Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of stories that were written by students in Jodi Williams’ English 1101 class at the University of North Georgia Blue Ridge campus. They are first-hand accounts of local people who have made an impact on the authors. As you read them, you will see ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
When I was struggling to decide whether to leave my teaching position to become a pastor of a church, I talked to Godly men that I really trusted, and I prayed very hard. I was in my driveway one night by myself and I said to God, I must know if this is what I am supposed to do with my life. As I was looking down at my shadow it got really bright and I got scared and I looked up. And no joke. A shooting star went across the sky, and I felt like that was just for me, because God knew I needed to be convinced and I have never regretted my decision.”
After the many jobs he had previously – such as doing work on a farm and bailing hay, worked in a meat shop as a butcher, worked in an electrical and plumbing warehouse, worked in a sporting goods shop in the mall, and as a school teacher – it was in this defining moment of Bob Richardson’s life, he knew he was being called into ministry.
Bob loves anything that has to do with nature such as going fishing, camping, and hiking. He also loves to watch the Georgia Bulldogs play football and the St. Louis Cardinals play baseball.
Bob had many role models as a youth that he aspired to be like but that also shaped him to be the man he is today. Men of good character and of good faith set the example for Bob, and he now is the example of a role model for many of the youth in his church today. When he was younger he liked to follow certain athletes and wanted to know how they worked out and got good at what they did. His dad, his pastor, and his coaches were all wonderful role models for him because they were all wise and faithful men. He still keeps in touch with some of his coaches today.
Bob’s pastor always talked to him about following Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Another phrase that stuck with him was a phrase he heard from a pastor years ago and he said, “Only one life so soon will be past, only what is done for Christ will last.” One of his coaches told him that he saw leadership potential and that he just needed to step up and lead and to quit being so timid. He always tried to keep the Nike mentality of “Just do it.” He has carried these words with him throughout his life and with the guidance of these men he is where he is today.
Bob is the senior pastor at the First Baptist Church of Blue Ridge, and his first responsibility is to preach and teach the Bible, and counsel people who are struggling with life’s problems. He is the head administrator of all of the ministries in the church and is constantly making decisions for the mission and vision of the church. He also organizes and plans the outreach for the missions ministry.
Bob Richardson has been told he is a serious man when he preaches the gospel but that it helps so that he can transition and make people laugh. He likes to take that moment of saying something funny to get people to stop for a second to relax. He calls this “allowing you to come up for air.”
“The Lord has taken how he made me and fit my personality for the ministry he gave me. I feel very comfortable with that. Honestly, I have always had a deep love for people and wanting to help people, so I thought the best way to do that was to be an educator. It wasn’t long after that God helped me realize he wanted me to help people with more than just science, math, and history. He wanted me to help them with eternal help. He was using that time as a middle school teacher to lead me into a larger role as a pastor.”
On top of all of that he performs funerals and weddings. Sometimes he even has to do janitorial duties. He has to be available to do anything to meet a need. “I am sometimes called to do funerals of people I don’t know. One time I was getting ready to get up and do a funeral for this lady in a room full of people and a guy says, ‘I forgot to tell you before you do your ceremony, they want us to play one of Tupac’s songs- ‘Dear Mama,’ so I had to get up and preach behind this song, but nobody was black in the room which was really awkward.”
Bob Richardson also does missionary work and travels around the world to tell people who Jesus is. It fascinates him when he meets someone who’s never heard the name of Jesus and he gets the privilege just to tell them. He has been to Africa five times and loves the African continent and the African people, specifically Nigeria and the Gambia.
“I slept in a Muslim village where we showed the Jesus film to Muslims and the chief liked me because he thought I was fat. Being fat is a tremendous blessing in Nigeria. And anytime the chief would see me he would yell across the village ‘Big Guy!’ and it made me feel so fat. So, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.”
He has had the privilege of going to Israel and Japan two times and it was a cultural experience in and of itself. He has been to Puerto Rico twice this year to do mission work, and it amazed him that Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory but yet its culture and what they do is so different.
“Their Wendy’s has coconut-flavored frostys which was worth the trip. We need coconut-flavored frostys the U.S. We are really missing out.”
He sat around a campfire with a group of Muslims and told them he would like to tell them the stories of the Bible. They told him they would listen if he would join them in their traditional dances, so he had to dance with Africans around the fire. They sat down and they said let’s have tea, so they made tea. He thought everyone was going to get their own glass, but there was only one glass and they passed it around the whole campfire, and he was the last one to drink from it. The man licked the cup before handing it to him.
“I prayed really hard and said to myself, I can drink all things through Christ who strengthens me and then after all of that they listened to the Bible stories.”
His hope of traveling in the future would be a new mission endeavor they are looking at in Peru, in the jungle. He has two missionary friends down there that he and his crew will go work with and take the gospel into the jungles of Peru. The reason that he has planned and has gone to all of these places is because he has met people there who had never heard of Jesus and the stories of God’s word. He feels compelled to follow the Great Commission found in Matthew 28, given by Jesus to go into all the world, baptizing and teaching all things that He has commanded us to do. “There are still over a billion people from different cultures, nations, tribes, and languages that will not hear the message of Jesus unless we go to them.”
Bob has accomplished many things in his life and has served the Lord for many years to bring Him glory. Bob plans to accomplish many more things on this Earth. He plans to continue his study and earn his doctorate, and as of right now is earning his second master’s degree. He also wants to lead the church to continue to grow numerically but, most importantly, spiritually and to also see the church send out missionaries all over the world.
“I want our church to be known for our sending capacity more than our seating capacity. Known by how many people we send out to serve the Lord.”
Bob is a selfless man with a big, humorous personality and is never perceived as quiet. He is a great, godly man who is not only a great example for the people in his church but also for the people in the community. Despite his ongoing busy schedule and other factors that come to play as a pastor, Bob says that what he is doing today, is something he has never imagined doing.
“The most rewarding thing about my job is seeing people’s lives changed, seeing broken people be healed, and seeing lost people become saved. I could not have done any of this, obviously without the help of the Lord but also without the help of my wife. She has been a great partner in ministry with me. She keeps me balanced.”