Sunday Sitdown
SUNDAY SITDOWN
Davy Hobson
Weches Baptist Church
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
The Messenger continues its Sunday Sitdown reports where we speak with our local pastors, educators, businesspeople, students and interesting people of all walks of life in Houston County. To see the full video interview, click on the link below.
What has been the hardest part of being a preacher?
“To get myself out of the way. I’ll give you an example. I think I was 26 or so when I started pastoring, at a little country church. I’d been there a couple months and I came home discouraged. I walked in and my dad (who was also a preacher) saw it on my face. He said, ‘What’s wrong?’ I said ‘Dad, I’m preaching my guts out and I can’t make these people move.” And he said ‘Dave,’ pointing that finger, ‘It’s not your job to make them move. Your job is to marry the young, bury the dead, preach the gospel, stand in the pulpit and say thus said the Lord. It’s His job to make them move.’ I struggle with that, to this day, but he was right. It’s not my job. Yes, all pastors want to inspire their congregation. But my job is to preach the word as it is the truth. And then let Him do the moving. That’s my most challenging part, I guess.”
What can churches do to get more young people involved?
“It is a problem. I believe it starts in the home. How do we get our young people interested in church? How do we get them excited about the Lord? How do we get them excited about making it a way of life and not just something you do? You show it to them, early in the home. I believe that we adults need to do a little better job of showing our kids and our grandkids who’s important to us. Not only God and the institution He established – the New Testament church. Not only that, but to each other. I feel like a church that’s healthy is a church involved in each other’s lives, not necessarily in church, but outside. It’s for us as church members and as Christians to love those people, make them feel welcome. My dad used to say when visitors come, they’re not looking for a place to serve. They’re looking for a place to fit in. And so if we love them and care for them and show them genuine attention and concern, they’ll come and they’ll serve.”
What Bible verse do you use to motivate or inspire yourself?
“There are so many…one that really comes to my mind quite often is Proverbs Chapter Three, ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.’ That Scripture holds a lot to me. During my ordination as the presbytery came to lay hands on me – by the way, that’s the only time Baptists do that – they say some words or say a prayer for you. My father came and whispered those words in my ear. Later, I went to a Christian college and returning to university and our orientation, one of the first things I saw when I walked in, was that scripture on the board. They said, ‘This is a Christian university. If you don’t like us talking about God, you’re in the wrong place. Well, seeing that scripture, I knew I was in the right place”
Weches Baptist Church meets every Sunday for Sunday School at 10 a.m. and worship at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Visit the church at 217812 SH 21 in Weches or call (936) 687-9716.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
