Muscogee County GaArchives Photo Person.....Hand, Othell ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Christine Thacker http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00033.html#0008100 June 2, 2007, 7:29 pm Source: Sesquicentennal Supplement IV, Ledger-Enquirer Name: Othell Hand Photo can be seen at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/muscogee/photos/hand13407gph.jpg Image file size: 64.1 Kb Dr. Hand Ministers in Markerplace By Richard Hyatt Enquirer Associate Editor Poor old Mary Hartman was once a nightly visitor at millions of homes, along with her squad of friends and relatives. One of her friends was a little fellow named The Rev. Jimmy Joe Jeter. Jimmy Joe's dead now. He met a Norman Lear- death when his television set fell into the bathtub while he was gathering sermon material from the violence on the six o'clock news. The little reverend looked like a Dennis the Menace and sounded like Elmer Gantry. Instead of Mother Goose, he quoted scriptures. He could cure hiccups and had the faith to repair electronic equipment. He prayed for absolution for those who had gone astray and he prayed for members of his flock to have hit records so they could invest in his Condos for Christ. He was a stereotype of what many folks think of when they think about a preacher. Down South, we've gone through the hellfire and damnation preachers who once filled the Sunday afternoon radio dial. These fire-breathers demanded that their listeners repent and promised them a gift if they'd send in a love offering. Somewhere back down the road, this brand of preacher gave way to a suave, educated-type who didn't dance around the pulpit or fling his coat away when he and the church began to roll. The new model preached the familiar message of Christian love, but his words had an academic air, his manner was more subdued. He wore darK suits, plaintoed shoes and was usually a cross between your favorite uncle and your grandfather. Fire and brimstone had given way to salesmanship. Into this world came Othell Hand. Mississippi-born and Kentucky-educate, he came to Columbus in 1962 from pastorates in Virginia, North Carolina and Florida, becoming pastor of the First Baptist Church. His 11 years in the First Baptist pulpit earned him a reputation as a controversial, flamboyant minister whose many-colored coats and theatrical gestures were as familiar downtown as they were in his church. It's been over four years since Othell Hand announced he was leaving the church to join American Family Life Assurance Co.. to - as he put it - "become a minister to the marketplace." . . . The American Family Life tower stands guard over the tree-covered Wynnton section of town, looking down on the rest of Columbus. This is now the home of the Rev. Dr. G. Othell Hand, whose own office is a page from a decorator's hand-book, a palatial headquarters. Its centerpiece is a magnificent glass-covered handmade desk. On either side of it are cabinets where some finely-honed china has found a home. A tasteful painting hangs over a pair of candelabras. As usual the conversation drifted into his leaving the ministry and his move into the insurance marketplace. The question was why, something Hand has been asked so often since he became Vice President of Motivation for the rapidly growing company. "That's a good question, but let me say first that I did not leave the ministry. I left the pastorate. My pattern today is much like a New Testament mimister. Paul was tentmaker, but he was free to preach, because he had another livelihood. American Family is my livelihood. Hand admits that First Baptist - which he still attends - fit him like a glove." He'Says that he never considered going to another church, that his 11 years there were climactic. Though he no longer speaks from a pulpit, Hand will tell you that he still operates as a minister serving the family of American Family, a family that is spread across the country. "This phone is my most important tool," he said; grabbing the receiver. "I must spend half my time on the phone. It's part of my one-on-one ministry with people. "Our lives are not set in segments. If I help a man be more productive, I help him as a man. But if you don't help a man personally, you don't help him in his business. A salesman has to be brassy. You can't be that way jf you're not at peace with yourself. So ultimately, I'm interested in him as a man," he says. . . . Othell Hand's coat of many colors isn't cut from the usual mold and neither was he cut from the usual ministerial mold. Through the years he became synonymous with the words "controversial and flamboyant." Controversial because as pastor at First Baptist he moved so often along secular paths, serving as chairman of the Springer Theater Fund, as chairman of a downtown beautification drive, as chairman of charitable fund drives and on the board of a local bank. Flamboyant because of his technicolor suits, his dramatic and theatrical gestures, his Shakespearian tones, his hairpiece, his ability to fill a room with his presence, his gregarious manner. "I once told Othell that he needed to be in another denomination, that he really wanted to wear fine robes and have crosses, and be a Bishop," one friend remembers. Instead, he chose the world of double indemnity. . . . "When I get up in the morning, I'd rather turn Over and die. My wife (Martha) has a cup of coffee Waitiing for me, then Pepper (his dog) and I go for a walk. I start off dull and disconsolate, but I see flowers or trees, or the sunshine, and I begin to work at feeling my best. By the time we're home, I'm ready to face the day." he says. It is, he admits, a matter of psyching himself up. "At 9 a.m., precisely, I'm walking off the elevator saying 'It's a dynamic day in Dixie.' Sometimes I know that the people on this floor would like to throw me out the window. I simply peg the day on it's reward." He thinks of himself as neither controversial or flamboyant. "I always want to be expressive, to pour out my heart, clear it out. That makes you want to dress well, smile, to like pretty things. I try to express myself, dramatically but not flamboyant!y," he said. "Martha and I must be known by every waitress in town. We haunt them at closing time. It's a practice that began 10 year ago. We usually eat dinner at home, but later on, we get dressed again and go out for coffee and dessert. It gives us a time to be together. We search the day for highlights worth saying. personal things. . . . The marketplace minister's message is spread in many ways, through counseling sessions, phone calls, seminars, newsletters, or - in Hand's case - through the American Family intercom system. Twice a week employees hear a message instead of Muzak. Monday's a day for encouragement. Friday's a day for looking back. "Greetings' everyone. .. it's Friday, day of delight which glides us into a weekend of rest, reflection and recreation. Happily it's another long holiday weekend. Incidentally, on Labor Day, don't fail at some point amid the passing hours to contemplate the fulfillment which comes by way of one's work. . . particularly those of us -associated with a great company such as American Family Life. " '...There you have it homefolks, a thought to ponder over the weekend. Have a joyous one, everyone . . . American Family Life thinks you deserve it!" Twelve years ago, Othell Hand had this to say when a reporter asked him about the declining role of the church: "The church today confronts the severest tests it has known in centuries . . . The crises of today set before religious forces the challenge to dedicated relevant action. " Twelve years later his answer has changed very little. The challenges are still there and for the most part remain unmet. He boils it down to a conflict of interest between knowing what should be done and practicality. The future he paints is not so bright. The former pastor points to what happened in Europe where the people have turned their backs on their churches, "Now you have beautiful cathedrals that are only show places. If the church can't overcome this and becomes increasingly irrelevant, it could happen here," Hand theorizes. The only hope he describes is one that's not so cheerful either. "It would take a catastrophe to bring people back to the church, a depression where people couldn't buy boats, take trips, something to set us back. Then the people would, look to the church as the center of their life again." Where does this leave Othell Hand, a church member with more at stake than his name on the roll? "It makes me believe my role is even more important. Fifty percent of the people I'm reaching don't even go to church so I carry a large burden. Sitting there in his spacious office among the finery, the words seem strange. Stereotypes of what we picture a mimister to be don't ring true, especially those evolving from the days of the itinerant preacher who depended on a fried chicken lunch on Sunday to tide him over. But if you believe something Othell Hand told a civic club 13 years ago, maybe it's easier to understand: "The common glory of us all is the employment in those labors which contribute to the well-being of others." A quotation from Thomas Carlyle also is appropriate: "Blessed is the man who has found his work: let him ask no other blessedness. If G. Othell Hand has found his work, if he's contributing to the well-being of others, if he is indeed ministering to the marketplace, it's difficult to throw stones. Special Sesquicentennal Supplement IV Ledger - Enquirer, Sunday, May 7, 1978, S-27 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/muscogee/photos/hand13407gph.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 10.3 Kb