’m praying for you…” helped to sustain me.
And her husband encouraged me in the Lord.
Once, when I was very young in my faith, an unthinking member of the church said something to me that could have caused me to walk away from the Lord.
Edwards had heard what was said and saw that I was hurt. As I walked out of church that day, very depressed and wondering if I was on the right path, Edwards, called out to me. When he caught up to me, he encouraged me to stay with the Lord.
In his quiet way, he let me know that the person who had hurt me was only human, and that she hadn’t followed the leading of the Lord when addressing me.
Edwards didn’t know it at the time, but I was at a fork in the road of my spiritual journey, and he pointed me in the right direction.
So, Sunday as I sat in the service watching as Bishop Williams consecrate Edwards to this new role in the church, I thought of his loyalty and faithfulness to our late pastor Bishop Walter H. Richardson. Edwards never sought an elevated role in the church. He seemed happy to be a servant.
As Bishop Williams pointed out in his sermon, it is because of Edwards’ willingness to be a good follower that God had seen fit to elevate him to the leadership position of Bishop.
Edwards demonstrates his faithfulness to the Lord in his daily walk. He was one of the first Blacks to be hired as a Miami-Dade Metro bus driver. It was his kind demeanor as a driver that drew Jacqueline Barr to the church.
“I used to wonder how he could be so kind and friendly to strangers,” she once said about Edwards. “I though it was an act.”
As she got to ride his bus route more often, Barr saw that Edwards wasn’t acting. He was simply living out his faith in the Lord. Barr later became a member of the church and today serves as an usher.
Sunday before his congregation, that included his family and friends, Edwards took an oath, part of which is to: “… seek in true humility, to deal justly and kindly with those in the ministry and with all others…” over whom he has been placed as Bishop of the Church.
Edwards answered: “I will do so, by the help and Grace of God, the Holy Ghost being my strength.” With those words, and the bestowing of the vestments on Edwards, The Church of God Tabernacle (True Holiness) had a new bishop.
Edwards said he doesn’t know why God “saw fit” to appoint him to the position of bishop at his age.
“Some might even say I am too old,” he said. “But I don’t question God. He placed me here and I will work in His vineyard until He calls me home.”
In addition to The Church of God Tabernacle (True Holiness) in Miami — the headquarters, as bishop Edwards duties will include serving as overseer three other churches — in Belle Glade and Vero Beach, and Valdosta, Georgia.
He and his wife of 73 years, his beloved Maxine, live in the Bunche Park area of Miami Gardens. They are the parents of four adult children — Tommy J. (Margaret), Phillip A. (Reatha), Linda (Demetrius), and Kenneth J. (Tangela), and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Bea L. Hines can be reached at bea.hines@gmail.com
