Culon P. “C.P.” Davis of Blountsville is someone others might call “an accomplished individual.”
In February 2004, he completed 50 years of ministry, serving churches across Alabama. He’s now helping start another church. He’s been married to his wife, Margaret, for 58 years and together they’ve raised a big enough brood of kids to start their own baseball team.
Along the way, Davis has written for Southern Baptist publications such as Home Life, Living with Children, Living with Preschoolers, Church Administration, Church Leadership and Quarterly Review.
In addition to all that, he’s a pretty fair gardener.
But among Davis’ many accomplishments, there is one that is the stuff of legends.
“I’m the only fella in history that went to Howard College (now Samford University, Birmingham) with nine kids,” he stated matter-of-factly.
Davis was already the father of five when he was saved and called into the ministry at age 23. His ordination at Goodman Baptist Church in Enterprise, Coffee Association, was the beginning of a journey for him and his growing family that took them to churches around the state and eventually to Birmingham.
“I was at Golden Acres (Baptist Church in Phenix City, Russell Association), and Oley Kidd was going to help me with a revival there,” Davis recalled.
“It was about that time I decided to come to Birmingham for college so I had to call him and tell him I’d resigned.”
During the course of their conversation, Kidd asked Davis how many children he had and Davis replied, “Nine.”
“Ohhh!’ said a surprised Kidd. “You know where they come from don’t you?”
Years later, when one of Davis’ daughters was attending Samford, she learned of her father’s legendary status and that he was regularly held up as an example. Whenever study-weary students complained, they were reminded of “old Davis who went through with nine kids,” students said. “If he can do it, anybody can.”
But even with the challenges — financial and otherwise — that Davis faced in his years at Howard, when the time came for him to graduate the school owed him $15. He then continued his education at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisiana and Luther Rice Seminary in Georgia.
Besides Golden Acres, Alabama Baptist churches Davis has served include Friendship in Kinston, Sardis Association; Newbia in Elba, Coffee Association; Macedonia in Maplesville, Chilton Association; Shoal Creek in Decatur, Morgan Association; Powderly and First Baptist Church, Tarrant, both Birmingham Association.
His legacy includes two pastor sons, Paul Davis of Eastern Valley Baptist Church in Bessemer, Bessemer Association, and Timothy Davis of Gallion Baptist Church in Gallion, Hale Association.
Once a prolific writer, Davis churned out 100,000 words for the Baptist Sunday School Board (now LifeWay Christian Resources) in 1981 alone. For various reasons, though, he chose to give up writing.
“I burned out, I guess,” he said, “and I didn’t have secretarial help at the time. I also developed lower back pain and never did get back in it.”
But burning out on the ministry has evidently never occurred to Davis. He is active in God’s work, these days in Blount County. Recently, he helped start Trinity Baptist Church, a congregation of 31 members currently meeting in a house in Palmerdale.
“We’re buying land at Nectar and we’ll soon have clear title to the land,” he said. “We’re hoping to get one of those mobile chapels but if we don’t we’ll get something else to go on it.”
Now the grandfather of 19 and great-grandfather of four, Davis takes a simplistic view of how he’s managed to do all he’s done in one short lifetime.
“All I know is ‘gee’ and ‘haw’ but that’s more than some folks know,” he said. “That’s right and left,” he explained.
But there’s also a greater secret to his success: “You can’t do anything within yourself. If the Lord doesn’t do it, you’re up agin’ it.”
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