A Retreaded Preacher Appeals For Joy In The Presence

Rev. Ad Hopper with the Bible that contains the names of some of those who ordained him at Sulphur Springs Baptist Church in November of 1965.

For the Rev. Ad Hopper, ministry and church should be about joy in the Lord. He talked about standing in awe of the presence of The Holy Spirit.

He prefers calling himself "retreaded" than retired. To hear him talk about God, Jesus, the Psalms and the book of Romans, there is little evidence of anything retiring.

Not only is his voice animated by joy and enthusiasm, his body is almost always in motion. As he talks, he gestures, sits upright, uses his face to express astonishment and laughter at a funny story.

One church member came out of service one Sunday morning and asked her husband, "Well, do you want to take me out to lunch or do you want to go home and fast?"

Since his ordination at Sulphur Springs in 1965, he has served four churches in Rutherford County: West Point, Corinth, Hicks Grove and Piedmont.

He fears today's church folks, even young preachers, have lost their zeal, their passion for the work. He had high praise for revival breaking out among the victims of Hurricane Helene.

"So many people have come from all over the country and it's a revival. In one place where rebuilding is happening, 300 people were baptized," he said with the enthusiasm of a football fan whose team had just won a big game. He said yes, the destruction has been terrible, but the outpouring of love and support has brought about revival.

At the recent funeral for school teacher and Christian Ruth Hodge he noted the great affection the Apostle Paul had for the church work of a woman named Phoebe. "If you read that whole letter, you'll see lots of women listed." He added that if not for the hard work of women under the guidance of The Holy Spirit, the church "never would have lasted."

Turning 85 on January 12, he puts some younger pilgrims to shame with his joyous spirit and energy. Among his dearest treasures are his four sons: Marty who is married to Sheila, Matt married to Rebecca, Mitch with Casey and Mark with Sherry. He said he and his wife had wanted at least one daughter, but when they got these wonderful daughters-in-law, "We finally got to know who we were."

His humor is constantly bubbling up. As he mentioned having 10 grandchildren and four great grands, he said, "They are all an improvement." He also said, "My love for God and family is more wonderful now that the curtain of life is about to close."

He had four sisters: Jacqueline, Katie, Mickie, and Faith Ann. And he learned something hilarious about his brother, Jim, when he told his parents he had been called to preach. Riding "the humps in the road coming out of Sandy Mush," he had a rich and emotional experience with the divine and walked into his parents' bedroom to announce he had been called to preach.

"Mama sat up in bed and raised her arms in the air and said, 'I've been praying one of my boys would be called to preach," and he paused for effect and added that she said, "I thought it was Jim."

He married his wife Laura Evalee after being drawn by the beauty in her eyes and her spirit. She spent the last 14 years of her life bedridden, but "She had the strength of a rhinoceros." He calls death "arriving," as in arriving at the gates of heaven. Laura Evalee arrived in 2015.

Preaching the love of God across many decades has left this man full of spirit and fun. He said the highest compliment he received as a preacher came from a church member who told others, "This man talks about himself. He talks about his family, and he talks about us, and you can hear God in all of it." He added that when serving a church, "You've got to know your people."

Among his mentors were ministers: R.A. Thompson, Broughton Strickland, and C.C. Crow. While he was in training, he met briefly with another minister, Ivy Johnson. He asked Hopper what he was up to. He said, "A little carpentry, a little farming, a little schooling and a little preaching." Johnson said, "Well, you're not doing much of anything, are you?"

He shared a reading about feeling the spirit deep within, and added that his journey had been "a wonderful, personal relationship with God."

With tears in his eyes, he credited his mother, Ira, and his father, Jack, for stressing the importance of family and the importance of spirituality. "It was from that inner drawing that my mother led me at the age of nine to accept Jesus as my personal savior."

He lives in a house he and his son, Marty, built. Other family homes have been built nearby.