By Ron Halbrook
Synopsis: The Lord shepherded the life of Bobby Adams, and she found Him to be the strength of her heart for ninety-three years. She was a godly wife to two husbands and taught God’s word for over seventy years.
Sister Bobby Adams, wife of brother Connie W. Adams, was born on May 15th, 1928, in Hopewell, KY and went to be with her Lord on January 30, 2022. Among her many accomplishments serving her Lord, she taught children and women His word for over seventy years. It was a privilege for me to offer the following remarks on February 2 at her funeral.
How fitting that sister Bobby Adams passed from the land of the dying to the land of the living on the Lord’s Day—the day of her Lord’s victory over death, as recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—the day on which her Lord’s church began, as recorded in Acts 2—the day appointed to worship her Lord until His return, as recorded in Acts 20:7!
The faith expressed by David in Psalm 23 was exemplified by Bobby and will sustain us in the days to come.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
With the Lord as our Shepherd, we have nothing to fear, not even the valley of the shadow of death. God is a great King, and David was his vassal who depended on Him to defeat his enemies. When the Lord is our host at the victory feast, He welcomes us as guests to celebrate the victory. He wins for us over all the enemies of truth and right. His goodness and mercy sustain us in all of life’s trials. He welcomes and protects us in His holy house for ever. Bobby found this safety and security in her Lord, and so can we.
Bobby’s life exemplifies David’s intense, devoted love for the Lord as expressed in Psalm 27:4, “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in His temple.”
David’s prayer in Psalm 73:24-26 was Bobby’s prayer, and is also our prayer: “Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.”
God was the strength of Bobby’s heart from the days of her youth to the last moment of her earthly life. Based on her faith in Christ at the age of eleven, she was baptized for the remission of her sins like the sinners in Acts 2:38. Her character grew strong as she passed through the challenges of life from picking cotton as a girl to thirty-five happy years of marriage to Tom Hughes as they raised their children and she helped him succeed in business working behind the scenes. Some years after Tom’s death, she shared thirty-six years of marriage with Connie, working hand-in-hand to serve Christ, and assist her husband in spreading the gospel around this country and around the world. They labored together in over 400 gospel meetings here in the U.S. with her often reading the Bible to him as they drove thousands of miles. She also taught ladies’ classes in the majority of those meetings.
God was the strength of her heart in forging her strong convictions in upholding the truth of God’s word as expressed by both David and Paul, “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe and therefore speak” (Ps. 116:10; 2 Cor. 4:13).
Bobby believed that, when John 3:16 says God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son for the sins of all men, that was the only possible means to save her and all men. Therefore, she spoke this truth to all who would listen.
She believed that there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, as taught in Ephesians 4:4-6, and therefore, she taught this truth to others without shame.
She fully believed the message of salvation as spoken by Jesus in Mark 16:15-16 and did her best to convince all men to believe in Christ and submit to Him in water baptism.
Bobby believed that Jesus fulfilled His promise to build His church in Matthew 16:18, and that He built it in Acts 2. She embraced the pattern given in Scripture for the New Testament church regarding its name, doctrine, work, worship, and organization. She believed it and spoke it.
She believed Jesus when He affirmed that marriage is for one man and one woman in a lifetime commitment, the only exception being that if one party committed fornication, the innocent party could divorce the fornicator and marry a new mate. That is what Jesus taught in Matthew 19:3-9. She lived this truth as a faithful wife and taught it to countless others.
She believed Romans 12:1-2 which affirms that we should present our bodies as a living sacrifice to the service of God and not be conformed to this sinful world by drinking alcohol, using profane speech, gambling, dancing, watching movies that glorify immoral conduct, or wearing immodest clothing. She exemplified this truth and spoke it without hesitation or apology.
Bobby believed in the teaching of Hebrews 10:25 that Christians should not be willfully absent from the assemblies of the saints. God was the strength of her heart so that she attended when we all wondered how she managed it as she shuffled her feet a few inches at a time from the car to her seat in the assembly, with Connie holding her arm as she made this trek countless times.
Bobby believed Jesus’s description of the Final Judgment Day in Matthew 25:31-46, when the saved will be welcomed into heaven and the lost will be banished to hell. She believed and tried to convince all men to believe it and to prepare for that day.
The world at large thinks that people who believe, live, and teach as Bobby did are dried up prunes—grumbling grizzly bears. Some people thought of brother Roy E. Cogdill that way because he was a staunch defender of the faith who refuted the false doctrines of men who wanted to liberalize the church of Christ. He held a meeting where I preached in Nashville, TN, in August 1973, and visited in our home when our son Jonathan was a year and a half old. I did not know brother Cogdill could play the ventriloquist, but he convinced Jonathan there was a dog under brother Cogdill’s big chair and Jonathan ran around and around the chair looking for that dog. It was obvious brother Cogdill’s heart was as big as the chair when he picked Jonathan up and held him, hugged him, and laughed with him. Like brother Cogdill, sister Bobby had a tender heart and a healthy sense of humor. I used to ask her playfully, “Will you please make Connie behave himself?” She would answer with a wry smile and a twinkle in her eye, “Yes, I can, and I will.”
Last, God was the strength of Bobby’s heart in her spirit of love, compassion, and hospitality. She loved to take food to the sick and infirm and to entertain guests in her house. Donna and I were the beneficiaries of her gracious hospitality. Numerous times, Donna and I visited brethren in hospitals and nursing homes where we would be told, “Connie and Bobby were just here.” I always wondered how they managed to stay a step ahead of us all the time when we were twenty years younger than them. Bobby spent untold hours teaching new converts in her home, such as Briana White, a young lady who is blind and was converted by Danny Dennison, a blind brother. Briana has continued to grow in Christ on the solid foundation of teaching patiently and lovingly given by Bobby.
Bobby wants us to know that the Lord who has been her Shepherd wants to be our Shepherd, too. If you need to obey the gospel or be restored to the Lord, a loving Shepherd is ready to help you, and so are we. Let Him guide you with His counsel and afterward receive you to glory, just as He has done for Bobby.
[See obituary at https://www.subfuneralhome.com/obituary/bobby-adams]
Connie can be reached at conniewadams@twc.com or P.O. Box 91346, Louisville, KY 40291. He and I are sharing the pulpit at the Hebron Lane church of Christ, where he still preaches with clarity and vigor.
