Jesus Won't Let You Walk Far

When I became the pastor of Poydras Baptist Church in Louisiana in 1972, several people mentioned a member who was a shut-in lady. Her named was Ruby Anderson. She was bed ridden and unable to attend church. I went to her home to visit her and was greeted at the door by a young lady who appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties. It was apparent that she had some oriental features. After I introduced myself as the new pastor of Poydras Baptist Church, she invited me in and led me to a bedroom where Mrs. Anderson was lying in a bed. She was frail and weighed less than 100 lbs.

I introduced myself to Mrs. Anderson and told her I was the new pastor of Poydras Baptist church. Immediately, she beamed with joy and excitement. She said, "Oh, Bro. Winburn, I'm so glad you are our new pastor. Thank you for coming to see me." This was the first of many wonderful visits. In all the visits I never once heard a complaint from her lips. She never complained of being in pain or feeling badly. She always wanted to know if someone had accepted Jesus as Savior. She wanted to know about the people and the activities related to the church.

Over the subsequent weeks and months, I visited Mrs. Anderson regularly. She told me many stories about her life and her merchant marine husband, Mr. Anderson, who was deceased. They had lived in the Vieux Carre, the French Quarter section of New Orleans, and were active members of the Vieux Carre Baptist Church. A young oriental woman who lived in the quarter became pregnant with twins. The father was an American man, but He was totally removed from the picture. I am not sure of the details, but Mr. and Mrs. Anderson entered into an agreement to adopt the twins at birth.

After adopting the babies, The Andersons decided that the French Quarter was not the best place to raise the children. They moved to St. Bernard Parish and rented a home. When I became pastor of Poydras Baptist Church, St. Bernard Parish was 98% Catholic. The family that the Andersons rented the home from was Catholic.

One of the first things the Andersons did after they settled in was to spread the news that they were going to start a Sunday School on Sundays to study the Bible. There were only two Baptist churches in the parish at that time. When the news got out about them starting a Sunday School in their home, some members from Violet Baptist Church came to visit them. Violet Baptist was one of the two Baptist churches in the parish. These visitors told the Anderson that when the Catholic family found out they were starting a Baptist Sunday School in their home, they would kick them out.

With great delight, Mrs. Anderson told me what Mr. Anderson said to these faint-hearted Christians from the Violet church. He said, "We're going to start this Sunday School. If they kick us out, I will take one of these babies in my arms and mama (Mrs. Anderson) will take the other baby in her arms and we will start walking. Jesus won't let us walk far."

The Andersons started the Sunday School. They were not kicked out. That Sunday School became one of the key components in the establishment of Poydras Baptist Church.

This story has thrilled me and emboldened me over the years. I never worry about being kicked out. If I am kicked out in the service of Jesus, I don't believe He will let me walk far. I hope you have this same confidence in Jesus.