Reuben and Maggie Bishop: Faithful

Reuben and Maggie Bishop:
Fifty-Five Years Of Loving
Service For Their Lord Together

 1 Samuel 12:24 ESV

Only fear the LORD and serve him
faithfully with all your heart.
For consider what great things
he has done for you.

Together They Loved And Served

Together they loved and served their Lord together
over the course of fifty-five years
centered on Him who saved
and called them into sharing
their family—their children, their hopes and their
dreams together trusting in their faith
and in their church with Jesus
as their guide and Savior—
loving and laughing and working and playing
and praying and worshipping
always together whether
in joy or in sadness—
and they in their faithful, their full-hearted service
made a difference for others seeking
for direction and purpose—
finding their all in Jesus.

********

As I grew up in the fifties and sixties, I often wondered why older folks got so excited about that really old song, “Give me that old time religion.” After all, I was growing up in a world excited about the space race to the moon, frightened by the nuclear arms race, getting used to all kinds of new music and lots of weird, yet somehow exciting new ideas. People were experimenting with new hair lengths, new skirt lengths, new styles, leisure suits, bell bottom trousers, and tie-dyed anything and everything. “Old Time Religion” seemed a bit out of tune with the modernity of the sixties. Yet, I have to admit I never lost my admiration for all those faithful folks who sang about their religion—day-by-day because they faithfully and visibly lived it out in the ups-and-downs of raising families on tight budgets with genuine faith in Jesus as their Savior.  And they always did so with enthusiastic participation in church ministries. So many of these families placed church right in the center of the priorities, and those of us growing up among them were truly blessed by their hearts for Jesus. So, I have to admit I actually came to admire their very real “Old Time Religion.”

I grew up appreciating so many such families, but Reuben and Maggie Bishop particularly blessed me as they and their large family shared life with our family at Glencoe First Baptist Church . Reuben had been born in 1922, as one of five children. He grew up to serve in the Navy during World War II. Maggie had been born in 1924. They married in September in 1944 and spent 55 years together. Reuben worked for 30 years at Goodyear Tire, while Maggie worked as a stay-at-home Mom until all of her children were in school. Then she worked at a downtown department store. They had five children: Alice Goss, Theresa Thompson, Sammy Bishop, Anita Landers and Tina Chun. (Imagine poor Sammy, growing up in a house with no brothers, but four sisters!)

Here they are! Reuben and Maggie
and their incredibly
beautiful family.
Praise God for them all!

As, I have said it was clear even to me, that they built their family on the strong foundation of their Christian faith. Anita says, “My parents were Christian parents who lived the Christian life. They had a huge impact on many people in our Church.” For instance, Reuben started teaching a Sunday School Class of fifth and sixth graders, and taught them every year until they graduated from high school. He discipled those guys through their school years, always pointing them to Christ. At his funeral several of them served as pallbearers; now—that’s a lifelong testimony.

Anita also shares this testimony: “During a revival at our Church Junior Hill was preaching. Dad and I were working in the garden and talking about the service from the night before. As we talked, Dad explained the Roman Road of Salvation, and I accepted Christ as my Savior right there in the pea patch.” What a beautiful place to meet the Lord!

Now, growing up in the Bishop family had its perks and its challenges. Maggie was an excellent seamstress and made most of the girls’ dresses, including one particularly beautiful formal for Anita’s Junior-Senior Prom. However, she also remembers her junior year, playing in the the band, and having gone to a Saturday competition. Even though she did not get home until 3 A.M. Sunday morning, she was awakened right on time and told to get ready for church. Her parents believed firmly; if you could participate in a band trip,  you could definitely make it to church. She explains she was the only band member who made it to church that day. 

Maggie never missed Sunday School, Training Union, WMU and Prayer Meeting. For both Reuben and Maggie, their family life centered around their Christian life. Maggie also took an active part in ministering to church and community families in times of grief. She continued this work well into her eighties.

GFBC IN THE 1960’S
Church Family or Faith Family?
Call it what you will—
They are both God’s Family,
and there’s no better way to grow up
than in a God Worshipping,
Jesus Loving, Spirit Serving
fellowship of your Family in Christ.

Another daughter, Tina, adds that both her parents taught Sunday School. Their Dad worked with the R.A.’s and served as a Deacon. They enjoyed hosting ice cream socials for the teens. She mentions how their closest friends were members of their Church. Tina further mentions how she, her sisters and her brother were always encouraged to participate in church groups and youth camps. She says, “We all grew up learning  all about the Love of Christ.”

The Bishops were always known for their garden, and they always grew much more than even their big family needed. Neighbors and church families were welcome to come and gather fruits and vegetables. After Reuben passed away, Maggie became known as the bean lady. She would grow more green beans than anyone could handle.  Tina  gives this beautiful tribute to her parents: “We were loved.”

Anita recalls how both of her parents remained active in the lives of their children, their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren. Often they traveled all the way from Alabama to Texas to see baseball games and spend fun times with the younger members of the family.

You can easily see why I feel  so blessed to have grown up in a church family with the Bishops. Above all, in the midst of their busy lives, they were faithful to their Lord Jesus, faithful to their family, and certainly faithful to their church family. 

In the midst of all of this they dealt with mighty challenges. As it turned out, Reuben, developed a hereditary issue which severely complicated his breathing. In fact, for many years, he seemed to gasp for every breath; yet he never let that stop him from giving a powerful witness to His Lord. He loved Jesus truly, and could be counted on to encourage various preachers with hearty “Amens!” as they preached the Gospel. He and Maggie kept their focus on God and His Goodness throughout these years of suffering. They continued to focus energy on loving their family, serving others and growing and their delicious fruit and vegetables. 

Getting back to that “Old Time Religion” makes just as much sense today as it did back in my growing-up days. Christian families like the faithful one Reuben and Maggie led so faithfully,  still provide a powerful witness for Jesus and the eternal Kingdom He continues to build in the hearts and lives of  such servants as the Bishops. I enthusiastically praise God for such wonderful and fruitful lives as theirs.