Rev. Robert Childers
The Rev. Robert Childers didn’t set out to be a priest. He had other plans and was invested in them. After getting his law degree at the University of Alabama, meeting and marrying his wife, Terry, also a lawyer, he set out live a life he loved. He loved the law. Terry was pregnant with their son, Rob, and all was as hunky dory as it could be.
Robert grew up in the church in Selma, Ala., and accompanied his mother sometimes when she prepared the altar for the Sunday service, but he didn’t go to church too much as an adult until he met Terry. “Terry brought me to the church,” Robert said simply.
In September 1985, Terry and Robert attended a retreat at Camp McDowell in the Diocese of Alabama. At the closing Eucharist for the retreat, the Reverend Tim Murphy, an old friend of Robert’s, was celebrating the Eucharist. During the Eucharist, something happened. To say it as an awakening or a vision would be an understatement. It was a downright thunderbolt, and it was not on his agenda. Like, at all. All of a sudden Jesus was floating above the priest, staring directly into Robert’s eyes and reaching one hand toward the priest, then stretching his arm out toward Jesus. A clear gesture. Robert squinted, to be sure of what was in front of him, then closed his eyes tight. When he opened them, Jesus was there, motioning at the priest and Robert in the same way. Robert squeezed his eyes shut, probably shaking his head and saying who knows what to himself, then opened them to see again Jesus looking right at him, clearly gesturing to him, calling him to be a priest like his friend. Three times.
Robert didn’t tell a soul, only confiding this in Terry several months later. He was very relieved when she pooh-poohed the idea.
But he couldn’t stop thinking about Him, the way He looked him square in the eye. Robert was clear about what he was called to do, but he wasn’t sure at all about actually doing it.
Roughly two years, one toddler and lots of soul searching and marital heart-to-hearts later, Robert and his family headed to NYC for the General Theological Seminary. After ordination, he served at Christ Church in Tuscaloosa, St. Joseph’s, Mentone, and rector at Grace Church in Anniston, Ala., before coming to the Church of Good Shepherd. Corky Carlisle, a friend of Robert’s and former missionary in Kenya, who had spoken several times at Good Shepherd through the years, knew the parish was searching for a new rector. He put a bug in Robert’s ear, and he also put a bug in Jim Moore’s ear, the search committee chair. Both ears were doubtful, but you know how the story ends.
If you know Robert Childers at all, you probably won’t be too surprised at his story. It makes perfect sense to me. But one thing I’ve always wondered about him and others who serve God in the Church is how they can do this with everything else going on in their lives. Take a day when everything goes wrong, from the cat litter episode to the ailing parent to the overflowing toilet and the tree that fell on the roof. Add in needs from a dozen or so parishioners, a sudden death of a church member and a broken toilet in the church. How do you deal with that, I asked Robert, overwhelmed myself at the very question.
He laughed, then said, “If I pray faithfully, I am not wiped out. And that’s because it is God handling these demands, not me.” Robert said that most of us give from the “reserve tank,” which usually stays about empty. With prayer, this tank stays full, and he is able to give freely from his reservoir, which time with God keeps full. Clearly his prayer life is crucial, and that means every single day.
Willing to up and follow Jesus no matter what other plans he had, Robert’s heart was open, and not only to God. Robert did his field work at Grace Church in New York City where The Rev. Harold Barrett, formerly of Church of the Good Shepherd, was the rector. In one of their conversations, Harold asked Robert what he meant exactly by something he had said. Robert said he stumbled and stammered, unsure. And Harold chided, “Never toss words out you don’t understand and don’t know how they will affect and influence people.” Robert took this advice to heart.
He sees himself as an ambassador for Jesus, and as such is called to represent Him in all things.
Jesus is one master, obviously, and managing a church is another. And the opinions of the membership can be vast. Issues were plenty during Robert’s time at Good Shepherd, including the long stressful months of the pandemic. To mask or not to mask and to stop church or continue despite risk were controversial. And folks were convinced they were right on any and all counts. How to navigate this and keep the membership happy?
This issue probably took a lot of extra prayer, but the answer was clear to Robert. “Matthew 25:40 says, “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” And in this situation, he thought of Tiny Mann, a choir member who loved the church from the bottom of her heart. She was compromised, and Covid-19 could have made her seriously ill, something Robert could never forgive himself for. “Tiny was one of our most vulnerable members, and I wanted her to be able to come to church with no fear of being sick,” he said. Although many other members were not happy, even canceling their pledges, he was able to stand strong because of his time in prayer.
Another issue that caused plenty of contention had to do with gun safety. Robert allowed Voices for Safer Tennessee to hold a community meeting in the parish hall, and plenty of members did not approve. To Robert, again the answer was evident.
“This was not about guns as much as it was about the safety of our children. Hundreds of children are in this church building six days a week. So, the answer was clear: Of course, the community can meet here,” he said.
Robert Childers preached love. In no uncertain terms. All were welcome at communion. All of us are sacred and loved by God. All of us are welcome at God’s table.
His mission here on Earth is to be Christ here, and embody Christ to others, something we are all called to do.
Robert Childers makes seeking Christ a priority. And because of his commitment, not just as a priest but as a human being striving to live deliberately by the Bible, I believe he is able to see us as God sees us. Blameless. Forgiven. Holy. Sacred.
On one of the late Ellen Whitaker’s last trips down the aisle at Good Shepherd to receive communion, he watched her. And she wasn’t struggling to keep her balance as she carefully walked toward him.
“She seemed to be almost floating, moving more like a ballerina with grace and surety. And she looked as beautiful and striking as she ever did,” he said.
He saw her as God saw her. And I believe he sees us all that way.
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Ferris Robinson is the author of three children’s books, “The Queen Who Banished Bugs,” “The Queen Who Accidentally Banished Birds,” and “Call Me Arthropod” in her pollinator series “If Bugs Are Banished.” “Making Arrangements” is her first novel. “Dogs and Love - Stories of Fidelity” is a collection of true tales about man’s best friend. She is the editor of The Lookout Mountain Mirror and The Signal Mountain Mirror.
Ferris Robinson