Stained Glass Windows or Sinners?

Balancing academics and life is no small feat, but my college journey was a tapestry woven with unique roles and unexpected opportunities. I juggled athletic and academic scholarships, kept order on a dormitory floor of unruly athletes, and preached sermons for small congregations to keep my educational dreams afloat. Each responsibility was a stepping stone, not just to financial stability, but to personal growth and community engagement. Listen as I share tales filled with humor and insight from these formative years, including the ingenious ways free pizza became the currency of peace.

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Here For the Memories

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here for the memories thought-provoking audio memoir
shorts filled with stories,humor, anecdotes and commentary
on social, cultural, businessand religious issues.
Whatever Lyndon remembers andthinks will entertain, challenge
and inform is a possiblesubject.

(00:20):
The collection of memoriesabout one's life allows for the
development and refinement of asense of self, including who one
is, how one has changed andwhat one might be like in the
future.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Greetings and salutations.
This is Lyndon Wolfe and youhave found here for the Memories
, my audio memoir.
I remind you, this is not apodcast.
It is my story, a legacy forthose that love me, for those
that don't, and to leavesomething behind when I depart

(00:57):
this planet.
Having to finance myundergraduate studies and I'm
glad that was the case, by theway I had several ways beyond
summer employment to fund myacademic ineptitude.
I had two partial scholarships,one academic and one athletic.
I also received compensation asan RA, a resident assistant,

(01:18):
due to being an athlete.
I was placed on a dormitoryfloor filled with athletes and I
quite honestly let them runamok unless there was some kind
of complaint, and then I wouldbeg their compliance and bribe
them with free pizza.
Another income stream waspreaching.
Carson-numan College, where Iattended.
Now Carson-Numan University hada ministerial association which

(01:41):
I joined due to my pursuit of aminor in religion.
They would often send studentsto small churches to be guest
speakers and the congregationwould reimburse the speaker
through a love offering.
My reputation as a speaker andthe positive reports from
churches where I spoke led to aconsistent flow of opportunities
and some small income.
I had some amazingly wonderfuland surprisingly unusual

(02:05):
experiences on these Sundayjourneys, but I could usually
count on an after-church meal atone of the parishioners' homes.
A home-cooked meal was atreasure and a real gastrobray.
From the 21 times a weekcafeteria food.
One church had me a total ofthree times and it has a story

(02:26):
that is worth telling.
It was the First Baptist Churchof Jonesboro, tennessee, the
oldest city in the state andit's not too far from where I
currently live.
Here's some history on thechurch.
The Baptists were the first tohave a meeting house in
Washington County.
First Baptist Church Jonesborooriginated with the organizing

(02:47):
of the Buffalo Ridge Church in1779.
However, it would be 1843before the first permanent
building was erected, aone-story building on the north
side of Spring Street at SouthLincoln Avenue.
The congregation quicklyoutgrew the first building and
in 1952, excuse me, in 1852, theexisting church was built,

(03:12):
built in the Greek revival styleof architecture.
The sanctuary was remodeled inthe 1890s and the original slave
gallery was reworked.
Yes, a slave gallery Located inthe back of the sanctuary.
A curtain shielded thecongregants from viewing the
slaves.
When I spoke there, thatsection actually remained, but

(03:34):
it was empty, of course, andwithout drapes.
But that isn't the best part ofthe story, at least the most
interesting part of the story.
The church contained six uniquestained glass windows crafted
by an Italian artisan whosetechnique and style were admired
worldwide.
By an Italian artisan whosetechnique and style were admired
worldwide.
His methods, however, were awell-kept secret, a secret that

(03:54):
he carried to his grave and thatmade the windows unquantifiably
valuable.
They, to this day, are insuredfor millions of dollars and are
worth significantly more thanthe property and building itself
.
Over the years, the littlechurch had revivals, break out,
increases in attendance and ashortage of room to accommodate

(04:16):
the attendees.
The rule of thumb is that ifattendance exceeds 80 to 85
percent of capacity, attendancebegins to decline, and that held
true here.
So every time the congregationflourished, the church faced a
unique problem.
The people are the windows.
You see, insurance required thewindows to remain unmoved, to

(04:40):
in any way jeopardize theirwell-being, voided coverage.
So on multiple occasions thechurch was brought to a place
where someone someone you knowthe one crying in the wilderness
, I guess would suggest thechurch vote on expansion to
accommodate the crowds.
But the property size didn'tallow for it, without
demolishing the existingfacility and rebuilding, finding

(05:03):
another property to build onwhile keeping the mother church
in place wasn't financiallyfeasible.
So there there was the conflictthe windows or the growth,
stained glass or people?
A few times the issue wasescalated to a church vote.
Division and polarizationensued in every case, and in

(05:24):
every case the windows won thevote and the church's growth
stalled.
Today it probably doesn't lookmuch different than it did 100
years ago, and the size of thecongregation over time has
diminished Sidebar.
I can do that, it's my memoir.
This reminds me of the timesome family members

(05:46):
fundamentalist Baptist churchwas seeking to raise funds by
having sponsors of the stainedglass windows in the church.
Members and businesses weresolicited, much like you would,
to help fund and support yourkid's little league baseball
team.
Humored by the project, Icalled in and identified myself
as the owner of the closestliquor store to the church.
I said I wanted to sponsor allof the windows.

(06:08):
Sadly, shockingly, my offer waspolitely declined.
Okay, back to First BaptistChurch of Jonesboro and the
windows.
What do you think about allthat?
Windows or growth, stainedglass or people Insurance
coverage or faith in moving thewindows?
What do you think they shouldhave done?
What would you have done?

(06:30):
I'm Lyndon Wolfe and this ishere for the Memories, so glad
you joined.
Come back and visit, and visitoften, and please leave me a
message and tell me what I coulddo differently or better.
I might not necessarily followyour direction, but at least you
will have spoken your mind.

Speaker 1 (06:48):
God bless.
Hello friends, If youappreciate the content and what
it takes to create and deliverit, please consider a small
contribution.
Just go to buymeacoffeecomslash here for the memories.
That's buymeacoffeecom slashhere for the memories Much

(07:08):
appreciated.