Loyalty To Christ Alone

It seems as if technology has only furthered our culture's pursuit of loyalty - across the board.  Loyalty to brands (retailers, sports teams, entertainers, political parties and so forth) primarily.  When I was young, automobile manufacturers had laid profound groundwork pertaining to consumer loyalty.  And this was bolstered via savvy advertising campaigns.  Today, particularly with our pocket computers in tow, it's now become personal.  In what way exactly?  You know...  So many individuals vie for loyalty online as they chase attention / notoriety by pushing their individualistic brand.

"Loyalty thinking / wiring" concretizes when you're young.  For that's when ad campaigns carry tremendous weight.  This combined with those we look up to (retailers, sports teams, entertainers, politicians & so forth) gleefully "clothe" us with their stabilizing identity (whilst emptying our pocketbooks).  And this makes sense.  Adolescents are VERY CULPABLE to the novelty of (re-re-re-booted) brands (everything comes full circle). 

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First Baptist Church Jackson's Senior Pastor during much of the '70s and '80s was Dr. Frank Pollard.  Dr. Pollard married Angie and I back in '96.  As high schoolers, he was the man in our church's pulpit each & every Sunday. 

Considering his reach, Dr. Pollard was keenly aware of his ability to influence, taking his position behind the FBCJ pulpit into account.  Interestingly enough, this saint's only loyalty was to Christ / the gospel.  Otherwise, he was silent as it pertained to brands - across the board (including, if not very much so, his own).

As a pastor, he was the most transparent vessel for Christ's teachings of anyone I've ever encountered.  A lot of this was due to how much authority he wielded in light of his intelligence, education and articulation.  But also, his appearance / demeanor too relegated him to simply illuminate us listeners with 100% unfiltered gospel teaching / preaching.  It was the most remarkable feat.  And man oh man, for us to have had him here in Mississippi.

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The other funny nuance about Dr. Pollard was his ability to humor everyone around him without offending anyone.  Every joke would land squarely in the epicenter of decency but never, under any circumstances, even hint of cornpone.  

You know, you meet some men, even from afar, and you realize just how blessed you were to sit under their tutelage.  That was Frank Pollard for me (& many, many others).

I remember being in the Sunday morning service when he announced his accelerated retirement due to cognitive issues.  It was almost impossible to breathe afterwards in light of all the oxygen depletion.

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This past Sunday, during "Brain Changers" (the virtual Samson Society meeting I co-facilitate), I met a man who too was in the throes of cognitive issues (due to Parkinson's disease).  He was a retired vet.

These issues affected his speech, therefore a fair amount of what he said was really difficult to decipher.  Too, his speech was delayed.  

Nonetheless, just sitting there listening to his broken, on occasion garbled words was incredibly humbling.  And not at all awkward.

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Dr. Frank Pollard preached his sermons from memory.  Including any recitations he made throughout.  Therefore, once his memory issues became vocationally debilitating, he quickly stepped down.  

Within this blog, we're privileged to have transcripts from many of Dr. Pollard's "radio sermons" (he broadcasted "The Baptist Hour" each week).  

Simply type "Pollard" into the Search bar at the top of the desktop version of the Home Page to locate and enjoy.