By Amy Davis
He never expected to do it.
But on June 10, Paul Wilmoth of Sparta donned the customary cap and gown and graced the commencement stage at Tennessee Bible College, receiving his bachelor’s degree in religious education.
A college graduate at age 67.
It was a feat more than three decades in the making, as Wilmoth was among TBC’s first students when the college was founded in the mid-1970s. A preacher in his early 20s, he remembers well those early days of study.
“I began taking classes but never dreamed I’d go on to graduate,” said Wilmoth, who then preached at Double Springs Church of Christ. “I didn't even think about it. I was just interested in learning.”
Time went on, and Paul kept preaching… andtaking more TBC courses when he could.
By 1983, he was associate minister at Northeast Church of Christ in Cookeville (a position he still holds today) while at the same time working at Tennessee Tech University. He retired as postmaster in 2006 after almost 40 years of service.
But things didn’t slow down after retirement. He became a teaching assistant at Tennessee Bible College and, a couple years later, assistant to the president. Each day he would pass by the framed portraits of TBC alumni that line the halls.
By that time, he himself had accumulated quite a few credit hours and began looking into the possibility that he, too, could become a TBC graduate. He credits Kerry Duke, TBC dean, and Glenn B. Ramsey, TBC vice president, for their strong encouragement along the way.
“If it weren't for them I wouldn't have made it,” he said.
Why finish his degree after all this time?
“I guess I just wanted to prove that I could do it,” Wilmoth said. “It's always been an ambition. I got married young and had to go to work. I intended to go to college but didn't get to. Had I gone, it would have been at Tennessee Tech.”
Instead, he served as TTU’s postmaster.
“I've jokingly said I went to Tech for 40 years and never did graduate,” he said. “But at least I am getting a degree from Tennessee Bible College. I’d rather have that as any other degree because of what we teach and the stress on the Bible.”
Wilmoth said the best part of being a TBC grad is the knowledge he has gained over the years.
“I've gotten more out of it than I've given,” he said. “I've always wanted to work in the church and, of course, spent my life doing that. Getting this degree is just an added incentive.”
The hardest part?
“Greek!” he laughed. “No doubt.”
That particular course, taught by Kerry Duke, was the last on Wilmoth’s list before graduation. Looking back, he recalls some of the first courses he took during the mid- to late-1970s – courses like Spoken English, Sermon Preparation and The Work of a Preacher. One memory from his Spoken English class, taught by TBC’s founder and first president Malcolm Hill – particularly stands out.
“Elbert Young, who was a preacher in Algood, substituted for Bro. Hill one night,” Wilmoth said, “You should have seen him show us how to get on the stage. He backed up and kind of went sideways, telling us, ‘Don’t ever turn your back on the audience.' The next week, Bro. Hill was back, and Bro. David Flatt was supposed to speak. So as he went up on the stage he imitated Bro. Young. I think Bro. Hill thought he was crazy. We all got a big laugh out of it. We joked about it, saying Bro. Young must have preached for some pretty rough crowds if he was afraid to turn his back on them! I remember that very well.”
Now Wilmoth is in his 49thyear of preaching. Growing up, the Algood native never intended for it to happen – it just evolved that way, he said.
It’s in his blood, after all.
“My dad was a preacher for about 35 years,” Wilmoth said. “As a young man, I remember during the summer time attending just about every gospel meeting in White County, Putnam County, Jackson County and Overton County. One summer, I think we went to meetings for 30 or 40 days in a row.”
He was even called “Preacher Paul” as a boy.
“From the time I can remember, Edward Anderson – we called him Big Edward – would always say, ‘Hello, Preacher Paul!’” Wilmoth said.
But it really didn't take effect until he was a senior in high school in 1962. That's when his dad, Perry Wilmoth, offered him a turn behind the pulpit at Netherland church of Christ,where he was the minister. Soon after, Arkley Billingsley, preacher at nearby Holladay Church of Christ, let him preach several times on Sunday evenings.
“From that, I just got interested in it and went on,” Wilmoth said.
And he’s still going at age 67 – preaching, teaching and writing, plus spending time with his wife, Shirley, and their children and grandchildren.
And serving at TBC.
Now when Wilmoth passes the framed portraits of graduates that line the halls at TBC, his face will be among them.
A member of the TBC Class of 2011.