[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 149 (Thursday, October 6, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1803-E1804]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IN HONOR OF REVEREND DR. J.H. FLAKES, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 6, 2011

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
outstanding Man of God who has been a long-standing source of personal 
inspiration, spiritual guidance and moral leadership to me and the 
Columbus, Georgia community at-large, the Reverend Dr. Johnny H. 
Flakes, Jr. Later this year, Dr. Flakes will celebrate his fiftieth 
anniversary as the distinguished pastor of the Fourth Street Missionary 
Baptist Church in Columbus. What makes this extraordinary feat even 
more remarkable is that his fifty years of accomplished service at 
Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church runs concurrently with his 
fifty-two years of service as the senior pastor of Good Hope Baptist 
Church in Phenix City, Alabama.
  Dr. Flakes' dynamic ability to successfully multitask the management 
of two flourishing churches, in two different states, over the last 
fifty years, is a monumental accomplishment that highlights his passion 
to reflect Christ through his thought-provoking sermons, pastoral 
leadership, unyielding love for the members of his congregations and 
his deep and abiding faith.
  Despite the numerous challenges he has encountered along his life's 
journey, Dr. Flakes has not relented nor retreated in the face of 
insurmountable hardships. While his rebellious early life was filled 
with challenges--being a high school drop-out and suffering with both 
alcohol and gambling addictions--he surrendered his life to the calling 
of God through Christ Jesus and was transformed. He was called to 
pastor Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church and Fourth Street Missionary 
Baptist Church and while pastoring both churches full-time, drove from 
Columbus, Georgia to Nashville, Tennessee and back each week over four 
years to earn his GED and Bachelor of Arts degree from American Baptist 
College.
  He later would go on to serve as Chairman of the Board of Trustees 
for American Baptist College and recently the administration building 
on the school's campus was named in his honor.
  Always pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of 
God in Christ Jesus, to better improve the craft of Christian ministry 
and discipleship, he became a catalytic leader in the National Baptist 
Congress of Christian Education, for many years served as President of 
the Congress of Christian Education for the General Missionary Baptist 
Convention of Georgia and ultimately served on the Executive Committee 
Board of the National Baptist Convention. Dr. Flakes has also received 
honorary doctorate degrees from A.B. Lee Theological Seminary in 
Jacksonville, Florida and his beloved alma mater, American Baptist 
College.
  Throughout his pastoral career, Dr. Flakes has played a leading role 
in several other religious-affiliated and community-based 
organizations. He served courageously as President of the Columbus 
branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored 
People (NAACP) for several years; is the President and Founder of ``A 
Call To Talk'' (ACTT); Chairman of One Columbus; and Chartering Pastor 
of the General Missionary Baptist Church Convention of West Germany.
  Reverend Flakes has been repeatedly acknowledged for his outstanding 
achievements, service and public distinction. He is the recipient of 
the Outstanding Personality of the South Award; Ten Outstanding 
Ministers in the State of Georgia Award; Alpha Phi Alpha Martin Luther 
King, Jr. Award; Operation PUSH Martin Luther King, Jr. Award; and the 
Knighthood Award from the Congress of Christian Education.
  Dr. Flakes has achieved numerous successes in his life, but none of 
this would have been possible without the grace of God and his loving 
wife of more than fifty-seven years, Robena Gaines Flakes. Dr. and Mrs. 
Flakes are the parents of three children--Sincera, Johnny and Merle--
and the proud grandparents of three granddaughters.

[[Page E1804]]

  One of Dr. and Mrs. Flakes' sons, Johnny H. Flakes III, is an 
emerging community leader in Columbus, Georgia and now co-pastors at 
Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church and Good Hope Missionary 
Baptist Church with his father. As the scripture tells us, ``Train up a 
child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart 
from it.'' Dr. Flakes has encouraged his children and grandchildren not 
to be carbon copies of him but to glean from his wisdom and experience 
and be available to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
  On a personal note, Dr. Flakes has served as a spiritual advisor to 
me for many years, particularly during the twenty-four years I was a 
member of the Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church. Through trouble 
or triumph, he was always available and has always given me wise 
counsel. Mrs. Flakes is like a mother to me and I am proud each time 
she refers to me as ``son.''
  The great theologian and mystic scholar, Dr. Howard Thurman, once 
said that: ``There is something in every one of you that waits and 
listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true 
guide that you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all 
of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else 
pulls.'' To God be the glory that the Rev. Dr. Johnny H. Flakes, Jr. 
heard the sound of God's voice and answered the call for his life. 
Because he answered that call, my life and the lives of countless 
others throughout the world are better for it.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in paying tribute 
to Dr. Johnny H. Flakes, Jr. for his life of selfless service to God, 
the church and to humankind.

                          ____________________