Although not an official Alabamian, Robert Gee Witty now holds an honorary membership at First Baptist Church, Weaver.
Witty, founder and president emeritus of Atlanta’s Luther Rice Seminary (formerly in Lithonia, Ga.), received the honor May 5 when he preached at the church’s Senior Adult Day celebration.
The energetic and enthusiastic 95-year-old evangelist from Jacksonville, Fla., is a close friend and mentor of Roger Willmore, pastor of First, Weaver. The two met when Willmore sought his advice on post-graduate studies.
“I’ve known Dr. Witty over 25 years, and one of his most outstanding characteristics is his interest in younger pastors,” Willmore said. “I don’t know of a man who has invested more in the lives of so many.”
Witty’s love for mentoring ministers is evident in his ground-breaking work at Luther Rice Seminary.
Through his own experiences in post-graduate studies in various seminaries, Witty recognized the need for working pastors to continue their education without leaving their church positions.
At the seminary, Witty pioneered the D.Min. degree through “extended” or “distance education.”
“Many seminaries were against this practice when we began it, but now most seminaries offer it,” Witty noted.
Although he retired in 1985 from the presidency of Luther Rice Seminary, Witty maintains a close relationship with the school he helped found in 1962.
Born in 1906 in Glasgow, Ky., Witty was raised in the Methodist faith and was called to preach at age 17. In his early years of ministry, he served at various churches while attending seminary.
Personal adversity forced him to leave the Methodist church, and he led nondenominational congregations several years before joining the Southern Baptist Convention.
In spite of denominational roadblocks, Witty never stopped preaching. How did he overcome the roadblocks and critics?
“I felt that I was called to preach by God. So I went on and preached and ignored the things that got in my way,” is his answer.
Witty also has a love for missions. Through Luther Rice Seminary and invitations from international Baptist conventions, Witty spoke twice in pre-Castro Cuba.
He preached five times in Korea and maintains a relationship there with the pastor of the country’s largest congregation, 700,000. He has preached in Japan, New Zealand, Australia, India and South Africa as well.
He still reaches people around the world through his Web site, www.rgwitty.com.
The site contains sermons, book recommendations, his ongoing autobiography, inspirational stories, poems and much more.
Publicized mostly through word of mouth, the site is receiving about 68,000 hits a year. Visitors to his Web site live all around the world, including many Muslim nations.
Witty updates the site regularly, adding chapters to his autobiography and addressing current world issues.
Although he does not travel as widely as he once did and considers himself retired, Witty still maintains a busy schedule in spite of his age.
He teaches teachers at his home church, leads a weekly Bible study, hosts a weekly radio show and does two or three speaking engagements a month.
He enjoys speaking to senior adults and sharing the peace and hope he has found in his 95 years. Having written several books already, he hopes to write another encouraging seniors to be happy and overcome their fears of growing older.
“So many people get old and get depressed. I just get happier and happier. I may not be proud of everything in my past, but I am proud of my future with Jesus in heaven,” Witty said.
“Looking to their future, senior Christians should be the happiest people in the world.”
Witty passes his positive attitude about the future to the next generation as he mentors younger pastors.
He urges them to write so that their experiences and teaching can influence others long after they are gone.
Willmore added, “The one thing Dr. Witty has always told me to do is write. I took his advice and began writing for LifeWay publications. Dr. Witty taught me the value of a minister’s life being extended through writing.”
As Witty says, a man who has lived 95 years has watched nearly half of America’s history unfold before his eyes.
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