50 Years of Ministry, 65 Years of Marriage • By Pierre Fontenot
Once upon a time, a boy met a girl. Randall was 17, halfway handsome, Sue was 16, cute ‘n pretty. One minute it’s “Hi … nice to meet you …” next thing you know, it’s a year later, and they’re at the altar saying, “till death do us part.”
They Became the Chessons Randall grew up going to church, but becoming a preacher was not on his wish list. Attending McNeese to better himself, he found himself attending Tuesday night Bible studies at the Baptist Student Union, which is where he caught his first hint of “The Call” to become a preacher. “Every Tuesday it got worse,” says Randall with a grin. He kept quiet about it for a stretch of time, but when he finally confided to people, that he felt called to be a preacher, their reaction was, “Well… it’s about time,” as if he was the last to know.
The Chesson’s have been pastoring at Parkview Baptist Church in Sulphur since 1976. “You start with obedience, and then comes the feelings.”
The Chesson’s had four children at the time. Randall was helping out at two small town churches, Reeves and Fenton, cover them on Sunday, and then come Monday, down the interstate he would go, to seminary, Monday through Thursday. He used to be Randall, she used to be Sue, but after seminary, there began the decades of being Bro. Randall and Ms. Sue.
50 Years of Ministry The Chesson’s have been pastoring at Parkview Baptist Church in Sulphur since 1976. All these decades later, they’ve seen many a change.
Back then, people got dressed up to go to church, and they went to church often, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night – plus visitation on Tuesdays – add in counseling and hospital visits, plus weddings and funerals, it’ll keep the pastor family busy.
“Used to be,” says Rev. Randall, “the preacher was the draw, the preacher as a public speaker and orator, but then it became more about the church having a ministry.”
Randall and Sue’s Wedding Day: March 19, 1961
The Chesson’s ministry widened. They’ve got a driving school, which serves a community service. The church got into home schooling fairly early. Started out serving five families, first graduating class was six students. Now: they serve a wide swath of families, from East Texas, through Lafayette, and thick in SWLA.
The physical church and the school are complimentary to the mission, “The school needs the church; the church needs the school.”
And Then Came Crisis
People assume that going into the ministry would be a safe, protected life, but the Chesson’s have outlived three of their six children. The first death was a suicide. Ms. Sue says, “Those were some dark days… It was near Thanksgiving time. We wanted to get away from our families, so that our sadness would not affect them.”
They went out of town, for counseling. Somehow word got around at the hotel they were staying at… a man from Lake Charles, who owned a radio station, introduces himself to Randall, and here comes the quote, still potent all these decades later, “Remember — God lost His Son too …”
The Chesson children:
Rhonda Jean, Lenny Shane,
Lisha Suzanne, Rebecca Jo,
Randall James Jr.,
and Lee Stacey
The Chessons go to counseling. They talk, they cry, they why … the session nearly over, the counselor takes the lead – told them to look directly at each other – and there they were, husband and wife, father and mother, two halves of a whole heartbreak — “He made us look at each other — really look — then he asked us to promise, not to throw barbs at each other.” In the retelling, decades later, both their heads nod; it was wise advice Ms. Sue says, “When we got home, my daughter came up to me and said, ‘Mama, I’m here. You have to live for me.’”
That quote was potent perspective medicine. “That’s what we have tried to do.” “With each death (yes, they’ve lost two more children (and 3 grandchildren) we try to live for those that are living.”
They participated in grief counseling, and were later asked to speak to various groups and churches … but then, “I stopped,” said Bro. Randall, “because I found myself in a cycle of reliving the funeral.” Bro. Randall says, “I don’t like the word “closure,” but there’s such a thing as movement.” People cope by their wiring. Both Randall and Sue like to stay busy. “Put your mind on something else.”
That works for Randall, and that also works for Sue. Of course she still thinks about her kids, “When we have a gathering, I wonder, what they’d be like, what they’d look like …”
As for their son, Randall says, “I have no doubt, whatsoever, that he’s in heaven.”
What Have They Learned About Ministry?
After 50 years in ministry, what’s their experience with pastoring like? “Pastoring and preaching,” says the reverend, “are two entirely different things.” That’s two different hats, but many a preacher has to wear both.
First thing they emphasize: the Chesson’s are a ministry team. “She prays for me;
I pray for her; we do church together.”
Rev. Chesson says, “God never gave us up. He picked us up. He insulated us.”
“We’ve had a lot of crisis moments, but never a quitting moment.” A pause, then Rev. Randall says, “After all these decades, God is more capital G than ever.”
What’s being a preacher’s wife like for Ms. Sue? Being a preacher’s wife is a unique relational experience. There’s an awareness, of being looked at, measured, what you say, what you wear, how you carry yourself. And yet, Ms. Sue’s summary is, “I love the church, I love the people.”
What’s 65 Years of Marriage Like?
The Reverend gives a wink. With his wife sitting a few feet yonder, he says, “The secret to marriage is her doing everything I tell her to …” then comes the setup pause, followed by, “but I know what to tell her.”
She winks back. Ms. Sue says, “There’s a different kind of measuring, the closer you get to death. There were good times, and mad times, high times, and some hurting times.”
Rev. Randall says, “For a Christian marriage, you have to keep the Lord between you. You can’t say “I love you” enough.”
One more from the preacher: “It’s hard to be mad at someone you pray for.”
As for Ms. Sue, after all these decades of happy highs and hurtful lows, “We’re two peas in a pod now.”
One thing that applies to both
church and marriage is this,
“She prays for me; I pray for her;
we do church together.”
Daughter Lisha gives these
adjectives to describe her parents:
tenacity; sacrifice; love;
united … Last of the Mohicans.
Comments are closed.