This was a weekend for old friends and fond memories. Doug and I traveled back to Athens to attend a retirement party for Barry Shettel, longtime youth pastor at Prince Avenue Baptist Church, where Doug and I were members for over twenty years. Retired youth pastor – that’s almost an oxymoron! Many pastors start out as youth pastors, but it is just a stepping-stone to being a full-time pastor of a church. Barry never had any such intention. His heart was always with the young people, and he pastured the youth of Prince Avenue for , I believe, 29 years. During that time, he had a tremendous impact on the kids in the youth department as well as the adults who helped him. Doug and I were fortunate to be two of those adults who spent years as Sunday School teachers and attended many camps and other events with teenagers. We saw Barry in operation throughout those years, and were amazed by his patience and good humor with kids, even the ones who would have tried the patience of a saint! He always kept a spiritual focus in all that he did, and provided wonderful teaching on Sunday mornings. His influence was proven by the fact that many other youth pastors came out of Prince Avenue. Most of all, Barry was and is the ideal role model for young people. I don’t believe he ever let them down. How many people could say that?
As for Doug and I, we had a lot of fun in those years, cried a few tears, and learned a great deal. Camps provided some of our fondest memories. We became friends with other youth workers that we treasure to this day. And, of course, we have kept up with the lives of many of the kids we came to love as well. Sunday evening we got to see many of them for the first time in years. It was like a great big family reunion! We delighted in seeing old friends and kids that now have kids of their own. It was great seeing Barry get the honor that was due him. He accepted it humbly, as always.
Prince Avenue was our home church for many years, including the first years of our marriage. Our attendance there probably saved our marriage! As young married adults, we sat under the excellent teaching of Leonard Hampton and Frank Brannon. We also went with other couples to hear the teaching of Bill Gothard. From these Godly men, we gained the foundation we needed on which to build our family. Our son grew up there, singing in children’s choir, attending RA’s and camps, and attending the church’s Christian school for eleven years. I taught in that school, taught Sunday School, and sang in the choir. I used to joke that I might as well pitch a tent in the church parking lot, since I practically lived there anyway. We learned so much under the teaching of Brother Bill. We made lifelong friends in that church as well, people we are still very close to today. I can remember many times when, sitting in a pew, I would be overcome with a warm feeling of belonging in that church.
I also remember singing in the annual Singing Christmas Tree. Perhaps my favorite Christmas memory was the time we sang while the congregation passed the light of a single candle from one candle to the next. Looking out across the sanctuary from high up on the tree, the lights of a thousand candles was one of the most beautiful and meaningful sites I have ever seen. The singing tree was always the highlight of the Christmas season, and probably did more than anything else to keep me mindful of the true meaning of Christmas.
We later left the church. We moved out to a neighboring county and eventually wanted to attend a community church with people we lived near. Also, Prince Avenue made the decision to move the church and begin a very ambitious building program. Doug and I did not support that move, and felt if we could not support it, we should probably attend somewhere else.
We spent a year attending a Presbyterian Church with a wonderful pastor and lovely people, many of them associated with Westminster Christian Academy where I was then teaching. We stayed there long enough to decide that we are not Calvinists. From there we went to Watkinsville First Baptist where we found another fine pastor in Carlos Sibley. We joined and attended there until our move to Hayesville, and now we are members of a small, but friendly and active Baptist church five minutes from our house. When we go back to Athens, we enjoy visiting Athens Church where we hear the amazing teaching of Andy Stanley. In all these moves, we have learned that the family of God is the same wherever you go. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. I have a confession, however. Since leaving Prince, I have never had that same warm sense of belonging I often experienced in services there. I guess that’s because I don’t have a history or roots in these other churches. Prince Avenue Baptist Church will always be a part of me, no matter where I live or attend church.
Barry will soon be off on a cross-country bike tour. I know he will have a great time and make lots of new friends along the way, because that’s the kind of guy he is. He will be influencing people for Jesus as long as he lives, wherever he goes. Have a great retirement, Barry! You have earned it.
