By DAVID EPPS
Pastor

Every pastor's prayer is that God will bless him with faithful men who surround him and assist him. Not that faithful women aren't important ... the Church couldn't function without its dedicated ladies. But most churches are fortunate to have a multitude of faithful females. The Church, like the Marine Corps, is always in the hunt for a “few good men.”

Tony McGee of Peachtree City is just such a faithful man. I first met Tony some 16 years ago when he and his wife wandered into my office. I liked this couple immediately. Early in his youth, Tony had enlisted in the United States Navy and had served his country in Vietnam.

A son of Moultrie, Ga., he was aboard the USS Forrestal, America's first “super carrier,” when a rocket exploded on July 29, 1967, killing 134 men and destroying 21 aircraft and damaging 43 others in a blazing inferno. The cost to repair the carrier was over $72,000,000. Tony survived the disaster and the war. While in the navy, he would meet his wife, Jeannie, and together they would bring three fine sons into the world.

Soon after we met, I listened with rapt attention as Tony shared how he, as is often the case for many young men in the military, had become an alcoholic. There were several difficult years for the McGee family until, one miraculous day, Tony was instantly delivered of his alcoholism during a service of Holy Communion in the Episcopal Church ... while partaking of the communion wine! God was faithful to Tony and, ever since that day, Tony McGee has been a faithful man of God.

For the 16 years that I have known Tony, he has been consistently faithful in his attendance at services of worship. If the church doors are open, day or night, Tony is there. If he is missing, it is either because he is at work, out of town, or ill.

These days, Tony's job requires him to arise each morning at 4 a.m. Yet, each Thursday evening, the home Bible study that meets in Sharpsburg can count on Tony's presence. Often, the study runs until 9 p.m., causing Tony to be in bed much later than he would like. But he doesn't miss. Not without good cause anyway. It's just not his way.

Over the years, Tony has served as an usher, a church board member, a member of several committees, and just about anywhere else he has been asked to serve. When his church needed roof repair, Tony was on the roof. When the church building burned, he was among the first to arrive and begin to clean up the mess.

When Tony was out of work for an extended period of time a few years ago, he was more troubled by the fact that he couldn't tithe than he was by the reality of unemployment. In fact, Tony calculated how many hours he could donate in janitorial services that would be the equivalent of his weekly offerings and, for months, washed windows, cleaned bathrooms, vacuumed carpets, swept walkways, and emptied trash.

For some, the performance of these menial tasks would have been demeaning, but for a faithful man who lives his life for God, it was just his “reasonable service,” as the Apostle Paul says. He wasn't unemployed long. Faithful men seldom are.

For me, Tony has been a true friend, a confidant, and a person I could trust. There has never been a day when I believed he would abandon me or betray me. Such men are rare and pastors cherish them as valuable treasures. Once, when the way seemed hard and long, Tony came into my office and said, “Pastor, if it were to ever get down to just 10 people in church, I want you to know that you can count on me.” I was touched.

But a week or so later, he came back and apologized for his previous statement. “I was wrong to say what I said,” he shared. “I want you to know that if it gets down to just you and me, you can still count on me.” This time, I was moved.

These days, Tony continues to serve in his quiet but significant ways. He hands out bulletins on Sundays, after he has arrived early to open the doors of the nursery, and will often rush to the church to be part of the setup crew.

He greets people warmly with that big bear of a grin as he extends the largest hand of fellowship I have ever seen. I wear a size 15 ring and it is too small to fit on Tony's ring finger.

He is a man whose enormous strength is masked by a gentle spirit and a quiet confidence. As a trained Stephen Minister, he may be called upon to listen to those in distress or those who simply need a broad shoulder to cry on.

As a Eucharistic minister, he takes Holy Eucharist to the sick in the hospitals and to the shut-in in their homes. Every other Sunday or so, he also takes the Communion across the street to the nursery to serve the volunteer workers and the children who receive the bread and the cup so reverently. He serves as an altar assistant, as an acolyte, a crucifer, a cup bearer, or wherever needed.

He may serve on the prayer team that day, or perhaps he will help receive the offering, or he may even bring the bread and wine to the deacon, during the service of worship, as the Table of the Lord is prepared.

He will adjust the thermostat, will help pick up bulletins at the close of the service that people have left behind, and, after everyone else has left, he will return to the nursery to lock up and reset the security system.

In all the years I have known Tony McGee, I have never heard him complain, even when there was probably much to complain about.

All the while, he has set a wonderful example for his family to emulate. His wife, Jeannie, is the church keyboardist and often assists in the leading of worship. His eldest son, Scott, is married to a United Methodist minister of youth; his middle son, Sean, is a guitarist on the church worship team; and his youngest son, Seth, is an acolyte and lector. All of the four grandchildren are in church each Sunday.

Sometimes, younger pastors will seek my advice about leadership in the congregation. I can give them teachings, and scriptures and principles. But if they are really serious about learning to be true leaders, if they really want to know what it is to be a man of God, my task is all too easy. I just point them to Tony McGee.

Jesus said to his disciples that, if they wanted to be considered great in the Kingdom of God, they had to be the servants of all. By that definition, Tony McGee is one of the greatest men I have ever known.

May God bless all pastors with faithful and devoted men. May all churches have a rich supply of people like Tony McGee. And may God grant me a hundred more just like him!

[David Epps is a priest and founding rector of Christ the King Church in Peachtree City. He is also a doctoral student at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry. He may be contacted at FatherDavidEpps@aol.com or at www.ChristTheKingCEC.com.]

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