Some Observations About Charles Hamilton
by Bert Gorrod
by Bert Gorrod
“When the fullness of time had come” God sent Charles (Chuck) Hamilton into my life. God had prepared Chuck’s heart to receive the message of salvation through Jesus Christ and He had prepared my heart to receive a life-long friend. He was, is and will always be “Chuck” to me.
Exactly 52 years ago, September 1965, one of his IBM friends, Em Miller, brought Chuck to a home Bible Study in Midland Texas. He fit easily into the group, but he was casually interested in Jesus and God’s Word. However, a month or so later, we attended a weekend men’s Bible Conference in Brownwood, Texas, that was sponsored by the Navigators, a parachurch ministry that focused on evangelism & discipleship among servicemen and college students. Early in the weekend, Chuck met Harvey Cox, a Nav. representive from Wichita Falls. There was a mutual attraction and they spent much time together- talking, listening, eating, etc. At some point, I believe that Harvey introduced Chuck to his Savior, Jesus Christ. The trip home from that conference was different- talk about the Bible rather than Texas football. There was an excitement about the Bible and about Chuck’s new relationship with Christ. Our Bible studies were also different because we found more & more about God’s plans for our lives as we examined God’s Word. Several months later, the Nav. representative in Texas, Walt Henrichsen, came to Midland for a weekend Bible conference. During that time Walt became Chuck’s spiritual mentor. Often in later discussions, Chuck would say, “Walt believes this, but what do you think?” This solid relationship between Walt and Chuck stayed solid until the end. [Note: Walt died about 3 weeks before Chuck’s passing].
Unfortunately, Exxon moved me to Houston and IBM moved the Hamilton’s around northwest Texas; however, Chuck and I kept our friendship and love of Christ moving forward. The Lord moved Charles and family to Amarillo. It was in Amarillo that Chuck found God’s plan for his life. Unknown at that time his spiritual life was committed toward a ministry with men, both inside and outside the Church. God took Chuck’s personality, his friendliness and winsomeness and a desire to share God’s Word. Chuck, through the Lord, allowed him to assemble his first “BAND OF MEN.” Men in Amarillo from various walks of life and different church denominations were brought into God’s net. Chuck was a good leader and used his secular sales training to encourage and develop this BAND into a force to accomplish whatever God wanted them to do. From that point on, Chuck had a BAND of Men in his life. When they moved to Dallas, Chuck with Don Logue formed a Saturday morning Bible Study, as A Band of Men. There were other Bands of Men (some spiritual, some not) such as his secular sales force in various companies for which he worked; the husbands of women in Carole’s Book Club; his golfing buddies; the group of men that shared his passion for wood-working; other Bible studies led by others. The Lord led Chuck to his final BAND of Men when he observed a group of younger men who were meeting on a Saturday morning for a Bible Study at Starbucks. They were young men from the Anglican Christ Church. For several weeks, as he got coffee, he observed this group and finally was asked to join. He soon became their mentor, not just in spiritual things, but in business situations, in marital and family situations and in life living a life to glorify God.
During his illness, Chuck did not suffer a great deal of physical pain, but his emotional pain was severe because his physical strength made it difficult for him to leave the house and thus, he could not meet with his “Bands of Men.” He met some individually and talked on the phone to most, but it was just not the same. During the last few weeks of his life, we prayed for these men, that they would continue in the pursuit of righteousness and Godliness as they sought God’s face and direction in His Holy Word. During these last weeks, he made a trip to Amarillo and another to Waco to say “see you later” to the men. He called me the day before he went into the hospital to say goodbye and to thank me for being in his life. He was loyal and faithful to “his” men.
My soul is sad because I can no longer be with one of my best friends; I can no longer have the hours of discussion on the Bible and family issues. HOWEVER, my spirit is glad because he has found another “Band of Men” that includes Don Logue, Walt Henrichsen and other men from Chuck’s earthly bands that have passed on. Of course, the leader of this Band is Jesus Christ. What a glorious time Chuck is having with this new Band of Heavenly Men!