A Faithful Shepherd
“Shepherd the church of God.”
Acts 20:28 (NASB)
Pastor Harry Reeder once said that of the hundreds of men and women found in the Bible only about 67 finished well. Pastor Buddy Gray certainly finished well. Hunter Street’s 14th pastor is now officially Pastor Emeritus. Buddy faithfully shepherded Hunter Street Baptist’s congregation for the last forty years.
My Mom and Dad were both long-time Hunter Street members who joined the church in 1950 and never left. When Hunter Street sold its former location and moved to its current Hoover campus, Mama and Daddy were two of the 220 members who moved with Buddy and the church. Buddy challenged his members by offering the church membership three options. They could be caretakers, undertakers, or risk-takers. They chose to be risk-takers.
My dad, a deacon at the time lamented, “Buddy Gray is leading us to the wilderness!”
“Daddy, Hoover is NOT the wilderness!” I responded.
It sure wasn’t. Buddy Gray’s prayer, “Lord, send the people!” was answered in a mighty way.
“When we moved, we had 220 people,” Gray said. “We made a commitment we would always make room for one more person - one more child in the nursery, one more car in the parking lot, one more person in the pew. Making room for one more has really been a driving force here.”
As Hoover grew, Hunter Street grew along with it. The church campus in Hoover expanded and the congregation grew to more than 7,000 members.
But Buddy Gray never lost his personal touch. When our family celebrated Mama’s 90th birthday, Buddy came even after preaching three sermons and one funeral on that Sunday. His gift to Mama was truly the Ministry of Presence!
In 2005 Daddy had a massive heart attack and was in intensive care for several weeks. On Saturday before he died, Buddy Gray walked into the hospital waiting room to pray with us. Ninety minutes later, I asked, “Buddy, don’t you need to go home to rest and prepare for your sermons tomorrow?”
“There’s no place I’d rather be,” he responded.
Buddy Gray officiated the funerals for Mama and Daddy, not just celebrating their lives, but presenting the Gospel of Christ for those who needed to hear it.
Mama's celebration of life service was truly that, one that honored her life, love, and faithfulness. Her beloved Hunter Street outdid themselves honoring Mama and serving us. Just before the service, Buddy asked permission to insert a one-minute video clip that the church had made about four years ago prior to her death. Mama speaking at her own funeral service was such a tender gift of God's grace for us, especially since she eventually lost her words to dementia.
Last year during his sermon announcing his retirement, Buddy Gray said, “We’ve walked through many seasons of life together, joy and sorrow, birth and death, beginnings and endings, and I can say from the bottom of my heart, I have loved being your pastor, every day, every step of the way. Every week at the end of the service when I say I love you, I just don’t mean feelings of affection, but I certainly feel those, but I mean commitment, a covenant love, a love that says I am with you no matter what,” Gray told the congregation in September. And I have felt the very same from you.”
“The strength of a church has never rested in one man,” he said. “It has always rested in the unchanging faithfulness of God.”
“Long before I came back to be pastor in 1986, Hunter Street had already been walking with the Lord since 1907, 79 years. And when I step aside, I want you to remember that the same God who has carried this church now for 119 years will still carry you,” Gray said.
Scripture is very clear. A pastor is charged to faithfully preach the Word and shepherd the flock (2 Timonthy 4:2, John 21:16), 1 Peter 5:2). The shepherd’s job is to lead, feed, guard, and guide his people. “Shepherd” is the word that I believe best describes Pastor Buddy Gray.
Psalm 78:72 summarizes King David’s life with these words:
“And David shepherded them with integrity of heart, with skillful hands he led them.”
David shepherded his people with heart and art. So did Pastor Buddy Gray. One church member said, “He loved us and pointed people to Christ.”
Well done, Buddy! “May the LORD reward your work and your wages be full from the LORD.” (Ruth 2:12 NASB)