OPINION: ALFORD: Legendary preacher touched many lives

Janie Slaven, The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.
·2 min read

Aug. 27—A gregarious Seymour Wattenbarger made a lot of people laugh during his 84 years.

The gospel preacher used humor in his ministry. He began almost every sermon with a funny story that grabbed everyone's attention.

When Seymour went to heaven a couple weeks ago, I couldn't help but notice that the man who had made so many people laugh over the years was now making them cry.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, who filed past his casket in Calvary Baptist Church after his funeral had tears in their eyes because they were going to miss the man who had introduced them to Christ, the man who had stood by them in good times and bad, the man who had found so much joy in serving God.

Regular readers of this column have heard a lot about Seymour over the years. I've told many a story about him, and I thought it fitting that I share one of my favorites today. It's one that I've included in this column in times past. It's one I've used as a sermon illustration. And it's also one I shared at this funeral.

It goes like this: Seymour was preaching a revival in rural Kentucky, and a man widely known for his drinking and cavorting showed.

Seymour's first thought was that the scoundrel had come to cause trouble. Seymour said the best way he knew to describe the fellow was to call him a reprobate. He went to the bar every evening. When he would get home, he would stumble out of his car and stagger up the sidewalk, cussing at the top of his lungs and kicking at his dog.

That fellow got saved in Seymour's revival. And the change in the fellow was so drastic that when he got home that night his dog didn't recognize him and nearly ate him up.

Seymour had preached hundreds of revivals over more than a half century of ministry. He saw countless people saved under his preaching. He saw lives transformed, broken families restored, and addicts set free. He preached many funerals, performed many weddings, and baptized many new believers.

At his funeral, I read a scripture from Acts 11:24 that I thought encapsulated Seymour's life.

"For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith."

That scripture was written about Barnabus, a leader in the early church. But it fit Seymour perfectly, because Seymour also was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith.

Seymour's death brought great sadness down here, but not in heaven. I just know he has everyone laughing up there.

Reach Roger Alford at 502-514-6857 or rogeralford1@gmail.com.