LET US ALL GO BACK TO THE OLD LANDMARK

About four hours northeast of what used to be Gomorrah, South Carolina (formerly the wretched home of Heritage U.S.A. founded by Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye), rests a haven for the weary of heart.....Rocky Mount, North Carolina.  For pilgrims who travel to pay homage to the sacred shambles of the former Praise the Lord (PTL) Empire, the town offers solace and sustenance in the form of barbecue and grace. The Red Budd Holy Church remains an old landmark in downtown Rocky Mount. 

Since 1959, the pastor of this church has been the great Rev. F. C. Barnes, and for several years, he was assisted in his ministry by the stately Rev. Janice Brown.  Their church remained a holy and solid institution, firm in its beliefs and nurturing to one and all.

 Many of its members share the Barnes name.  Few shadows darken the brick walls of the church, and those that do pass through are healed.  This anchor in the community owed much of its stability to the preaching, praying, and especially singing of the Reverends Barnes and Brown.  As messengers of the Holy Ghost, both ministers once held an apparent bond, their voices surrendered to God. 

Their singing together was not planned.  There was not even the slightest acumen of what was to come the Sunday morning that Rev. Brown was scheduled to sing a solo on Rev. Barnes' radio broadcast in the 1980s.  As God willed it,  Rev. Barnes offered to assist Rev. Brown, and this solo became a duet.

The rest of the story is best told by the gospel authority Anthony Heilbut from his definitive book The Gospel Sound:  "By far, the biggest gospel hit of the 1980s was "(I'm Coming Up) The Rough Side of the Mountain," a duet by F. C. Barnes and Janice Brown, the pastors of Red Budd Holy Church in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.  This was traditional gospel with a vengeance, without form or fashion-basic rhythm tracks, simple tune, sturdy vocals.  "Rough Side" was as much a product of the Reagan Administration as Jesse Jackson's campaign; its message confirmed by the latest unemployment figures.  In fact, in many ghetto record shops, the record outsold Michael Jackson's Thriller."
For years after this record hit, I would see Barnes and Brown whenever and wherever I could.  I never tired of their uplifting message and powerful stance.  It was as if Dr. Martin Luther King's message had finally been encapsulated in a hit song. Proverbs 23, verse 10, reads:  "Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless."

In the new Obama Nation, the old landmarks are still with us.  As for me, that's where I'm headed.