“Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.” – Hebrews 7:23-24
In October 2019, the Rev. Charles G. Adams, the senior pastor at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit, announced he was stepping aside after more than 50 years.
The 82 years old pastor was hailed in Ebony magazine as among the nation’s greatest black preachers and most influential African Americans. He has spoken before the United Nations, met with U.S. presidents and earned many honors.
“He used to try to preach in the garage and have an audience of other children,” said Eleanor Foster, age 98, a longtime family friend and the church’s oldest member. “I think he was born to be a minister.”
Adams went on to graduate from the University of Michigan and Harvard Divinity School and was a doctoral fellow at Union Theological Seminary in New York before spending about seven years presiding over Concord Baptist Church in Massachusetts.
His appointment as Hartford’s pastor in 1969 marked a seismic transformation for the house of worship.
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, pastor emeritus for Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, called the retired Pastor Adams a mentor and noted his absence at the pulpit. "It feels very strange" without him there, he told the congregation.
We have a permanent Priest, Pastor, and Friend in Jesus Christ. His ministry is eternal. Today in prayer, thank the Lord that He has a permanent priesthood.
“There can be no vacancy in this (Christ’s) priesthood, no hour nor moment in which the people are without a priest to negotiate their spiritual concerns in heaven. Such a vacancy might be very dangerous and prejudicial to them; but this is their safety and happiness, that this ever-living high priest is able to save to the utmost—in all times, in all cases, in every juncture—all who come to God by him” – Matthew Henry
God’s Word: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” – Hebrews 13:8