Hartselle pastor retires after 25 years at East Highland Baptist

rebekah.yancey@hartselleenquirer.com

For a quarter of a century, Hartselle pastor Wally Blackman’s Sunday mornings were spent behind the pulpit at East Highland Baptist Church, sharing sermon after sermon with the congregation.

Blackman previously served as pastor of First Baptist Church Marion and Southern Hills Baptist Church, Natchez, both in Mississippi, and taught adult training “10 Steps to Christian Maturity” at Southside Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia.

Blackman holds a bachelor’s degree in history and religion from the University of Alabama and a Master of Divinity degree in biblical studies from New Orleans Seminary. A life of ministry was not what Blackman envisioned for himself as a young man. His grandfather was a Baptist minister, but Blackman wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and go to law school to become a corporate lawyer. That was until he served in the U.S. Army and felt God was calling him into ministry that he made a trajectory change. “The Lord made it known to me He was calling me to do this, and I wasn’t going to say no,” Blackman said. His extended tenure at East Highland was not expected, Blackman added. “My kids got involved in school here and we just settled down and my wife became a schoolteacher out here at Danville,” he said. “They had gotten used to moving around every few years, but this was their last stop. “To know I am where the Lord wants me, even if it is going tough, that is what keeps you in ministry. It is a calling. “You have a very weighted responsibility to care for a bunch of folks. When you are dealing with people who are going through horrendous things – I have dealt with suicide, automobile wrecks, deaths of babies, Alzheimer’s … at any given time I might have 12-15 people in the church whose memories are going or who have family members who are dealing with that,” he said. “You know, you carry that with you and a lot of that’s confidential so there is no one to talk to about it, but it’s something the Lord gave me the grace to do.” After 25 years of pastoring, Blackman said he knew he was in a good position to step back from full-time ministry as the church had an associate pastor who could take his place.

Although he has taken a step back from official duties, Blackman stays busy filling in for area preachers. Hartselle is home for the Blackman family. “We will be here until the Lord returns, or we go to him,” he said. He and Suzanne live in Hartselle and have four children and eight grandchildren.