"The righteous shall flourish like a tree. They will take root in your house, Lord God and they will do well. They will be like trees that remain healthy and fruitful, even when they grow old." Ps. 92:12-14 (CEV)
This verse could have been written about Central Church member, Charlie Fite. 80 years young, Charlie has a passion for Christ that makes his blue eyes sparkle with enthusiasm.
Charlie and his sweet wife of fifty five years, Jo Ann, have two sons and six grandchildren. Charlie worked for Dover Elevator for thirty seven years as an engineer and has been retired for fourteen years. They are active in the Senior Adult ministry at Central where they have now been members for nineteen years.
In his spare time, Charlie likes to build scale model trains. When he was a young boy, his dad worked for the railroad. In the summers, Charlie would stay with his grandparents and the railroad ran right in front of their house. It was a thrill for Charlie when his dad would come by on the train. Charlie always wanted an electric train, but since his father’s was a coal driven train, his dad would never buy him one. When his first son was born, Charlie bought him an electric train! Now many years later, the dream of having his own trains and building the railroad around them has been re-kindled, and he is enjoying this pastime immensely.
Charlie was saved as a young man through the programs of Young Life. The leader of this group really helped Charlie to understand what it meant to be a Christian. Although he had grown up in church, he really did not understand the concept of being saved, in fact, he had never heard the term used before joining Young Life. He did not know that he could be SURE about his salvation and even more, he didn’t realize that the power of the Christian life was IN CHRIST, not in what he could do through his own self effort. Soon after coming to Christ in 1943, Charlie went into the Army. After he returned to Memphis, he attended Memphis State University (now known as the University of Memphis) and then went on to teach high school for four years. He was not attending church at this time, but that was soon to change when he met his wife-to-be, Jo Ann. Because of this godly young woman, Charlie began to go to church again. The spark that had been lit some years before began to glow and burn brighter and brighter for the Lord.
God promises us that when we come to Him that He will keep on perfecting us til Jesus comes or He takes us home. God had his hand on Charlie and has used him mightily throughout his life. He has taught him many things and Charlie has been open to learning from the Lord. Charlie served the Lord faithfully in a small church in the Memphis area in just about every capacity possible. But in 1963 God really got hold of Charlie by bringing him back to that original teaching he had gotten through Young Life...that it is God’s Spirit working in us to will and to do HIS good pleasure. It was what had been missing in his life and from that point on, Charlie began to allow Christ to live His life through him. God had just been waiting on Charlie to make himself available!
After a while, Charlie and Jo Ann began to sense that God had accomplished all that He desired in and through them at their small church. It was time to move on. They began to visit and search out God’s’ will. God eventually led them to Central Church. "There were 100 people in the first SS class we attended, ‘said Charlie. "More than the whole congregation of our former church!" Charlie has decided he will never be part of a small church again. "There are just so many more opportunities for service in a large church... so many more avenues to use your gifts and abilities."
Charlie knows all about gifts and abilities. Although retired from his career as an engineer, he has NOT retired from Christian service. On the contrary, at the age of 80, God has inspired Charlie to write a curriculum and begin teaching a class on just what living the Christian life is all about...Christ IN us. Charlie had been serving on the Missions Committee for the past fifteen years when God began to lay it on his heart to develop this material and to teach it. With twelve of his thirty seven years at Dover spent as a technical trainer, his stint as a high school teacher and thirty years teaching Sunday School, Charlie is well qualified to teach. His class is called Second Wind and meets during the 11:00 hour in the Youth Conference Room. It is a 13-week study and is open to anyone of any age. Even if you are in a class, Charlie wants to invite you to take a 13-week "leave of absence" and take this journey with him. This man is passionate about what the Lord has taught him over the course of sixty three years and our members would be wise to take advantage of the opportunity to sit and learn from one who has walked with the Savior over the course of a lifetime. So no matter what stage of the journey you are on, this class has something for you. I guarantee you a blessing!
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