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Watered Garden - Isaiah 58:11,3/23/97 - Friendship
Ministered by Joe Hildreth
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Sermon Summary
The following Comments on Elder Joe Hildreth are by Elder Mark Green. (Editor of The Primitive Baptist, The Christian Pathway and The Gospel Appeal.*)
Elder Joe Hildreth died in late November.[2017] He was born in 1931. He had a unique and, in some senses, a difficult childhood, having been twice adopted in his youth. When his second adoptive father died of brain tumor, his mother was left with six children ranging in age from six to seventeen. She regularly took them to Hopewell Church near Opelika, Alabama and surrounding churches, a wonderful heritage that bore much fruit in his life.
Brother Joe felt the weight of his sins at a young age and was baptized in 1947 by Elder L.O. Walker. He began speaking in worship services in 1950 and was ordained at Hopewell in 1955. Two churches, Griffin and Shoal Creek, had called for his ordination. In addition to those, he served Liberty, Collins Spring, Nancy's Creek, Ebenezer, Utoy, Sweeten's Cove, Friendship and Chattanooga churches.
The Christian Pathway was begun in September 1954, with Bro. Joe as Editor, assisted by Elder David P. Bridgman and Brother Horace Finley as Assistant Editors and Bro. A.D. Mitchell as Assistant Editor. He continued in that capacity until 1974. Elder Hildreth also served on the board of the Old School Hymnal Co. in various capacities, including President. Through the years he gained a wide acquaintance with Old Baptists across the country and was greatly loved for his kind and considerate manner.
Perhaps as much as any man I have ever known, Elder Joe Hildreth embodied the ideal of the true, old-style Christian gentleman. To know him was to love him. To be in his home was to experience the epitome of Southern hospitality. His manner was easy and gracious, and his wide acquaintance in both the spiritual and natural realms made him an engaging conversationalist. He was widely-read in the field of church history and was a gold mine of information. In his natural occupation he served as a Senior Vice President and Trust Officer of First Tennessee Bank in Chattanooga.
My earliest recollection of Bro. Joe was when I took a trip with my uncle, Roland Green, to a singing school in the Atlanta area, along with my brother and two cousins. On the way, we stopped at the Hildreth's house, where Uncle Roland had the four of us boys sing a quartet to Bro. Joe to the tune of "Silver Threads Among the Gold." However, we changed the words to make the first line be, "Joe, we know you're growing old." That was many years ago, and he was far from old then, but he seemed to enjoy the joke and made us feel that he appreciated the singing.
The Primitive Baptists have lost one of the kindest and best of men - upright in his life, diligent in his labors and loving in his relationships with the Lord's people. In so many ways, I wish that I could emulate the sterling character of this dear brother in Christ. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him. Elder Mark Green
* Appeared in issue -January 2018, Volume 131 Number 1
Elder Joe Hildreth died in late November.[2017] He was born in 1931. He had a unique and, in some senses, a difficult childhood, having been twice adopted in his youth. When his second adoptive father died of brain tumor, his mother was left with six children ranging in age from six to seventeen. She regularly took them to Hopewell Church near Opelika, Alabama and surrounding churches, a wonderful heritage that bore much fruit in his life.
Brother Joe felt the weight of his sins at a young age and was baptized in 1947 by Elder L.O. Walker. He began speaking in worship services in 1950 and was ordained at Hopewell in 1955. Two churches, Griffin and Shoal Creek, had called for his ordination. In addition to those, he served Liberty, Collins Spring, Nancy's Creek, Ebenezer, Utoy, Sweeten's Cove, Friendship and Chattanooga churches.
The Christian Pathway was begun in September 1954, with Bro. Joe as Editor, assisted by Elder David P. Bridgman and Brother Horace Finley as Assistant Editors and Bro. A.D. Mitchell as Assistant Editor. He continued in that capacity until 1974. Elder Hildreth also served on the board of the Old School Hymnal Co. in various capacities, including President. Through the years he gained a wide acquaintance with Old Baptists across the country and was greatly loved for his kind and considerate manner.
Perhaps as much as any man I have ever known, Elder Joe Hildreth embodied the ideal of the true, old-style Christian gentleman. To know him was to love him. To be in his home was to experience the epitome of Southern hospitality. His manner was easy and gracious, and his wide acquaintance in both the spiritual and natural realms made him an engaging conversationalist. He was widely-read in the field of church history and was a gold mine of information. In his natural occupation he served as a Senior Vice President and Trust Officer of First Tennessee Bank in Chattanooga.
My earliest recollection of Bro. Joe was when I took a trip with my uncle, Roland Green, to a singing school in the Atlanta area, along with my brother and two cousins. On the way, we stopped at the Hildreth's house, where Uncle Roland had the four of us boys sing a quartet to Bro. Joe to the tune of "Silver Threads Among the Gold." However, we changed the words to make the first line be, "Joe, we know you're growing old." That was many years ago, and he was far from old then, but he seemed to enjoy the joke and made us feel that he appreciated the singing.
The Primitive Baptists have lost one of the kindest and best of men - upright in his life, diligent in his labors and loving in his relationships with the Lord's people. In so many ways, I wish that I could emulate the sterling character of this dear brother in Christ. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him. Elder Mark Green
* Appeared in issue -January 2018, Volume 131 Number 1
