The first shall be last

 The First shall be the last 

Johnclarestokes 

My father never wanted to leave Williston FUMC.  But ten years at a Methodist church is a long tenure. It was in the early years of the Charismatic Movement and “preacher” had the audacity to tell the congregation it was fine to raise your hands in praise. It was anathema to some of the more proper Methodists. I am sure there were many other reasons, even down to one boxer named Goliath who guarded the parsonage entrance on the school side. My father was never one to go with the grain. He was called a MethoBab, as he preached hard on sin and repentance with altar calls and not a feel good positive sermonette. This was largely from his early years in the Homewood Methodist as a boy to the Holiness doctrine of Asbury college and seminary. Coming to "First" church of Lake City, I feared the tenure would be short lived and it was. While many of this congregation were of common humility that was the majority, the upper room rulers who held the purse prevailed. It was a two year battle of Fanny Crosby or Bach, of vestal robes or goodwill suits. Of follow the bulletin or the Spirit leading. In the end, the Upper Room won and my dad said enough when the District Superintendent wanted him to locate to Quincy to build their "dead" First church up. Early on my dad got the reputation as a builder.  He opted instead to retire and become an Approved Evangelist of the Methodist conference, taking the Gospel to the small churches who couldn't afford the Ford Philpot Hour evangelists. We moved from the palative parsonage on Evergreen to Mrs Ives home on an unpaved St John's for around 16k and lived on frugal and mamma's Summers elementary salary. I was at Florida Southern during this time, coming back to stay in Lake City in 1979 following graduation. After four years as an Evangelist, my father retired to Crawfordville, then to his beloved Williston where he passed on to Orange Hill in March of 2011.