by Stan Adams
Synopsis: Wiley and Connie Adams personify the precept, "Take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm" (Eph. 6:13).
Leviticus 19:32 says, "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord." Similarly, Paul says, "Render therefore to all their dues tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor" (Rom. 13:7).
Mark has asked me to write an article of tribute to my father, Wiley Adams, and my uncle, Connie Adams. Dad is ninety-five years old and continues laboring in the vineyard. In a few months, Uncle Connie will celebrate his ninetieth birthday and is still serving the cause of Christ. Brethren and family count each as beloved.
Uncle Connie and my father have been devoted to the cause of Christ their entire lives. Along with other preachers and teachers of their generation, we honor these men for their faithful example. They show what it means to stand on the "firing line" during the battle. They rally present and future generations of the Lord's army to keep fighting the good fight of faith by properly wielding the sword of the Spirit.
Wiley Adams, born in 1925, is the oldest son of Nollie and Joyner Adams, who, from an early age, taught their children to serve the Lord. Joyner Adams was a humble man of God who was a role model—leading his family in the paths of the Lord. He served as an elder in two churches.
The influence of this godly couple, along with an entire extended family of faithful Christians, helped Wiley and his siblings to realize that Christianity was not a pastime. Instead, it involves a commitment to what was right, no matter what changes it demands.
Connie was born in 1930 and shared the same benefits as Wiley. In their early years, each felt the effects of the great depression. Their father was known to walk miles to pay a man a nickel because they shook hands on it, and a man's word was his bond.
Wiley and Connie were also blessed to be raised in a household that included a grandmother and a great grandmother. Three generations of wise, godly women helped to mold them into the men they would become.
The influence of godly women in the lives of both continued as they chose their wives. My mother, Wilma, and my aunts, Bobby and Bobbie, were rocks on which each could rely. They stood behind their husbands' labors and tended the home fires while each preached and served others. All their children recognize the tremendous contribution of our mothers to the work that our fathers performed.
After hearing solid preaching in a gospel meeting that they attended, my family left the Christian Church. A total of forty-five left (all of whom were leaders and teachers). They did so because of the unscriptural innovations that were being introduced. My dad had a difficult time taking this step because of his love for instrumental music and his participation in it. After long study and his grandmammy telling him he could not get around "book, chapter and verse," he left.
My dad was influenced to preach the gospel by John Varner, who came to town for a tent meeting that was set up in the black community. During that meeting, 165 souls were baptized, including the Baptist preacher and most of his congregation. Dad's first sermon was, "Up Jumped the Devil," taken from Job 1:6. He prepared a forty-minute lesson but was through in ten minutes!
Connie went to Florida College and further prepared himself to preach. He preached his first sermon at the age of fifteen. When he and Martin Lemon went to FC, it left only one Dixie Boy (the band dad started). Dad took twelve years of classes at the Richmond Conservatory of Music to learn how to play guitar and also taught Connie. They had aspirations of being professionals one day. Both still love their music but had to make decisions along the way. Would they devote their lives to music or preaching? Thankfully, both chose to preach.
My father worked at a chemical plant for nine years before devoting himself to full-time preaching. Bob Cooper, the local preacher, encouraged him to do so. Dad was married with two children and was making a good living when he and my mother decided to go to Florida College. With two small children and a lot of faith, they moved to Tampa.
Here Connie and Wiley crossed paths with Weldon Warnock, and the Dixie Boys were revived. While they gained acclaim and success at FC and had the opportunity to go further in music, they remembered their commitment to preaching. While attending college, Connie, Wiley, and Weldon taught at various places. Brethren would often pay them in livestock and change.
The battles my father faced as a gospel preacher were many. The institutional issues were the first trial he faced. He and other men at Florida College received letters from liberal churches offering to pay off their college bill if they would commit to standing with institutionalism. My father wrote them back and said: "I am not for sale." He maintained this stance all of his life.
The largest congregation for which he preached numbered 300 members, while the smallest was about ten. His recollection of the number of meetings he held is around 250, mostly for small churches who could not pay much. Yet, that never stopped him from preaching.
When we moved to Macon, Georgia, Dad steadfastly withstood the Holt-Ketcherside false doctrine. It was a long battle, but he and the church stood firm. He labored with the Westside church in Warner Robins for twenty-three years, serving much of that time as an elder. During this time, he preached on radio and television. After my mother passed in 1990, dad continued with the new Centerville work, where he remains to this day. He has preached a total of fifty-four years in Georgia. Dad says, "As long as the devil is in Georgia, I better stay also."
Connie's path is more well known. He did full-time local work for several years and then focused his attention on full-time meeting work and editing Searching the Scriptures. Bond Stocks, a gospel preacher who stayed in my grandparents' home, encouraged Connie to preach. The influence of his grandmother, Mosella Stotesberry, also significantly impacted him. I still remember the bond that he and my dad shared with her.
Connie has held over 900 gospel meetings across the United States and overseas. His writings continue to exert an influence for good. He has told many, "If you want to preach after you die, WRITE!" Behind the scenes of his efforts in the kingdom were his children and his wife, Bobbie. Few know of the toil in which she and the boys engaged to ensure that Searching the Scriptures met deadlines and mailings properly.
Wiley and Connie Adams continue to serve the Lord as they age. From humble roots in eastern Carolina and Tidewater, Virginia to their continued labors in the Lord's kingdom, they have remained faithful and not only encouraged others to stand—they have personally taken stands at a high cost.
Their influence has inspired many young men to preach the gospel. Dad's advice has always been, "Don't preach full-time if you can help it." He says, "There has to be a fire in your bosom that will not go out." and also, "If you put your hand to the plow, do not turn back." He continues to practice what he has preached.
My grandmother urged all in the family who preached to "Plow deep, boys. Don't just skim the surface. That does no one any good." Her boys have followed that advice. Hopefully, those of us who have followed in their steps are doing the same. Nine full-time preachers, three part-time preachers, and a legacy into the sixth generation of faithful Christians are what has come so far in our family from the influence of our earthly ancestors. The influence of Wiley and Connie will continue to live in the lives of our family and countless others.
The value of godly men and women who influence us for good is truly a blessing. To dad and Uncle Connie, we say, "Thank you for your influence in our lives. We are all genuinely wealthy in spiritual things."
To all who read this, we echo the words of the aged apostle: "Preach the Word. Be urgent in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine."
Author Bio: Stan has labored with the Lincoln church of Christ since 2019. He and his wife, Carla, have three children and seven grandchildren. The church website is lincolncoc.com. He can be reached at stan.adams1976@gmail.com.
Image 1: Wiley Adams (center) celebrates his 95th birthday with Stan (right) and Carla (left).
Image 2: Wiley Adams (center) celebrates his birthday with his family.