My Heroes List

She was stooped, very short, old and spoke with a quiet voice. Mrs. Sproles was the first Sunday School teacher that I remember. I was four years old, and she taught me things from the Bible. Other than my mother reading Bible stories and praying with me before I went to sleep, Mrs. Sproles was the first person I recall pointing me to Jesus. Mrs. Sproles is one of my heroes.

While mowing the grass the other day, I started a mental list of heroes in my life. In my processing I started with my earliest memories, so Mrs. Sproles was the first person I thought of outside my parents. My parents are on my heroes list for numerous reasons, but I am most grateful that they did not drop me off at church, but they went to church with me. They modeled for me what parents need to do.

Others at Calvary Baptist Church in Greenwood, Mississippi where I grew up include Charlie Hood who was my Royal Ambassador leader. We met every Wednesday night in the RA Hut, a small wood frame building at the edge of the church parking lot. It was there that I was first introduced to missions. Treon Jackson and Dolly McBride helped me overcome my fear of getting up in front of people by making me “read a part” in Training Union before my fellow 10–11-year-olds.

When I was 19, there were two spiritual giants in my life—two men who believed in me and gave me opportunities to grow and learn. John Goldmire McCall was my mentor for 46 years. His whole demeanor during all those years said to me, “Don’t look at me. Look at Jesus.”  Rolfe Walter Dorsey was a mentor for 44 years. He allowed me to have experiences in ministry that few get to have as college students. Both men were my “go to people” when I needed counsel, prayer, or support.

In a missions conference for women at Camp Garaway in 1974, three missionaries were on program, and it seemed like all three of them were intentionally speaking only to me. Lewis Myers, Charles Tope and Dr. Ralph Bethea did not know that the Lord was speaking to me about serving as a foreign missionary, but their messages led me to share with my wife what I had been feeling in my heart for months.

Other heroes: John Floyd for believing in me and giving me a missions leadership position when he did not know me well; Fannie Peeples who gave me wise counsel when I needed it the most; and Jerome Yougabare for modeling how a first-generation illiterate believer from a West African village learns to read and write and study the Bible to become a pastor. There is also Gerald Claxon, my voice teacher in college, for being brave and straightforward and asking me, “Larry, have you considered majoring in something other than music?”

My greatest hero is my wife. I married this beautiful young lady from Memphis and took her to live in six other countries. She has walked alongside me while moving our family from one place to another 30 times and living in everything from a mobile home to a home on Easy Street to a mud hut. She adjusted to living conditions in every situation and has always made whatever dwelling we lived in our home.

Do you have a Heroes’ List? Write it down and share it with those you love. It is an important part of your legacy.