News, Citizen Profile, Rev. Walter G. Lloyd, LaSalle Parish, La. ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Submitted by: Craig Franklin of The Jena Times, Jena, LaSalle Parish, La. Wednesday, February 21, 2001, page 1B A Times-Signal Feature "Citizen Profile" A Very Special Salute Rev. Walter G. Lloyd - Citizen Profile Nebo minister enjoys 50 years of serving in pulpit (Editor's Note: This Saturday afternoon, a special service will be held honoring Rev. Walter G. Lloyd in celebration of his 50th year of ministry. The service will begin at 2:30 p.m., at Victory Baptist Church in Rogers, where Rev. Lloyd serves as Interim Pastor.) Fifty years ago, on February 4, a bright and funny 23 year-old young man, who'd just returned from WWII three years earlier, surrendered his life to the gospel ministry. Later that same month he would be licensed to preach. Now, fifty years and 14 pastorates later, he's still at it. Rev. Walter G. Lloyd, Interim Pastor at Victory Baptist Church in Rogers, continues to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ - he's not 23 anymore - but he is certainly still bright and funny. Born in Natchitoches Parish, the small town of Creston, on December 29, 1927, Bro. Lloyd endured the hardships of the Great Depression perhaps more than most. His father, James Lloyd, was a minister, but Bro. Lloyd never heard him preach."I don't know a lot about his ministry," Bro. Lloyd said. "He was originally from Arkansas, and most of his ministry was in Arkansas and Texas. But when he was 37 years-old he had a cyrebal hemorage that left him crippled and mentally impaired. "This devastating event occurred less than six months before Bro. Lloyd was born in 1927. The only things he would later know about his father in the ministry would be from the stories his mother would tell him. His father would live for many more years, and even father four more children, but due to his condition, he was unable to work to provide for his family. "There were 9 of us children altogether, and I was the middle child," Bro. Lloyd said. "Five boys and four girls. It took all of us kids working just to be able to survive during the depression." Mrs. Ora Lloyd, his mother, took the role as the family leader, and organized work for herself and her children in order to place food on the table each day. "She raised chickens, sold eggs, had a cow and sold milk and cream, just about anything she could to earn money," Bro. Lloyd recalled. "And of course, she had us kids working - and I mean we worked." In this day and age the idea of selling your children out for work is unheard of, but during the depression, it was sometimes a common occurrance as families struggled to survive. "We would be sent to work the fields, hoeing and picking cotton for neighbors," he said. "It didn't matter what the work was, if it was work and it paid a little, we'd go to it." Even though the children worked to help earn money, they also attended school at Goldona High School. Bro. Lloyd went to Goldona until his was 15 years-old, or finished the seventh grade. At this point, he left home and started supporting himself. "I would work for farmers in the area and work in the timber industry," he said. "Wherever I could get work I would work. But there wasn't a whole lot of work to be had during the depression - especially for a fellow that weighed less than 100 pounds." At the age of 18, Bro. Lloyd found himself in the last draft of World War II. He entered the army in February of 1946, and would serve two years seeing action in Europe and Germany. In 1948, after the war had ended, he was discharged from the army and went back to work in the timber industry and farming. Shortly after, he would find an occupation that would help him earn extra money the rest of his life. He started working for a house painter, who contracted out in the Natchitoches area. For over a year he would work with the contractor, until an event took place in the fall of 1950 that forever changed his life. It was during this time that Bro. Lloyd was saved, at Creston Baptist Church. His salvation experience was so real and so strong that it affected every aspect of his life. It wasn't long until Bro. Lloyd was feeling the calling of the Lord to become a preacher. So less than a year later, on February 4, 1951, he surrendered to preach the gospel. Later that same month, the church would license him as a Baptist preacher. Soon after, he would travel to South Louisiana and attend Acadia Baptist Academy, a private Baptist school, where he finished his high school education. It was during this time that he began his first pastorate. Iota Baptist Church in Iota called him as their pastor in 1951, and he stayed there until he finished his education at Acadia in 1952. Next, it was off to Louisiana College in Pineville, where he began his college education. Although he didn't pastor a church right away, he seldom missed a Sunday preaching somewhere, doing supply preaching work. Then in 1953, he was called as pastor of Grand Ecore Baptist Church near Natchitoches, where he stayed until 1955. This was the church where Bro. Lloyd was ordained at on July 2, 1953. Probably the third greatest event in his life (first being saved, second being called to preach) occurred also in 1953. This was the year that he met the woman of dreams. "We actually met through a preacher friend of mine who was holding a revival for me at Grand Ecore," Bro. Lloyd said. "I didn't have a piano player at the church and he said he could bring his piano player for the revival. That was in June of 1953." The woman was Dixie Hudnall, who grew up and lived in the Nebo area of LaSalle Parish. From the moment they met, Bro. Lloyd knew she was something special. "Actually, the deacons had given me an ultimatum," Bro. Lloyd said jokingly. "Since we didn't have a piano player and I was the only one single, I had to marry one. We met in June and married in September - I was afraid she would learn too much about me so I hurried up and married her." Mrs. Dixie said that at the time, her husband was extremely busy, but he still found time to court her at her home in Nebo. "He was going to school, pastoring a church, working a job, and he'd still travel to Jena - over 100 miles - many times late at night to see me," she said. "By the time he got here, everything would be closed so we couldn't go anywhere. We'd just sit around the living room or on the front porch." This September they will celebrate their 48 anniversary, just two years shy of their 50th wedding anniversary. When reminded of this, Bro. Lloyd joked again, "It probably won't last though." Mrs. Dixie, not to be out done, noted that throughout the years, divorce was never even an option. Murder, however, was. Even though the two love to laugh and joke with one another, it is very evident that the two are still very much in love with one another and their love has certainly proved the test of time. Also, in late 1953, Bro. Lloyd became seriously ill. He was so ill, that he had to miss many days of college, which ultimately caused him to have to drop out for the semester. This, coupled with the fact that he was becoming increasing busier as a pastor, made him make the decision to not to return to college. Over the next 40-plus years, Bro. Lloyd would pastor churches all over Louisiana, including: Vinton, Sugartown, Big Cane, Spencer, Sulphur, Leesville, Walters, Pollock, Harrisonburg, and Jena. (See complete list with dates on this page.) When he would be without a church for a short time, he would find work in various occupations, including painting, oil field, and even a short stint as an insurance salesman. All the while, he would supply preach on Sundays. In 1963, the couple officially made their home in Sharptown. Mrs. Dixie went to work at Hunt, where she would stay for over twenty years. In 1988, Bro. Lloyd retired from pastoring, after spending the previous five years at Bird Creek Baptist Church in Harrisonburg. He then became interim pastor at Prosperity Baptist Church in Walters, and he came out of retirement in 1990 when the church called him for their pastor. He stayed their for six years, then retired again. In July of 1999, Bro. Lloyd was called upon by the members of Victory Baptist Church in Rogers to be their interim pastor. Today, nearly two years later, he still maintains that position. "I tell them at nearly every business meeting that they need to be looking for a pastor," he said. "They just smile and say they've got one." Bro. Lloyd says that he has witnessed many changes in the church since he began over fifty years ago. "If you get to thinking about it, it just overwhelms you," he said. "When I first started out, I had to hitchhike everywhere I went." He recalled that as a young preacher, and not having much money, he could not afford to buy any suits to preach in. Thus, many people in the church would give him suits so that he could be properly dressed on Sundays. "Doctors, lawyers and widows gave me some of the best suits you ever saw," he said. "As a result, I was the best dressed hitchhiker you ever saw. I never had any trouble getting a ride." One of the other changes that Bro. Lloyd attributes to the way the church has changed has to do with the educational level of congregational members. "The educational status of most people in Baptist churches was very low - most people couldn't even read when I first started," he said. "As a result, it was difficult to find leaders in the church. Now that the educational level of people have gone up, we have a different kind of problem. Now we're seeing people who have all the answers. They think that because they have been successful in their job that they can be successful in church . . . That's not so." Bro. Lloyd notes that as the educational level has gone up, the spiritual level has gone down. "We've seen so much change in our society and the morals of our country have just deteriorated," he said. "Divorce used to be an uncommon thing - now it is an accepted practice. It used to be that you couldn't find a church that had any divorced people in it. Now you can't find a church that doesn't have divorced people in it. This is very disturbing." With the educational level up though, Bro. Lloyd said that financially the church is doing better than ever. "During my childhood, most churches were half-time," he said. "But by the time I entered the ministry, most had gone full-time. Years ago, there just wasn't a lot of money and the church struggled financially. For the most part today, churches are financially stable." Bro. Lloyd said that at the time he entered the ministry in 1951, there were many other young men entering the ministry as well. "During W.W.II, we saw a lot of men come back and enter the ministry," he said. "But after that flood of ministers, we started to see a winding down of young men entering the ministry. During the 1960's and 1970's, it was rare to see young men enter the ministry, and even then, those that did were not the most gifted. But today, we're seeing more young men enter than we have in years." Bro. Lloyd says that one of the things that troubles him is the influx of society problems crossing over and becoming problems in the church. "The problems of our society have bled over into the church and this has been devastating for the church as a whole," he said. "We have a lot of broken homes, and as a result we're seeing problems with our children. A lot of people want to complain about the young people, but I would image you can trace the problem right back to the home condition in most every case." Bro. Lloyd, who has been a life-long Southern Baptist, admits that his denomination has been lacking in their efforts reach out and minister to those who are hurting, and to provide solutions and answers that all are searching for. He notes that the feuding inside the convention itself has caused the group as a whole to lose focus on what they're supposed to be doing. "Our emphasis used to be on missions, but not anymore," he said. "Our Sunday School enrollment and participation peaked in 1959 and since then we have went down, down, down. I believe this dropping and the tremendous amount of hostility in the SBC is a direct result of social change and trying to bring about those social changes in our churches. "He continued to note that the Word of God, the Bible, is and always will be the final authority on every issue, and that Baptists should stop fighting and arguing over certain issues - "In the end, the truth contained in the Word of God will prevail," he said. "It always has and it always will." "We've been so busy trying to eat each other up that we've fumbled the ball," he said. "In the 50's and 60's, we, the SBC, were the fastest growing church in America. But not now, it's the Assembly of God group." Bro. Lloyd said that throughout his 50 years of ministry, he has tried to play the role of problem solver, rather than problem creator - both in his local church and in the convention. "I've really had a great ministry and God has blessed me more than I ever imagined," he said. "Most people do not know how demanding the ministry is to pastors, and while I've enjoyed it, it has also been very stressful at times." He describes the role of most pastors as crisis management. Noting that pastors are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and most of the time the only receive calls when something serious has occurred. "Churches are different and some demand more than others," he said. "But most of your time is consumed as a pastor with crises, such as funerals, surgeries, hospital visits, family problems, etc. And somewhere during all of this you have to prepare sermons. It can be very demanding." For many years, Bro. Lloyd served as a bi-vocational pastor, meaning he worked a regular job in addition to being a pastor. "Now that can get rough," he said. "For me, at least, there were many times I had worked all day, up on a ladder painting, then get home just in time to have dinner and then drive to Baton Rouge or somewhere to be with someone in surgery or ICU. Many times I was just physically drained." Despite many of the hard times though, Bro. Lloyd said being a preacher/pastor has been very fulfilling. "The most satisfying thing is to see some of these young people develop into outstanding citizens and church members," he said. "Just to know that you've been a part of their life, or that you've had the privilege of inspiring them or helping them in some way. That is certainly the most satisfying." Throughout the years, Bro. Lloyd has seen many young men in his churches surrender to the ministry. This also brings about a tremendous fulfillment to a pastor. "Right now, I'm enjoying myself more than anytime in my life," he said. "To tell you the truth, I can't image it getting any better. The folks at Victory have been so good to me and Dixie, and I believe that God wants to do a great work at that church." Along with his wife and three children, Bro. Lloyd has three grandchildren. He loves his wife and his family, and gives them credit for being a great preacher's family. "I honestly don't know what I would do if the Lord hadn't sent Dixie in my life," he said. "I think really that folks (churches) just put up with me so Dixie would stay there." Bro. Lloyd is also thankful for all of the churches God has allowed him to pastor, noting that he has had the opportunity to minister to some of the best people in the world. "You know, I've never been dismissed from any church," he said. "And some of those were troubled churches that had even run men off before. But God allowed me to minister and leave every church on good terms. Even right now, I believe I could pick up the phone and call some of our former members and they would do just about anything to help if needed. Now that's fulfilling as well." For 50 years, Bro. Walter Lloyd has been sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and ministering in churches all over Louisiana. He's retired twice, and is currently "pastoring" his fourteenth church at age 73. This week, in honor of his many years of faithful service to the ministry, we salute Bro. Lloyd as our Citizen Profile. He's impact on people will never truly be measured until that one day when the One whom he's been serving says to him, "Well done, thy good and faithful servant. (Caption under photo) BRO. WALTER G. LLOYD, Interim Pastor at Victory Baptist Church in Rogers, celebrates his 50th year in the ministry this month. He is being recognized and honored during a special service this Saturday, at the church, beginning at 2:30 p.m. (See story.) Churches Pastored By Bro. Walter G. Lloyd Iota Baptist Iota 1951-1952 Grand Ecore Natchitoches 1952-1955 Crossroads Baptist Vinton 1955-1960 Sugartown Baptist Sugartown 1960-1962 Big Cane Baptist Big Cane 1962-1963 Paron Baptist Spencer 1964-1965 Trinity Baptist Sulphur 1965-1969 Cooper Baptist Leesville 1969-1972 United Baptist Jena 1972-1973 Prosperity Baptist Walters 1973-1975 Bob Baptist Pollock 1977-1980 Bird Creek Baptist Harrisonburg 1983-1988 Prosperity Baptist Walters 1990-1996 Victory Baptist Rogers 1999-Present Officially retired in 1988. Came out of retirement to pastor Prosperity the second time, then retired again.