He walked into the office of the Executive Director of San Antonio Baptist Association in 1981 and introduced himself as a retired Air Force Colonel. “Bro. Coffee”, he said, “I need something to do.” Thus began a twenty-one year service to Baptists in Texas, following twenty-seven years in the Air Force.
Its hard to imagine anyone making more of an impact on the Kingdom of God than Sam Pearis made. As a result of that initial meeting, Sam agreed to become a volunteer coordinator at San Antonio Baptist Association. He would become the first Mission Service Corp volunteer to serve full time on an associational staff in the Southern Baptist Convention. His job would be to enlist others like himself to do volunteer work all over the association and around the world.
In January of 1984 Sam would follow me to the Baptist General Convention of Texas, where he would serve as a Mission Service Corp volunteer coordinator for the 6,000 cooperating churches in Texas, a position he held until 2002, when he retired, after eighteen years of service to Texas Baptists.
Monday morning of this week I received one of the most unusual e-mails I have ever received. It is the first e-mail I have ever received from someone who is already in Heaven. I reproduce it here:
Dear Friend,
My day has come and I'm doing my last action for Polly here. She chose not to learn the computer (optimistically depending on me). Because of this, my final assignment is to announce my passing.
The attached Obituary has most of the details, and more will follow when known. Of course you are invited to the Viewing and Memorial Service. I'll be at both of them. My demise was caused by Pulmonary Fibrosis, scarring in the lungs. If you are unfamiliar with this deadly disease, you can look it up on the Internet as I had to do. Or you can wait until we meet next time.
Thank you for making my life a more meaningful one. You helped me get my money's worth in my 78 years.
Come see me. And if you Church of Christ people have trouble getting in, just tell the Gatekeeper that you are Baptist (doesn't have to be "Southern" Baptist).
Thanks to my Grandson Dalton for help in sending this. If you wish to respond, the computer will be open for a few days. And then it CRASHES.
Note: All addresses and phone numbers will stay the same.
Sam Pearis
Sam has gone on to be with the Lord. He is one of the most remarkable servants of Christ I have ever known. I remember on one occasion talking to him, some six months or so after he had begun working for our association. I said, “Sam, you were a colonel in the air force, used to giving orders, etc. How have you adapted so well to your position here as a volunteer?”
Without hesitation he said, “Easy. I just look at you as the general.” We both enjoyed a good laugh, when I said, “Some have told me I looked a bit like a German general.”
I will look forward to seeing Sam again one of these days. He was truly a remarkable man. I loved him as a brother. I believe he felt the same way towards me. Though we had not stayed nearly in close enough touch since we both retired, his e-mail above is testimony to the kind of guy he was. The Lord has a great recruiter on His staff in glory.
1 comments:
Hello, Ken. It's been a while since I dropped by but I couldn't help but notice your blog about Sam. I'm surprised no one else has commented so I'll take a moment to add my thoughts. My overlap with Sam was only 9 years and yet I agree will all you've said. In all my interactions with Sam he always had a servant mindset and he always wanted to make a positive contribution. He was thorough and, appropriately, regimented! He was a friend. I did not know about his postmortem email until I read it in your blog--what a great word! And now we'll think of Polly--equally remarkable. In fact, she and Sam made for a complete "package!" Thanks again for this reminder of a man we can all seek to emulate.
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