The sanctuary was filled to capacity on Sunday night April 27, when Kenneth Bullard delivered his “Move On” sermon.
The Joshua 1 message centered on a directive to the Israelites to proceed to the land God had promised them.
Although Moses had died, it didn’t mean God’s plan could no longer go forward.
Instead, Joshua would take the helm and lead the children of Israel along God’s path for them. So, they needed to move on.
In many ways, the situation paralleled that of Cropwell Baptist Church near Pell City.
The pastor was stepping down. Nonetheless, God’s will and His work in the church would neither flounder nor fade. It would continue under new leadership, taking the people to the place where God wants them.
Yet, the message brought many of the hearers to tears because this was Bullard’s last sermon at the church, where he had been senior pastor for 18 years.
There wasn’t a new pastorate, a teaching position or a denominational ministry post awaiting him.
Only the quiet assurance from God that He would show the way, if Bullard were obedient to the command to move on.
The large crowd at the church for Bullard’s final sermon starkly contrasted his first one.
It was on a Wednesday to a gathering of seven in December 1984. The following Sunday 18 attended Sunday School and 25 attended the worship service. The total membership hovered around 38.
He had accepted the call to Cropwell, after having been the assistant pastor at Arbor Baptist Church in Pell City for nine years.
Growth was rapid. The sanctuary could hold maybe 200. But it wasn’t long before the foyer was taken in to create more seats.
When that no longer was enough, a remote hookup televised the service in another area of the building.
Just three years after Bullard became pastor, the church began the process of building a new sanctuary that would hold more than 500.
Four years after the congregation moved into the new sanctuary, even that structure seemed too small. So, a second morning worship service was established.
Next came a Christian life building and preliminary plans for a third sanctuary. But instead of another sanctuary, the church decided to focus on debt retirement. It is now two years into the three-year project.
“We’ve already cut (the debt) over half,” said Bullard a few days before his last sermon.
Even as his pastorate there was coming to a close, on another part of the campus, a new ministry was getting under way.
The preschool department was registering children for the newly created weekday education program.
The church’s membership had increased to 1,300. More than 800 people were baptized during the years of Bullard’s pastorate.
These baptisms stand out in the mind and heart of Joey Hobson, current chairman of the deacons.
He said he has seen an abundance of souls saved and lives changed through Bullard’s faithful preaching of the Word.
“The biggest part of his ministry,” continued Hobson, “is his compassion for people and the love that he shares.”
Bullard and his wife, Eloise, to whom he has been married for 32 years, have reared three daughters and have a grandson.
Bullard accepted Jesus Christ as Lord in the 1960s. He was called to preach a year later.
While at Cropwell, the only church Bullard has served as pastor, he continued his education.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from Southeastern Bible College in Birmingham, and a master’s from Alabama Theological Seminary. He also received a doctorate from Covington Theological Seminary in Georgia. He has memorized most of the New Testament and large portions of the Old Testament.
Bullard’s sermons, all of them written by hand, offer an engaging mix of Bible truths, harrowing real-life experiences and uproarious humor.
Billy Hunt, director of missions for St. Clair Baptist Association, said that he has always found Bullard’s preaching to be inspiring. “He was a faithful pastor in our association.”
Though people would say that serving up large portions of spiritual meat in every sermon is his calling, Bullard feels that writing is his greater talent.
Now that he has received direction from God to “move on,” Bullard looks to using that writing talent even more.
“I’ve even thought about radio,” he continued, broadening his prospects further to possibly serving as an interim pastor. “Someday, I might just be a pastor again,” if God so leads, he added.
Thinking back over his ministry, Bullard observed that he is still that shy boy God called out many years ago to preach.
“The only explanation for who I am and where I am is God. That’s it,” said Bullard, pausing in mid-thought, tears in his eyes and emotion in his voice. “I’ve just been that shy little boy, clothed in grace. That’s all I can say.”
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