HARTSELLE, Ala. (BP)–He is not retiring. He is not even slowing down after more than 50 years in the ministry. In fact, he is busier than he has ever been with a full schedule for the next three years.
Why then did well-known evangelist Junior Hill write his autobiography now?
“I was 69 when I started the book. I wanted to write it while I could still remember things. As you get a little older, things fade in your mind. It just seemed like an appropriate time to do it,” Hill, from Hartselle, Ala., said.
Although his memory has not begun to fade, he still found writing his memoir to be a challenge.
“Constructing your life is difficult,” Hill said. “I tried to get the important things in the book, but you can never get everything in it.”
Laughing, he displayed a characteristic flash of humor.
“Some things you don’t want to tell.”
The book, “They Call Him Junior,” chronicles Hill’s life and ministry. It also includes a touching letter his wife, Carole, wrote to a young evangelist who had asked how she dealt with Hill’s frequent absences.
Hill said he received more comments about his wife’s letter than anything else in the book.
“I think people enjoy getting a glimpse into the life of a preacher. It was just a letter from my heart,” Carole Hill said.
Alabama Baptists who have followed Hill’s ministry will find many of the facts related in the book familiar, such as his election in 1989 as first vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention.
There are portions of the book, however, that might prove surprising for some readers.
One example is an episode during the height of the civil rights era that resulted in Hill’s dismissal as pastor from a small Mississippi church. Although he said he was devastated at the time, the experience resulted in a ministry to discouraged pastors.
Sammy Gilbreath, director of the office of evangelism for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, describes Hill as “the pastors’ encourager.”
“He loves pastors and he loves the local church,” Gilbreath said. “Junior is one of the greatest harvesters in the country today. There are untold numbers in the Kingdom today due to his personal soul-winning, his encouraging message for others to be faithful sharing their faith and his harvest of souls due to his anointed preaching.”
Hill does not attempt to explain why large numbers of people have come to know Christ through his preaching and says in the book that he does not even keep a count of how many there have been.
“Only the dear Lord in heaven knows those facts, and I am perfectly content to await His final report,” he said.
Hill said he hopes the story of his life will touch people in a specific way.
“I hope people will realize that the Lord can use simple people like me. Sometimes the average person who does not have a lot of ability will think they’re not important or they can’t accomplish anything,” Hill said. “I would hope that people who read the book would see that everybody is important and everybody makes a different contribution to the body of Christ.”
Hill’s book is available at www.juniorhillministries.com.
–30–
Martine G. Bates is a correspondent for The Alabama Baptist newsjournal, online at www.thealabamabaptist.org.
