Riding the Bus

First Baptist Church of Seabrook (but not my Seabrook Baptist Church) (Photo credit: Houstonian)

My first regular exposure to church came when I was in the seventh grade and just starting junior high school.  We had just moved to Seabrook, Maryland.  One of the local churches, Seabrook Baptist Church, had a bus ministry.  My parents decided it was time for me and my two younger brothers to get religion.  They signed us up to be picked up each Sunday morning to attend Sunday School and worship services.  For some reason, they did not include our sister.  Since she was six years younger than I was, perhaps they thought she was too young.

So, every Sunday morning, my two brothers and I would get up early, put on nice clothes and wait for the bus to pick us up, just like it was a school day.  We didn't really have a choice in the matter.  I think there were also times when we wondered why we were being punished with going to Sunday school and church services while everybody else stayed at home. If we wanted to ride the bus home, we had to wait until after the worship service as the bus only ran before Sunday school and after service.

The man who was our deacon and picked us up in the bus was a very nice man by the name of Darwin Spinks.  He truly was a gentle man in every aspect.  He was very soft spoken and kind.  A few years later, during what would be my second tenure at Seabrook Baptist, I came to understand that more fully, but that will come in a later post.

Since Sunday School was divided up by different grade levels, I was in a separate class from my two younger brothers.  After Sunday School, we would find each other and sit together during the worship service.  During one worship service, one of my brothers made a decision to go forward and profess faith in Jesus.  He would be scheduled to be baptized a few weeks later during a Sunday evening service.

During the morning worship service of the Sunday that my brother was to be baptized, I made a decision to go forward as well.  Normally, they waited a few weeks between your profession of faith and your baptism, but since my brother was already scheduled to be baptized the night, the church agreed to let me get baptized on the same night.

After my brother and I were baptized, we attended church for a few more weeks.  Then, we just stopped getting on the bus on Sunday mornings.  I wouldn't attend church on a regular basis until I was in my college years.  I didn't completely abandon wanting to learn about Jesus.  I would still read my Bible on occasion, but it wasn't a regular thing.  So the search would continue.