Text: Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9
By Pastor Anthony W. Wilcots
(The Priest is a eulogy written by Pastor Wilcots of The Encounter Church in Katy, Texas while attending the Celebration of Life Services for Bishop Carlton Pearson at the Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma on December 1, 2023. Pastor Wilcots was not officially on the dais or program, however he wanted to share his heartfelt thoughts and feelings with the body of Christ and with those in attendance at the celebration, and with those watching virtually. As a friend and brother, he chose rather to join the throng of friends and followers to say farewell that day. He would also like to acknowledge Pastor Michael Todd of the Transformation Church for the outstanding way he facilitated the services.)[i]
God has so uniquely gifted us with wisdom to see, view, and spiritually discern a person’s character in many different ways. Like Carla Penn, a student at Oral Roberts University during the late eighties, recalls Carlton singing with the Souls of Fire, a gospel choir at ORU. She commented that his anointing reminded her of the psalmist, David in the Bible. Rhonda Gibbs, a seminarian at that time, said that Pastor Pearson brought all his gifts to bare while preaching—humor, intelligence, articulation, and love—to minister to his vast audiences. Dana Carson, another seminarian, shared that he was the most well-rounded preacher and his ability to reach people was so amazing that he wanted to imitate his style of ministry. He touched people across every denomination and racial line.
I, personally, saw Pastor Pearson as an effective priest. We would talk at length about holding the hand of God and humanity at the same time. There were occasions when he could not accept engagements to preach because of his overwhelming and demanding schedule, so he asked and sent me to speak in his place instead. Although I did not feel worthy of such consideration while we were students at ORU, he nevertheless felt and believed I was capable and qualified to serve in his place. It was indeed and honor.
One term for priest is the Latin word pontifix, which means “bridgebuilder.” Pastor Pearson’s ministry certainly reached across racial and denominational lines to touch scores of people, in many different ways. He was a bridge person.
The assignment of the priest was “to bring together all things God, and all things man”. The Priest presents a person to God, and God to a person. The Priest is the one who negotiates the reality that God and man have everything to do with each other. The Priest bridges the gap and hopefully brings humanity into contact with God.
In the late sixties, tie dyed T-shirts were immensely popular. If you were going to make one you needed a bowl, dyed water, and a T-shirt. Imagine if you will using red dye and placing a T-shirt into the dyed water. The red dye melded into the T-shirt and changes its color. Yes, the T-shirt is in the dye, but the dye is also in the shirt. Imagine with me: the dyed water represents God, and the T-shirt represents you and me. After merging them together, the dyed water remains the same, but the T-shirt is dramatically transformed. The old people used to sing,
“What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh! Precious is the flow
No other fount I know,
That makes me white as snow,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
But none of this happens without the bowl. The Priest is seen as the bowl that brought the dyed water (God) and the T-shirt (humanity) together. He was the bridge that connected the T-shirt with the dye.
Sheila Williams, a student during the early nineties (and member of the Higher Dimensions Church where Carlton once served as pastor) shared her fondest memory of Carlton as someone who deeply loved his grandfather. He cared for his grandfather during his final days of life with love and sensitivity. Carlton fed him, bathed him, and carefully shaved him. It did not matter that his grandfather was incontinent on many occasions. Carlton was there to be sure that his grandfather was clean and cared for. This is the disposition of the Priest!
It was this kind of love and sensitivity that Jesus displayed at the grave of Lazarus. He felt Mary’s grief and Martha’s sorrow, and the Bible says that “Jesus wept!” (John 11:35, NKJV). The Master would later declare, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:25). It is the Priest who says and performs this reality. It is the Priest who reaches and touches God and man. It is the Priest who bridges the love of God into the disparate and often desperate affairs of human beings.
If there is no God connection, men and women spiral downward and out of control. If the Priest does not remind us of God, the sovereignty of a nation is not recognized, the poor and desperate are obliterated by the militant and powerful. If the Priest does not confront us with God, rhetoric will trump law and order, families will dissolve, and you and I will have no respect, no regard, or concern for one another. The Priest bridges the heart of God into the hearts of humanity to make love, justice, peace, and righteousness real in the world.
Our world is doubled over and screaming, where are the Priests? Where are the Priests? Where are the bridge people? While theologians are fencing around controversial matters our biblical positions have become myopic, judgmental, and even obsolete. While political partisanship creates fault lines among the religious, the numbers of the hungry and homeless are overwhelming. Where are the Priests? Where are the Priests? Where are the bridge people? The church that does a lot of holy preaching but shows no love does not win many converts to the cause of Christ. Where are the Priests? We need the Priests. We need bridges to connect us with our better selves and better life possibilities.
Our text seeks to answer this pressing question. Moses shocks the Israelites standing before him. They never could have imagined the words coming out of his mouth. Moses said on God’s behalf, “you shall be to Me a kingdom of priest and a holy nation” (v. 6). The Apostle Peter centuries later would say the same, “a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9).
You, you, you, you, you and especially you!
Yes, you all have been called to be Priests! You are called to make this God connection visible and verbal. You are to take your neighbor’s needs before God and set God’s Word before your neighbor. You are to become bridge people!
This declaration is not hinged on how others view and were Priests in ancient times. You do not have to talk like a Priest, walk like a Priest, or have the air or mannerisms of a Priest. You do not have to have a Priest’s robe, or training, or a church—but you are a Priest just the same. You have been called by virtue of your union with Christ into the Priesthood of all believers.
No one and no circumstance are beyond the reach of the Priest. You have now been saddled with this weighty responsibility. You are now deputized with the authority of God Almighty to address the darkness of your immediate community. I heard the old saints singing,
“I am satisfied, I am satisfied,
I am satisfied with Jesus,
But the question comes to me as I think on Calvary,
Is my Master satisfied with me.”
Have I been a bridge providing access to the things of God?
Who knows—the purpose and function of the priesthood—may well be the legacy of Bishop Carlton Pearson? I know it’s tough to comprehend this stuff between God and humanity, let alone bridge the gap. This priestly endeavor will not end until our Savior returns. Jesus, our High Priest is seated at the Right hand of the Father interceding for us. It is a wonderful thing that even now, He is still trying to bring us to the Father. He’s still being our bridge over these troubled waters.
I can hear Carlton’s tuneful voice singing,
By and by when the morning comes,
When the saints of God are gathering home,
We will tell the story how we’ve overcome;
We will understand it better by and by.
[i] Edited by Pastor Ulysses Stephen King, Jr.