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Pastor's Corner
Dear Church Family and Friends,
This past week a dear friend and mentor of mine went home to be with the Lord Jesus. Many of you do not know him but some of you will. His name was Richard “Dick” O’Ferrall. You can read is obituary here.
Mr. O, as he was affectionately known, was the founder, owner, and director of Alpine Camp for Boys in Mentone, AL. To the Cornerstone family he will be remembered as the uncle to John Bise and Cynthia Keen. To me, he was a spiritual father and mentor.
In many ways the reason that I am a pastor, and the reason I am at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, is because of the legacy that Mr. O and Alpine left in my life. In the Fall of 2013 I was minding my own business when a gentlemen named John Bise called me and told me of a new church looking for a pastor and he was serving on the search committee. I did not know anything about Huntsville or Cornerstone or what was next but within five minutes John and me were talking about Alpine and the strong connection we both had there. That connection led to many other conversations that eventually led to a call to come serve at Cornerstone.
For years I wrestled with a call to camp ministry — wondering if that was my calling. Now I realize that it was because of camp ministry that God has given me a calling and love for pastoring in the local church.
One of the reasons that I am a pastor is because of Mr. O. I will never forget returning home after my second summer at Alpine and thinking, “How could I do ministry like this for my job?” It was his investment in me that led me to want to be a leader, to want to be a pastor, to want to see young men “grow in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and men.”
Mr. O was a huge influence in my life and I want to name specific ways and things that he taught me. I hope that in sharing these things that God may spur some of you own to invest in someone’s life in these ways.
- Mr. O taught me Leadership. I’m not even sure I knew what a leader was until Alpine. I played on sports teams in high school. I even worked for another summer camp before Alpine, but it wasn’t until Alpine that I was encouraged and equipped to be a leader. Mr. O was the first person that not only saw potential in me but gave me the opportunity to lead. It was at Alpine that I led my first devotion and Bible study.
- Mr. O taught me how to be a Shepherd. A few people have remarked to me that I am good at remembering names. I’m not sure I’m good at remembering names but I do make an effort to learn names. Everything I have learned about knowing people and knowing their names, I learned from Mr. O. Before every camp session he would sit down with each counselor from every cabin individually and he would go through the cabin list with us. Mr. O would then give us our cabin list and then he would go through every single camper and give us a five minute background on each boy and their family backgrounds. It was amazing! It was amazing to me the first time he did it but it was even more amazing to me to know that he did that with everyone and every year. Before my campers would arrive at the steps of my cabin, I knew their name and I knew something about them. I learned that from Mr. O. It is something I have tried to take into pastoral ministry with me. We all want to be known and appreciated. Taking time to know something about someone and remember their name is a HUGE way to love someone.
- Mr. O taught me how to be a Mentor. Alpine’s mission is to help boys “grow in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). It was this love to see young men grow in the Lord and become followers of Christ that gave me a passion to want to do that in the local church. The time that he spent with me and other counselors I know has raised multiple generations of men who want to mentor their sons because of what they were taught at Alpine. His investment in me made me want to invest in my own children's lives and the lives of others. It is a great blessing to mentor someone and point them to Christ in their daily lives.
- Mr. O taught me a love for the Local Church. One of the things that sets Alpine Camp apart was a high value placed on the Lord’s Day. It really was a day of worship and rest … a different day than all the other days at camp. Every Sunday there was a worship service that was led by an ordained minister. Additionally, local church pastors and campus pastors were always cycling through camp to disciple and equip counselors and staff. The local church was prized at camp and all who were associated with Alpine were taught to go back and love and serve in their local church.
- Mr. O taught me the value of Friendships. Some of my life-long friends are fellow counselors from Alpine. In fact, that is where Pastor Brian Russ and I first met and became friends. It was that friendship and connection that brought us together to serve at Cornerstone many years later. Mr. O helped to foster and create an environment at camp that nurtured godly friendships. So much so, those friendships went well beyond the bounds of summer camp. He taught me that godly friendships truly are the best friendships.
These are just a few of the things that I learned from this godly man who loved Christ and loved people.
Someone once remarked to me, “Alpine should probably be one of the permanent committees of the PCA because of the number of pastors and church leaders that have come through the gates of the camp.” While I don’t think that would happened, it is good to know that there are ministries like Alpine out there helping to build and equip men to serve in the local church and to raise godly families.
Many of us are blessed to have had “spiritual father” in our lives. Mr. O was one of those men to me. He was one of the godliest men I have ever known. I’m thankful, that is God’s providence, He used Mr. O to help me become the man I am today.
Thank you Lord for the people you providentially put in our lives to make us the people we are today.
For rapids that flow,
Wilson A. Shirley (98, 99, 01)
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LANDSCAPERS NEEDED one more time THIS SATURDAY, May 14th: Mark Harbarger and the Deacon's Facilities & Grounds Committee need help planting this Saturday morning. If you can help, please meet us at the church at 8:30am Saturday with a shovel and gloves. Trucks and trailers are also needed to haul away debris. 