TOMBERLIN AND RELATED FAMILIES IN SOUTHERN GEORGIA

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PORTRAIT OF A PENTECOSTAL PREACHER

by Lewis J. Willis

"Oh, God, make a preacher out of this boy" prayed the old Baptist preacher. Earl P. Paulk had just turned his seventeen year-old life over to Jesus Christ. From the floor of the cottage where he lay he cried out, "Praise God, I'm a child of the King!" Rising to his feet, and at the invitation of the minister, Paulk preached his first sermon.

From a humble brush arbor in South Georgia to some of the most prestigious churches of the world, this man has preached the glorious gospel of Christ. Through the power of the preached word, Paulk built the largest congregation in the Church of God, at that time in Greenville, South Carolina. Pastor Paulk became one the more renowned preachers of his day. He was on a first-name basis with governors, senators and the Secretary of State, as well as confidant of the President of the United States.

What is the dynamic which infused a young man who had no special cultural advantage, no splendid academic preparation, and no unusual opportunities to become one of the most respected preachers of this generation? Earl Paulk says that it happened while he prayed for a friend in a Nazarene Church during a revival meeting. "As I prayed," Paulk recounts, "I was completely absorbed by a glorious Presence which seemed as much within me as it was around me. I was filled with a sense of wonder, but especially an assurance of power and enablement. I knew at that moment that nothing could ever keep me from doing God's will, for I was filled with the Holy Spirit."

Doing God's will through the power of the Holy Spirit has characterized Dr. Paulk's life. Soon after receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the young preacher built a brush arbor and began a revival, felt led to speak on the subject of holiness and to write scriptures on pieces of paper to be read as a Biblical basis for the sermon. There were sixty-two written out scripture portions. As he preached, Brother Paulk referred to the first scripture and found that he could easily quote it. When the message was finished he realized he had quoted the sixty-two scriptures verbatim without once referring to his notes.

Quickly, the young preacher became something of a phenomenon, quoting a hundred or more scriptures with every sermon. Much later, when he was chosen to speak on the subject of "The Godhead" at General Assembly, he himself was astounded when he was told after preaching the sermon that he had quoted three hundred and twenty scriptures!

While Dr. Paulk recognized that he had a special facility to recall the scriptures, he firmly believed that it was the ministry of the Holy Spirit working through him, bringing to his remembrance those scriptures he had studied. He believed it was the gift of the Holy Spirit manifesting this particular ministry. He believed that any minister filled with the Holy Ghost, who would diligently study the scriptures, would be enabled to preach the powerful gospel because of the power of the Word of God remembered and preached.

Preaching the Word of God with unusual clarity and effectiveness, Brother Paulk ministered in revivals where hundreds were saved. One of these great meetings was in Greenville, South Carolina. When the pastor of that great church was called to a high executive position, Earl Paulk was selected as pastor. Thus began a saga which would encompass two tenures, with a total of ten years.

During Pastor Paulk's years at Greenville the church multiplied dramatically. So far as is known, the first regular Pentecostal radio program, which would reach from coast to coast, was begun. Dr. Paulk ministered on the radio each evening form 6:00 - 6:30 and two hours on Saturday and Sunday. It received response from every state in the union.

When the Greenville church burned, the news spread abroad and one of the persons who came to the fiery scene was Charlie Daniel, a nationally known builder, who said to Pastor Paulk, "I'll see that your church is replaced; Don't worry!" He did. A beautiful million-dollar edifice was built at a fraction of the cost.

While each was governor of South Carolina, both Olin Johnson and Strom Thurmond attended Dr. Paulk's church. Governor Thurmond, who later became a high-ranking U.S. Senator, often taught the Men's Bible Class at Tremont Avenue Church of God in Greenville. The Honorable Jimmy Burns, a former Secretary of State, attended the church. President Lyndon Johnson was a friend who sought counsel from Pastor Paulk. Asked if he ever conducted himself or his services differently when any of these persons were present, Dr. Paulk answered, "No, never. The Pentecostal influence and flavor is what makes the difference." On one occasion Secretary of State Jimmy Bums asked, "Bishop, when I am here I feel a Presence, a Power, a kind of exhilaration I don't experience in other services. Why?" Pastor Paulk explained that the difference was effusion of the Holy Spirit.

During his illustrious ministry, Dr. Paulk achieved many honors and successes. He served as State Overseer of seven different states. He served as Assistant General Overseer twice and was the first person ever to be elected to a second tenure on the Executive Committee. He served as a member of the Executive Council, the Editorial and Publications Board and was chairman of the World Missions Board. He served as a member of the National Association of Evangelicals, the National Religious Broadcasters, the Board of Bob Jones University and many other prestigious groups. He was awarded two honorary doctor of divinity degrees.

On March 24, 1939 Earl Paulk was called upon to witness the execution of six men in the electric chair in the state penitentiary in Columbia, South Carolina. It was the largest single execution at any one time in the history of the nation. The men had been sentenced to die for the murder of the prison warden in an attempt to escape. Pastor Paulk ministered to all the condemned men on their last night on death row and led all but one to the Lord Jesus Christ. He later wrote a book about the experience.

While pastoring the church at Greenville, Earl Paulk had his famous debate with noted scriptorian and preacher, Norman W. Greenway, on the subject of "tongues" before a congregation of several thousand and also to thousands more via radio. (Note: Many years later Norman W. Greenway visited Earl Paulk, Jr. and reported that he had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking with tongues.)

In 1942, Dr. Paulk was granted an audience with Edward VIII, former King of England. The king asked him how many of the members of his church believed in tithing ten percent of their income to the church. And when he heard the number he asked how Rev. Paulk got them to tithe. The king was astonished by his answer... He simply said, "It's the work of the Holy Spirit."

Two statements from Dr. Paulk seem to capture the secret of success for a Pentecostal minister. As he reflected on his life he said, "We must depend on divine guidance or we will sink. All our successes really always depend upon our trust in God and yielding to him. And in a speech of statesmanlike quality, which he made at the General Assembly in 1980 he said, "Brethren, the reason we have been so successful as a church through the years is that we have followed the advice of the scriptures. There is a danger in ever stepping beyond Scripture to accommodate our desire, regardless of how urgent." Maybe that really is the essence of this remarkable man. He believed in a vital uncluttered relationship with the Eternal God, through Christ, by the Holy Spirit and that every choice, decision and action must be secured upon a scriptural basis.