Adrian Lynum.
God has given us the honor and privilege of celebrating the life of one of his children whose life has ended well. The mind of God is a fascinating place to behold dreams that we would never think of putting into place. Who but God, would take a trip 69 years ago visit a black poverty stricken family in the midst of Manilla, Alabama and see a couple in whose womb was a child that would impact the lives of others for the kingdom years into the future miles away in a place called Cleveland, OH?
Who but God would give that southern child such a creative imagination and ability to tell stories, that it would lead him to earn the homilitecs prize for his preaching ability at the prestigious northern school of Pittsburgh, Theological Seminary. Who but God could see what help we Presbyterians needed and would go to the depth of using the Cleveland, Browns to rob the Baptist Church of Adrian Lynum and set his feet on the rock to stay at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church. Thank God for the earlier and shorter service of the Presbyterian Church or we might not all be here today.
Who but God could look back a week ago on Tuesday and say something precious had occurred when Adrian Lynum breathed in , and breathed out his last breath. For the word of God tells us in Psalms 115:16, Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his saints. Brothers and sisters I submit to you, that Adrian Lynum, was one of the Lord’s saints. He did not fear death, because he claimed the promise of Jesus Himself who said, John 14:1-3 (NIV) 1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
God grants us life with the purpose of us coming into a living relationship with God in order for us to touch the lives of others. Adrian fulfilled both of those assignments for his life. When I think of Adrian, I think of an old chorus that we use to sing that goes way back for some of us. The words are, “I’m a soldier, in the army of the Lord, just a soldier, in the army. If I live let me live, in the army of the Lord, if I die let me die, in the army. “
When Adrian responded to the call of Jesus Christ to enter into the ministry, he became a soldier who could not and would not forget who the commanding officer was. He was willing to endure the hardships of a soldier in his life, because of a desire to please his commanding officer. He did not mind overlooking an insult or turning the other cheek in his ministry, because he knew that’s what the love of Jesus Christ required of him. He walked with a spirit of humility about himself and you never found him seeking his own praise. He’d be the first to say, “No give the praise to God, because I’m just soldier in the army doing what the Lord told me to do.” And when he gave you that Adrian grin, and you knew that he meant it.
I asked Marjorie to give us a glimpse of Adrian growing up. She told me that her brother was talking way before he was walking as a toddler. Adrian loved to have fun as a child. He always had a joke to tell. God blessed him to grow up in a home with a mom, a dad, and three siblings. There was so much love in the home between them all that Marjorie said, “this was the first home in which all four children were equally spoiled.”
Adrian had a tremendously love for his grandfather who was a large Baptist preacher. Adrian would follow him all over the place, and would even try to get into the pulpit with him. God was placing in his heart as a young child, the desire to preach for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I asked Marjorie,” what was it like when your brother became your pastor.” She said, “there was a double blessing in it in two ways. The first she said was, I got to see my grandfather again, because Adrian physically looked and was built like our grandfather. I’d look at my brother in the pulpit, and see my grandfather preaching the word of God once again.
The second she said was, “I gained a pastor, but lost a brother.” Adrian was so committed to the calling of God on his life as a pastor, that we both knew I would be sharing him with others and things would be different. I knew he was there for me should I need him, but now he was my pastor. The one thing that reminded me he was my brother was he’d be in the middle of his sermon, and start to tell a story about his past, which began with those words, “I know Marjorie is not going to like me telling this but…. and he’d go on and tell it just the same.
I asked his daughter Adrienne, to help us understand what this soldier was like as father. She said that was just awesome. He was full of integrity, calm, loving and supportive. Now she also hinted that in a few occasions it was going to be his way or the highway. But most of the time he had a heart of compassion with a desire to bring joy and smiles into the lives of others. On Christmas morning, her dad would be the first one up. He would have gone out of his way to find you that perfect Christmas gift, and the only thing he wanted in return was to see the expression on your face, when you saw the gift.
I asked what was it like to be in trouble as a teenager. At first she said, “oohh. Her father could penetrate her heart with the words, “I’m disappointed in you and I expected more out of you than this.” That was discipline enough. He had lived a life of transparency before her by sharing with her the mistakes he had made in his life, to help her avoid them in hers. They had a very special relationship as father and daughter. He took her everywhere and showed her what real love was, and how a man is to love a woman by the way he loved her mother Thelma.
I asked her what was a special moment you shared with your dad. She said it happened when my parents took me to college for the first time to leave me behind. As they got ready to leave and to say goodbye, I noticed that tears were coming down my father’s face. That was the first time I actually saw my father cry. My friends those were the tears of a soldier who knew what it was to love his daughter.
Adrian was blessed in his life with two absolutely wonderful wives. Do not get alarmed, he was not married to both of them at the same time. We are Presbyterians and we do do things in decency and in order. Toby and I had the privilege of watching Thelma and Adrian together. There was such a sparkle in his eyes when he talked about her. The love that existed between them lasted until they completed their vows, until death do us part. When Adrian preached her funeral, it was one of the greatest eulogies we had heard. You could not listen to that message without hearing, here was a man that tried to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He saw a beauty within her, that she had a hard time seeing in herself.
With her passing, there was a sadness remaining in his eyes. As a soldier, he continued to look to his commanding officer for what do I do next. He continue to pour out his love and compassion on other members of the congregation he served. Meanwhile two of his cousins knew of a beautiful woman in Chicago that could truly compliment his life and his ministry and he hers. When Adrian met and saw Earnestine, he could not have agreed with them more. God had opened the door for the possibility of a new love in his life.
I asked Earnestine what attracted you to Adrian. She said, “ he was just so compassionate and supportive of her as a person in what she was doing. He made you feel better about yourself. He was just such a loving man. Her coming into his life was accompanied by the sparkle returning to his eyes as before. God blessed them to enjoy five years of marriage together, completing their vows, until death do us part. Adrian was a man that loved his wife and he was as proud of Earnestine as he could be. He loved his family.
He also loved his calling as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. His daughter shared the story of him responding to the call. Now God has a way of getting our attention. Adrian had already worked many years at Lincoln Electric and was satisfied with his life. But then he started having a couple of accidents. The first accident left him with a twisted ankle. In the second accident he got hit by a car. He then a vision of being called into the ministry.
Now in the Presbyterian Church, going into ministry is about 4 year process. When he went to share his vision about going in the ministry with his pastor, her response was “aren’t you a little old for this.” At first he thought she might be right, but then when he went back to work and almost lost his hand in another accident, he made up his mind this was it.
Thelma was shocked and surprised at this reversal of life change, and she and Adrian had many discussions about it. But she told him in the end, I’m going to do all that I can to support you in your calling. The Presbyterian Church USA and the body of Jesus Christ universal, became richer in it’s outreach because of the decision this couple made to respond to the call of God.
I asked one of Adrian’s members, what kind of pastor was he as seen from the pews. She said, “he had a heart for the church. He looked for potential in others and helped to bring it out of them so that they could accomplish things in their lives and for God. He was honest. If you were wrong, he’d let you know in a very loving way, that you were wrong. He knew how to speak the truth in love. He was the epitome of a pastor, in that even when he was wronged, he did not waiver in doing what was right. He walked in humility treating everybody with the utmost in respect. If the custodian was cleaning, he’d grab a mop a broom or whatever and clean right along side of him.
He went beyond being your pastor, to being a part of your family. When he called your name, gave a laugh, and said huh, huh, hu, you knew you were about ready to volunteer for something whether you wanted to or not”. She said that Pastor Lynum preached messages that motivated you to want to change and to get to know God. He reached out into the community to make a difference in people’s lives. He was just a soldier on the streets marching for the cause of Christ.
Often times, we do not know that this is our last time together. That’s why it’s some important to be living for the Lord today. There is a verse in the bible in the book of Philippians that says, one day every knee is going to bow before Jesus Christ and every tongue is going to confess that Jesus is Lord. No matter who you are or what you believe, one day you will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. It’s going to make a huge difference as to whether you make that confession before you die or after you die.
Adrian Lynum chose to make that confession and put his eternal destiny on it. The word of God tells us that if die with Christ, we shall also live with Christ. Adrian could have said 9 days ago like so many other believers, “the time has come for my departure, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
Adrian Lynum has left behind a legacy of faithfulness in service and has gone to be with Jesus Christ. You may think, with all the joy, the love, and the laugher he brought into the lives of his family and all the work he did in the church that he certainly deserves to go to heaven. But if s\he could speak to us today, he would say that’s not quite true. You see, according to the Bible, none of us deserves to go to heaven. Did you know that according to Jesus, most people will not go to heaven?
Jesus said in , Mat 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the way to enter that narrow gate. All you have to do is to admit, "God, I have done a lot of things I should not have done. I realize I cannot pay for all that I have done. I ask you for forgiveness. I accept that when Jesus Christ died on the cross, He being holy and righteous, paid the penalty for my sin. I invite him to come into my life and take control of it." Adrian Lynum made that decision years ago and has not regretted it since.
You will make numerous decisions in your life between your birth and your death. But the only decision that will still be personally affecting you a 1000 years from today, is what did you do with Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches there will certainly be a resurrection of everybody from the dead, and then comes the judgment of God.
We may say of Adrian Lynum, that he was my friend or colleague in ministry, he was my uncle, he was my brother, he was my grandfather , or he was my father , or he was my husband, but the greatest truth of them all is that Adrian Lynum is and forever will be a a child of God who has now completely returned to God. For those of us who die without knowing Jesus Christ Adrian Lynum will only be a memory, a very good and loving memory. But for those of us who do know Jesus Christ, Adrian Lynum is simply waiting to meet us on the other side.
For the Bible clearly teaches,
1 Th 4:13 Brothers and sisters , we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men and women, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
