Joseph Willis: The Half-English, Half-Cherokee Pioneer by Randy Willis

Prologue

Joseph Willis was the son of a wealthy white plantation owner. His father was Agerton Willis. His mother was a Cherokee slave whom his father renamed Mary.

Joseph Willis was born in North Carolina in 1758 as a slave to his father. The laws in North Carolina in 1741 were strict. They stated that if one parent was a slave, then their child was a slave. The first slaves in North Carolina were Native American, not African American.

Joseph gained his freedom in 1776 when he was 18 years old. This was achieved through the efforts of an influential first cousin, Brigadier General John Willis. However, North Carolina’s emancipation laws stated that he had to leave the state within six months. Otherwise, he would become a slave again.

Joseph Willis, therefore, moved to South Carolina. His father, Agerton Willis, willed Joseph his entire estate. This inheritance would have made Joseph the wealthiest person of color in North Carolina. Agerton’s brother Daniel Willis, ironically the father of John Willis, challenged this. The North Carolina laws of 1741 stated that no person of color could inherit property. Joseph lost almost his entire inheritance.

After losing two wives in South Carolina, he faced rejection from his Baptist denomination. They refused to ordain him because of his skin color. At age 40, his life expectancy was not much more than 40 in the much safer East. Joseph headed West with five children through the most dangerous country despite this. He swam the mighty Mississippi at Natchez on a mule in 1798 at the peril of his life.

He preached the first Gospel sermon West of the Mississippi by an Evangelical or Protestant. Joseph Willis’s swarthy dark skin would be used against him until his death at age 96. But it was not the only force that would be used to stop him. This one was more dangerous than the mile-wide swirling river: religion.

He entered the hostile Spanish-controlled Louisiana Territory. The dreaded Code Noir (Black Code) forbade preaching anything other than Catholicism. Vigilantes sought to kill him even after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The United States purchased the vast area, except the disputed No Man’s Land. Louisiana Statehood in 1812 did not dampen the hated?

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Joseph Willis would establish over 20 churches. He lived and preached Jesus before any other dared to in the Louisiana Territory. Later, he continued his work in No Man’s Land. This was in the lawless Neutral Ground between the Calcasieu and Sabine Rivers with outlaws, pirates, Native Americans, and run-away-slaves.

His swarthy skin would be accepted in No Man’s Land’s melting pot of races and cultures. It was a Taylor-made mission field amid those rejected by polite society like Joseph.

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This hatred would be written by those who bought ink by the barrel. They were published in newspapers controlled by wealthy slave owners and the predominant Roman Catholic Church of South Louisiana.

Joseph Willis died in 1854 at age 96. The following generations of his family would bear the brunt of these slander-filled articles, especially after the Civil War. During Reconstruction (1865-1887), the flames of racial prejudice screamed what they called “the inherent inferiority of non-White racial groups.”

These hate-filled charlatans searched for evidence. They aimed to prove that Joseph Willis had “an ounce of negro blood” [their words, not mine] in his veins.

The “one-drop rule”

The so-called “one-drop rule” was a prominent legal principle of racial classification in my ancestor’s life.

However, that clarification of not having one drop of African American blood just decades ago might have saved your career. It could have caused your children to attend inferior schools or no school. They might have had to ride in the back of the bus. They would have drunk from “colored” water fountains. It might have even saved your life.

The son of a white man and Cherokee slave, Joseph Willis, was born a slave to his father. Joseph gained his freedom and swam the mighty Mississippi on a mule. — Joseph Willis was the son of a white man and a Cherokee slave. He was born in 1758 as a slave to his father, Agerton Willis.

Joseph Willis’s Race

What race was Rev. Joseph Willis? What did he look like? Who were his parents? Who were his grandparents? These are four of the most often-asked questions I have received in the last half-century. They concern my fourth Great-Grandfather, Joseph Willis, who was born in 1758.

Growing up in the South, I was steeped in facts and mythology. The difficult task was ascertaining the difference.

There is the overused insulting stereotype of poor kids like me sitting on the front porch in the 1950s. They are in rickety old rocking chairs with parents and assorted much older ancestors who appear to be 150.

On these sweltering summer evenings, they drink iced tea. Sometimes, the elderly drink Community House dark roast coffee. My grandpa and namesake was Randall Lee Willis. He would sneak down to the banks of Barber Creek. There, he would partake of something a tad bit stronger called moonshine. Grandma, as did my sainted mother, hated liquor with a passion.

They always keep a fly swatter within arm’s reach. The kids sit barefoot in worn-out, hand-me-down blue jeans. These jeans have holes in the knees and iron-on patches elsewhere. The older ones’ storytelling e. mesmerizes the younger ones. The scene is as worn out as their blue jeans, but it is true. And a precious memory.

That scene is me as a boy. Every jot and title rings as valid as a church bell on Easter Sunday morning.

However, in the winter, it would be around a potbelly stove. Newspapers covered the cracks in the interior walls of my ancestor’s homes.

The storytelling would also take place on a long horseback ride. We often hunted for our cows in the thick Louisiana Longleaf pine underbrush. Eventually, we would hear a cowbell echoing in the distance. It was around the neck of the “bell cow,” echoing across the open range owned by enormous lumber companies.

The stories concluded as our Catahoula Leopard cow dogs took chase. They left a trail of tracks in the red dirt and pine straw, but that trail was unnecessary. The sound of the cowbell grew louder as we got closer. Hounds barking at the top of their lings echoed louder the closer we got. I can hear them in my mind again as I write. This scene occurred within a mile of where Joseph Willis established his last church in 1841. Spring Hill Baptist Church was located on Hurricane Creek near Forest Hill, Louisiana.

Everywhere, my family reminisced, often telling the same story a hundred times. I have picked up that habit. After the first sentence, my three sons frequently finish my stories. They embellish them and add drama to entertain us as they reply, “We know Dad.”

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I was two months away from graduating from Angleton High School in 1968. In my Dad’s rusty, beat-up Ford pickup, I tuned to Country Music on the AM radio. Instead, I received the news that Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot in Memphis. An acquaintance from high school, that I was giving a ride home, began to praise the Lord.

If you are a writer in the Deep South, you have a deep well to draw from. This is especially true if you were raised during my generation and before. My family’s battle against racial hatred did not begin in my generation. It started in my fourth Great-Grandfather Joseph Willis’s generation when he was born half-Cherokee.

Joseph Willis said his father was English, and his mother was Cherokee. Joseph Willis told his grandchildren Polk and Olive Willis, who tended to him in his later years, and many others. That settled the issue for me. Grandpa’s words were good enough for me. I chose not to write about his race other than stating what he said.

I discovered my lack of skills as a young writer in the 1970s. If you are a new writer, consider the first half million words as practice. I could not write on the subject without sounding like a racist. I am not sure I can today, either.

I was trying to address the “race question” in my family without seeming biased. A North Carolina historian commented on one of my articles: “Randy Willis is trying to whiten Joseph Willis up.” I had thinner skin as a young whipper snapper than I do today. My response was less than Christ-like.

That historian did not realize that when I started my research, I hoped Joseph Willis was half African American. If he were, there would be a national holiday in his honor, and I could write a bestseller.

The more I dug, the more I discovered Joseph Willis was precisely as he claimed. He was half Cherokee and half English. Thus, my million-seller biography was not to be.

I know that’s a long backstory, so let’s dive into the purpose of this treatise.

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Thus, I write today about my fourth great-grandfather, Joseph Willis, who was hated for his swarthy skin. That hate would grow more potent when he preached that slavery was a sin in pre-Civil War Louisiana. This belief would divide his friends, admirers, and descendants.

Joseph Willis’s enemies sought to destroy him. Parenthetically, they discovered ammunition in an admirer’s book that praised Joseph Willis.

But the haters had a problem. Hundreds of families followed Joseph Willis to Louisiana from 1798 to 1812. They knew his parents, friends, and family members in Carolina.

In the strangest dichotomy, they found gunpowder for their hate in the year of his death. This event occurred in 1854. It came from an admirer of the 96-year-old preacher. His name was W.E. Paxton. According to Paxton’s book, he obtained most of his information on Joseph Willis from Joseph Willis’s journals. He also learned about the Louisiana Baptist history of that area through these journals. These journals were entrusted to one of Joseph’s understudies, William Prince Ford.

William Prince Ford and his slave, Solomon Northrup, attended Joseph Willis’s Spring Hill Baptist Church. This church, founded in 1841, was near Forest Hill on Hurricane Creek, as mentioned before. Perhaps you have seen the movie 12 Years a Slave, based on Solomon Northrup’s book.

As the slavery issue began to rage, racism intensified in the Deep South. It became hate on steroids, especially in Louisiana, the state with the most plantations and slaves. Louisiana had more millionaires than any state in America before the Civil War. And controlled the Port of New Orleans and the South’s most extensive superhighway of commerce, the Mississippi River.

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The haters loaded their guns to discredit Joseph Willis with one paragraph in one book. This book was written in 1854 and not published until 1888. The publication was delayed due to the author’s death in 1854. W.E. Paxton did not live long enough to fact-check his book. Everyone who wrote about this subject referenced that paragraph directly. Others quoted someone else who got it from that paragraph.

Please read W.E. Paxton’s statements about Joseph Willis. You can find it on page 139 of A History of the Baptist of Louisiana, from the Earliest Times to the Present (1888). The document is attached.

“He was [Joseph Willis] a mulatto [emphasis mine], Paxton wrote. Those four words were all that was needed to attempt to discredit Joseph Willis and his sermons against slavery. Joseph Willis was the first Evangelical and a Baptist in the heart of Roman Catholic-controlled South Louisiana. Decades later, Louisiana’s wealthy slave owners used these four words. They attempted to destroy the preacher, who was a frail old man.

This almost cost him his life several times. Until the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, it was illegal to preach anything but Catholicism. In reality, he remained hated and in danger until his death.

The term was used at the time of Paxton’s book (1854) for anyone of a mixed-racial heritage. However, that didn’t matter to those with an agenda of hate.

White people mixed with any dark-skinned race was deemed a mulatto. They swung a wide loop of hatred in the days of innocence lost.

I’ve attached pages of A History of the Baptist of Louisiana, from the Earliest Times to the Present (1888). Paxton made this statement about Joseph Willis on page 139.

What did Paxton mean by the term mulatto in relationship to Joseph Willis? The answer is found in the same book 300 pages later. He writes about “Negro Baptist in Louisiana” in the attached pages 452-453. Numerous other pages in Paxton’s book are just as graphic.

Paxton wrote, and I quote precisely, “They are said to be ignorant, lying, thieving race, and that is degrading to teach them.”

“They are said to be ignorant, lying, thieving race, and that is degrading to teach them.” —W.E. Paxton “A History of the Baptist of Louisiana, from the Earliest Times to the Present” (1888)

Sadly, this was the norm for many in those days. The aging preacher Joseph Willis was an exception. He dealt with it for 96 years. That view would almost cost him his life many times. At age 83, he established his last church, Spring Hill Baptist, near Forest Hill.

The church minutes record that Judy, a slave, was one of the church’s founders. This was unheard of in Louisiana only a decade before the Civil War. It must have fueled hatred of Joseph. The old preacher never hesitated to go against popular opinion. He did so when it was not found in the Book he had spent a lifetime following. Preaching against slavery was a Biblical moral issue, not the so-called state rights belief.

Although, it could also lead to financial disaster for those who made their living through human bondage.

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Now, compare just a few of Paxton’s quotes about Joseph Willis in the same book. See attached.

Paxton wrote of Joseph Willis: “…he was a simple-hearted Christian, glowing with the love of Jesus and an effective speaker.” Remember, many Christians of that day did not believe African Americans had a soul, especially racist.

According to Paxton’s book: “Joseph was never ‘daunted’ for his was a high calling, a single-mindedness of purpose.”

Paxton wrote, “The zeal of Father Willis, as he came to be called by the affectionate people among whom he labored, could not be bounded by the narrow limits of his own home, but he traveled far and wide.”

In describing Joseph Willis, Paxton continued to gush, “Those who loved him called Joseph Willis the ‘Apostle to the Opelousas’ and ‘Father Willis.”’ By the way, this sentence is where I got the title for my book, The Apostle to the Opelousas.

Paxton never mentions Joseph Willis in his chapter on “Negro Baptist” in the same book.

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Tragically, Louisiana Baptist and Civil War secessionists began to throw Joseph Willis under the bus (i.e., horse carriage). Many of his descendants did the same.

The KKK and other hate groups began to flourish. During this time, some of Joseph Willis’s descendants claimed “they never knew him.”

The late Dr. Greene Strother was Joseph’s maternal grandson. He told me about his research for his Master’s Thesis in 1925, which he conducted at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He wrote to a Willis cousin in DeQuincy who was running for reelection. The Willis cousin said, “Don’t tell anyone I descend from him, or I won’t be reelected.”

The Louisiana Baptist Association had a plaque in front of its building in Alexandria. It honored Joseph Willis in the early 1950s. However, it was removed when someone mentioned Paxton’s statement.

The rumor that Rev. Daniel Hubbard Willis Sr. was adopted was spread. This rumor was intended to hide the shame of being a descendant of our precious Willis Patriarch. Rev. Daniel Hubbard Willis Sr. was my Great-Great-Grandfather. He did not waver in his love for his Grandfather, Joseph Willis. He also remained steadfast in his passion for the Lord, whom he served by organizing more churches than his Grandfather.

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Great-grandpa Rev. Daniel Hubbard Willis Sr. was the first descendant and grandson to follow Joseph Willis in the ministry. He never denied Joseph Willis, even though his children might have been kicked out of all-white schools. Paxton wrote glowingly of Rev. Daniel Hubbard Willis, too, which would never have occurred if Paxton believed Joseph Willis was part African American.

Daniel Hubbard Willis Sr. Joseph Willis's Grandson and Randy Willis's Great-Grandfather

Daniel Hubbard Willis Sr. was Joseph Willis’s Grandson and Randy Willis’s Great-Grandfather. He was the first of Joseph Willis’s descendants to enter the ministry and was the son of Agerton Willis. He was a first cousin to James K. Polk Willis, the son of Lemuel Willis.

Other Louisiana Baptist Historians sought to address the “controversy.” Most noted was the greatest of all early Louisiana Baptist Historians, Dr. Ivan M. Wise (B.A., M.A., LL.D). He was also the primary researcher for W.E. Paxton. He sought to clarify Paxton’s choice of words.

Dr. Ivan M. Wise (B.A., M.A., LL.D.) wrote Footsteps of the Flock; Or Origins of Louisiana Baptists. Volume I (Crowley, Louisiana, L. Nussbaum, 1910).

I have a copy of the microfilm from Karon McCartney, archives coordinator at the Louisiana Baptist Convention. The page numbers on the microfilm copy are different from those on the printed volume, which is labeled Volume II, Second Edition, Part 1 in the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s archives. The following page references are from the microfilm copy, not the printed volume. I hope to re-publish this excellent history book.

Rev. Ivan M. Wise makes one mistake about Joseph Willis: He states that Joseph’s place of birth was South Carolina. Everything else was accurate, including his year of birth, 1758. Joseph Willis’s gravestone lists it as 1764, which was erroneous. The stone was erected in 1955, commemorating the hundredth anniversary of Joseph Willis’s death.

John Pinckney Durham and John S. Ramond wrote a fantastic book on early Louisiana Baptist history. It is the most accurate account of Joseph Willis in Baptist Builders in Louisiana (Shreveport, Louisiana; Durham-Ramond, 1934).

The photo above is not Joseph Willis, but his youngest son Aimuewell Willis. Baptist Builders in Louisiana (John Pinckney Durham and John S. Ramond Shreveport, Louisiana, Durham-Ramond, 1934, Page 15)

July 8, 1937: Aimuewell Willis (Joseph Willis’s youngest son) Photo was taken on his 100th Birthday

Ivan Wise was the ex-President of the Louisiana Baptist Society. He was born in 1854 (the year Joseph Willis died). He died in 1812, only two years after his book was published.

John Pinckney Durham and John S. Ramond wrote of Ivan Wise in Baptist Builders in Louisiana (Shreveport, Louisiana, Durham-Ramond, 1934). Ivan Wise was a historian. He traveled and collected data for Paxton’s “History of the Baptist of Louisiana,” published in 1888. Later, he was the author of ‘Footsteps of the Flock.’ Ivan Wise had written and published one volume of this Louisiana Baptist history. He was making rapid progress towards others. However, the work fell from his grasp as he was dying. He died on May 22, 1912.

Ivan Wise wrote about Joseph Willis and Richard Curtis’s relationship. He covered their last meeting (page 7). He also explored Joseph Willis and Ezekiel O’Quinn’s relationship.

On page 70 of Footsteps of the Flock, Ivan Wise writes about Paxton’s mistakes, “Dr. Paxton, especially on South La., was informed imperfectly and that he died before his valuable History was published, and certainly the PROOF READER [Wise emphasis, not mine] knew but little, accurately, about La. Baptist.”

Wise also alludes to Paxton in his prologue (page III), “Much has been said, and sometimes has been printed about this noble spirit, Eld, Joseph Willis, that is not proved by the facts in the case.”

Dr. John Houston Strother Jr. (1873-1950) was the first principal of Acadia Academy, a longtime missionary, and a Louisiana Baptist pastor. He was a great-grandson of Joseph Willis. His mother was Caroline Willis Strother (1855-1931), daughter of Lemuel Willis and granddaughter of Joseph Willis.

Dr. John Houston Strother’s brother was Dr. Greene Strother, my friend. Before his death, Greene Strother gave me all his and his brother’s research files.

Two of their mother, Caroline Willis Strother’s siblings, were Polk Willis and Olive Willis. In 1894, John Houston Strother was a young student at Keatchie College. John O’Quinn sent the following letter to him.

JOHN STROTHER FAMILY JULY, 1925 Back (Left to right): Hattie, Greene, Martha, Corinne, Willie, Houston, Effie, Maude, Scott, Tate, Nellie. Middle: Kathleen (Kate’s), Paul, John (Willie’s), Mary (Willie’s). Front: George Willis (Kate’s), James (Willie’s), John, Katherine (Scott’s), Dickie (Willie’s), Caroline, Edith (Scott’s), Faye (Scott’s) and Fred (Scott’s).

James K. Polk Willis (Grandson of Joseph Willis) who was also his smitten image.

Joseph Willis looked like his grandson, James K. Polk Willis. However, he had a darker complexion. In a letter, Joseph Willis’s friend John O’Quinn described Joseph Willis as having “a strange color.” That strange color almost cost Joseph Willis his life.

Polk Willis was Joseph Willis’s grandson. He and his sister Olive cared for Joseph in his later years. They looked after him at their father, Lemuel Willis, ‘s home in Blanche, Louisiana. Blanche was between Glenmora and Oakdale. Lemuel was Joseph Willis’s son. Polk Willis said his grandpa Joseph Willis told him his father was English and his mother was Cherokee. Olive Willis said the same.

On pages 71-72, Wise includes the letter from John O’Quinn to John J. [should be H instead of J] Strother:

“Evergreen, Sept. 25, 1894

‘John J. Strother, Keachie, Louisiana

“My Dear Bro: I received your letter of the 22nd, contents noted, I can give you the correct information, as my father was raised in the same neighborhood with Eld. Joseph Willis in South Carolina. And they preached together at Calvary Ch., at Chicot and at Beulah church, at Cheneyville, and were very intimate, and a man much beloved. My father’s house was his resting place.

“I also served his church a long time when he was unable to preach; I was very intimate with him; he was not mulatto, but was somewhat mixed and very dark skin; his progeny are scattered over the land; he was married four times. I hope this information will be satisfactory. If you need any more information on that subject, I will be glad to give it to you. Hoping you may be successful in winning souls for Christ. I remain your brother in Christ.”

On page 72, Ivan Wise adds:

Jno O’Quin”

“Eld. O’Quin’s [John O’Quinn] daughter, Mrs. S. A. Pickett, of Morrow, La., is confirmatory. It was dated April 1, 1909. ‘I received your letter asking about Mr. (Eld. Joseph) Willis. I remember seeing him; also heard my father (Eld. John O’Quin) say he was not a negro, or mixed with negro.'”

Joseph Willis lived in Louisiana from 1798 to his death in 1854 at age 96.

It’s difficult to understand how different it was in pre-Civil War Louisiana. Imagine you are Black or part Black and love Jesus. You want to follow Him. You want to worship Christ. How hard could it be?

There were no African American churches in Louisiana, outside of New Orleans, until after the Civil War ended in 1865.

Shreveport, for example, did not get its first black church until 1871.

Dr. William Hicks (1869-1954) was a respected black bishop, preacher, and educator. He wrote in his book, “History of Louisiana Negro Baptists From 1804 to 1914” (published in 1915). Even in New Orleans, it was against the law, he stated.

Dr. Hicks wrote: “They held services on Gentilly Road until 1844. As it was against the law for colored people to hold public meetings, their meetings were often broken up, and their leaders were often arrested by the police officers and carried to jail and punished to the full extent of the law that was then on the statute books against slaves holding meetings.”

“Sometimes all in the meeting house were arrested and carried to jail–both men and women. They finally, through the kindness of some of the whites who owned slaves, obtained permission from the city authorities to allow the colored people to hold meetings two hours on Sundays from 3 to 5 p.m., under the watch of a police officer who was to be paid $2 per hour.”

Dr. Hicks was correct in stating in his book, which was published in 1915. On page 26, he mentioned, “As it was against the law for colored people to hold public meetings.”

No significant early Louisiana Baptist historians, including W.E. Paxton in A History of the Baptist of Louisiana, from the Earliest Times to the Present (1888), mention an African American Church. The only exception was a church before the Civil War in New Orleans.

Ivan Wise in Footsteps of the Flock: or Origins of Louisiana Baptist (1910) and John T. Christian in A History of Baptist of Louisiana (1923) also mention nothing. Durham and Ramond, in their book Baptist Builders in Louisiana (1934), also did not include such a mention.

There were no black churches north of New Orleans. Joseph Willis died seven years before the Civil War.

Perhaps the most detailed account can be found in John T. Christian’s book, A History of Baptists of Louisiana (1923), on pages 138-141. On page 140, Christian quotes the Louisiana Baptist State Convention’s 1863 minutes:

“It is declared that no separate churches ‘outside of New Orleans is organized exclusively for their benefit’; and it is suggested that missionaries be sent among them to give them plain instruction.” The Civil War ended in September 1865. At its close, the Louisiana Baptist State Convention made almost the same recommendation.

Because of the “Slave Codes,” blacks were not allowed to assemble without the presence of a white person. It was illegal to teach a slave to read or write.

Slaves were not allowed to form churches until after the end of the Civil War in 1865. There were a few exceptions in New Orleans, Louisiana. This is why the pre-Civil War white Louisiana Baptist churches often had more black slave members than white members.

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution are sometimes called the “Reconstruction Amendments.” They were passed to abolish slavery and to establish the rights of former slaves, including the right to assemble.

I hope and pray this helps the younger researchers and historians. May it enable them to time travel to a land long ago, our beloved Louisiana. In this place, many of our brothers and sisters had their hopes and dreams crushed by slavery’s horrible evil.

Joseph Willis established his last church, Spring Hill Baptist Church, in 1841. It was near Forest Hill, close to Longleaf, where I grew up. One of the founding members listed in the church minutes was “a slave named Judy.”

Such a thing was not only unprecedented in the South but was almost certain death for Joseph Willis. The old preacher said, “The worst thing they can do to me is kill me. That would be my graduation day. On that day, I meet my Lord and Savior, Jesus.”

Who was Joseph Willis?

✯ He was born into slavery. His mother was Cherokee, and his father was a wealthy English plantation owner.

✯ His family took him to court. They wanted to deprive him of his inheritance. This inheritance would have made him the wealthiest plantation owner in Bladen County, North Carolina, in 1776.

✯ He fought as a Patriot in the Revolutionary War. His commander was the most colorful American general, Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox.

✯ His first wife died in childbirth. His second wife died only six years later. Joseph was alone with five small children.

✯ He crossed the mighty Mississippi River at Natchez in 1798. His journey was perilous. He swam the river on a mule!

✯ He entered hostile Spanish-controlled Louisiana Territory when the dreaded Code Noir (Black Code) was in effect. It forbade any Protestant ministers who came into the territory from preaching.

✯ His life was threatened because of the message he brought to Spanish-controlled Louisiana!

✯ His own denomination refused to ordain him because of his dark skin.

✯ Joseph Willis preached (1798) the first Gospel sermon by an Evangelical west of the Mississippi River.

✯ On November 13, 1812, Joseph Willis constituted Calvary Baptist Church at Bayou Chicot, Louisiana. He went on to plant over twenty churches in Louisiana.

✯ On October 31, 1818, Joseph Willis founded the Louisiana Baptist Association at Beulah Baptist. Others who had followed him from Carolina joined him in this effort. This event took place in Cheneyville, Louisiana. Joseph had also founded all five charter member churches. No church every split that Joseph Willis established during his life.

✯ After overcoming insurmountable obstacles, he blazed a trail for others for another half-century that changed American history.

✯ His accomplishments are still felt today.

Randy Willis

Randy Willis is the fourth great-grandson of Joseph Willis and his foremost historian.

Many today have just enough religion to inoculate them from knowing Christ. —Randy Willis

The most famous 25 words ever written: “For God so loved the world. He gave His only begotten Son. Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

If these words are how you feel in your heart, then pray:

“Heavenly Father,

I pray to You, asking for the forgiveness of my sins.

I confess with my mouth. I believe with my heart that Jesus is Your Son. He died on the cross at Calvary, so I might be forgiven.

Father, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead. I ask Jesus to come into my life as my personal Lord and Savior.

I turn from my sins and will surrender to your will throughout my life.

Your word is truth. I confess with my mouth that I am born again. The blood of Jesus cleanses me!

In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen!”

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Your heart should be so hidden in Christ that a person has to seek Him to know you. —Randy Willis

Destiny by Randy Willis

Three Winds Blowing by Randy Willis

Choose your Destiny

Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied. —Proverbs 27:20

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There are insatiable desires in man of appetites, recognition, money, and lust. Many are always wanting more, bigger, and better things. This is nothing new.

For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. —2 Corinthians 11:14

The eyes of man are never satisfied, the scripture records. Our restless heart that cannot find contentment in worldly possessions. We seem to be always seeking more.

Man has a hole in his heart. It’s a void, an emptiness. We can never fill it with relationships or money. Nor an endless array of entertainment, stimulants. Family and religion cannot fill this emptiness either.

Why? Only God can fill the “hole in our hearts.” Jesus Christ can and will satisfy that sense of longing and emptiness. We are designed—created—for God alone to occupy our souls: our heart, our mind, our will, our emotions.

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. —Psalm 139:13

We need a personal relationship with the Lord of Creation, Jesus. This means a one-on-one connection with God in the Flesh. Jesus, the Christ of the Bible, fulfills this role. He alone can fill the longings of our hearts.

Millions try pills, drugs, and alcohol. History is littered with those who have taken this route. Some try education, career, family, and religion. My friend, only Jesus can fill the longing in our hearts. He alone can fill the hole in your heart—your soul —your mind.

Jesus loves you. He came to this earth because of that love. Jesus was beaten, and a crown of thorns was pressed into his head. His beard was plucked out. He was nailed to a cross naked. Shedding his blood, God’s blood for you and me.

His coat was gambled for. And dying high on that hill called Calvary—while his beloved mother wept. His disciples, who had witnessed His miracles, all fled—save one. Despised, mocked, and rejected, he prayed.

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots. —Luke 23:34

All of this for you and me. That’s how much he loves you and me.

Do you want joy and peace, and a sense of purpose? Do you long to know why the Holy God in Heaven created you? Is his intent to jerk you up by the “nap of your shirt” and then condemn you with a smirk? Not hardly.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. —John 3:17

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Is your heart broken? Have your dreams failed? Are you overwhelmed? Are you oppressed? Jesus said in Like 4:18:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed. —Luke 4:18

Join me on the most extraordinary destiny ever offered to mankind.

This most extraordinary destiny ever offered to mankind.

You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. —Habakkuk 1:13

The Lord God in Heaven cannot look upon sin, for He is Holy. Yet He loves us, sinful man, and has provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him. To spend eternity with Him.

This is the story of this most extraordinary destiny ever offered to mankind.

Let’s begin with the last invitation in the Word of God, it is in Revelation 22:17:

“And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” —Revelation 22:17

Are you thirsty? Then come. Let him who hears come. And whosoever will, can come.

The invitation is to you—to me—to “whosoever will”—to everyone!

Bring your disappointments, failures, fears, and heartaches. The Holy Spirit says, Come to Jesus, our Savior.

God loves you. He wants to save you. He will save you. Come to Jesus, and drink the water of life freely.

Christ suffered, He bled, He died because He loves you and me. Listen to the still voice of the Holy Spirit, bidding you come to Jesus.

Don’t wait—come today! The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:2 today is the day of salvation.

The Ends of the Earth

Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. —Isaiah 45:22

All you ends of the earth” includes the Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert.

All you ends of the earth” are those in darkest Africa.

All you ends of the earth” are the isolated tribes in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.

All you ends of the earth” are presidents, world leaders, and kings.

All you ends of the earth” is the polished lawyer, the gifted doctor, and the brilliant college professor.

All you ends of the earth” is the prostitute. It is the drug dealer. It is the rapist. It is the thief. It is the murderer.

All the ends of the earth is me—and you. Come today!

Why a Bronze Serpent

“So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was if a serpent had bitten anyone when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. —Numbers 21:19

Bronze represents judgment. The serpent is destructive, deceptive, and the most dangerous creature you will ever encounter. He is our adversary and the father of all lies. His name is Satan.

He does not appear with horns, a red cape, and an ugly face. Instead, he appears as an angel of light and says, what harm can what I offer do? No one will know. No one will be hurt.

It’s your body. You are in control. You can be your own god. You can be like god. No one can tell you what you can and can’t do. He is Satan, and he comes to destroy God’s most cherished and loved creation: You.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. —John 10:10

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Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. “Take a little cocaine,” Satan whispers. “It will make you feel good. No one will know. You’re not hurting anyone.”

The Greek term pharmakeia, in the Bible, is the root of the word “pharmacy,” in English. Pharmakeia is used in the New Testament (Galatians 5:20; Revelation 9:21; 18:23) to describe sorcery, witchcraft, and drug-related magic.

Jesus says, He has come that we may have life and have it more abundantly. Choose an abundant life in Jesus today.

You don’t need hangouts, hangups, or hangovers. You need a personal relationship with the Lord of Creation, who created the Universe and you. Jesus is His name.

In that relationship lies your future, your blessed Hope, your salvation, and your joy. And your Christ blood bought destiny. Choose your destiny today. It has already been paid for with Jesus’s blood on the cross of Calvary. But you must accept God’s free gift of eternal life. That is done through faith in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

“For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” —2 Corinthians 11:14

You and I have been bitten by sin, like the Israelite’s who followed Moses out of Egyptian bondage.

The Israelites had to choose whether to put their faith in God. It was a simple act of faith, but a life-or-death decision. We too face such a choice.

Those who looked lived.
Those who looked were healed.
Those who looked were made whole.
Those who looked were saved.
They didn’t wait until they were better people.
They didn’t have to touch it.
They just looked.

Jesus tells us in John 3:14-15 that this is a picture of Him being lifted up on the Cross of Calvary.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. —John 3:14-15

The bronze serpent represented the people’s sin. According to the Scriptures, Christ was made sin for us.

Will you look to Jesus?—will you put your trust in Him?—the One who died for your sins.

Will you put your faith in Jesus?—the One who shed His lifeblood for you—and me.

My son Aaron Willis’s Automobile Accident

Some years ago, my eldest son, Aaron, was in an automobile accident. His back was broken so severely that the doctors said he might not ever walk again.

Several vertebrae in his lower back were fused. After that, he was able to begin the long task of healing from the spinal fusion surgery. He was encased in a rigid plastic back brace from his neck to his waist.

Later, his doctor agreed to let him briefly remove the brace and shower as long as someone was with him.

I was driving to pick Aaron and his brothers up for the weekend. Unbeknownst to me, his brother Josh helped him remove the brace as instructed by the doctor. Aaron could take a hot shower in his shorts. Josh was with him, but was much smaller than Aaron at that time. Aaron’s doctor approved all of this.

I began to exit to stop at the Austin post office on St. Johns, off Interstate 35, when a small but clear voice said, “You need to go now.”

I passed the post office exit. I drove as fast as possible to Wimberley, an hour away. I wondered what that warning was about.

There were no cell phones then. As I entered their mother’s home, I asked his mother where Aaron was. She said in the shower.

I ran to it, and the moment I entered the bathroom, Aaron said, “Dad, I’m dizzy.”

I stepped into the shower and placed my arms under his arms from his back. He immediately passed out.

I told Josh to help me move him to a bed while their mother called 911. His dead weight was more than I could have imagined.

We got him onto his bed without re-injuring his back. I knew if he had fallen, he probably would have been paralyzed.

I prayed as I followed the ambulance to the emergency room at Austin’s Seton Medical Center. I noticed the symbol on the back of the ambulance.

It was the American Medical Association’s (AMA) logo of a serpent wrapped around a staff.

The sign of healing medicine reminded me of the bronze serpent on the staff lifted up by Moses. Christians believe that’s where the symbol originated.

But, more importantly, it reminded me of Jesus being lifted up on a cross for my son. God’s son suffered in place of my son.

To this day, I cannot see that symbol without giving thanks to the Lord for that warning. I remember the shed blood of Christ lifted high upon a cross. It was for my sins, your sins, and the entire world’s sins.

When we arrived at the hospital’s emergency room, the doctors gave him intravenous (IV) fluids. They also gave him two bottles of Gatorade for dehydration.

The hot shower, combined with pain medication and dehydration, caused his blood to rush to his feet. This resulted in him fainting.

Look

Will you look to the One lifted up on a cross for you and me? Will you look to the Great Physician—Jesus—to heal you of all your pain, emptiness, and disappointments?

Will you look to Jesus? He took your place on the cross and died for your sins. Through Him alone, you can be made new, whole, and born again.

Choose

Jesus hung between two thieves (criminals) on a cross. One rejected Him, but the other put his faith in Him.

“Will You remember me when You enter Your kingdom?” one thief asks.

Jesus replied, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

Both of those men were guilty of crimes serious enough to warrant the Roman death penalty. One put his trust in Jesus, and the other chose not to.

The question is, which thief on the cross are you? The one who said yes or the one who said no?

Now, there was the third cross that day. It was for another criminal named Barabbas, and he represents us.

Jesus was crucified on a cross meant for Barabbas—it was your cross—it was my cross, too.

Come

Come just as you are.

Will you say yes to Jesus—today?

There’s a Scripture that I love, and it explains things so clearly even I can understand.

If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart, man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. —Romans 10:9-10

You can settle this question in heaven and on earth today. Say yes to Jesus. Accept His pardon, just as that one thief did on the cross. There are no prescriptive or mandated words. Praying is just talking to the Lord.

Open

Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” — Revelation 3:20

Ask

Self-improvement will not qualify you for salvation, for God’s Word says, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10)

Comparing yourself to others will not work either: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

We seek to commend ourselves to God. However, God says our good works are like filthy rags in His sight [Isaiah 64:6]. If we are ever accepted in the eyes of Holy God, it must be through Christ our Lord.

There is no other way for says in Habakkuk 1:13, “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness.”

If you could be good enough to pay for your sins, think about this. Why did Jesus have to die for you?

Jesus bore your cross and my cross. He took our place on the cross. He shed His blood for our sins on that cross high on a hill for all the world to see.

The Just for the unjust. The Righteous for the unrighteous. The Godly for the ungodly The sinless Lamb of God for the sinner.

According to the Bible, we all have feet of clay and fall short of God’s glory. Our righteousness is described in the Bible as filthy rags. God’s grace (his undeserved favor) is available to us all. However, we must accept His gift of forgiveness. This gift was bought and paid for on the cross with Jesus Christ’s lifeblood. You can say yes to Jesus’s free gift right now.

Our greatest need is forgiveness. Christ came to forgive us, but we must accept that free gift. Jesus said in Revelation 3:20:

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. —Revelation 3:20

Jesus knocks, but you must open the door to your heart, to your life, to your future.

It’s not a prescribed list of words. In Luke 23:42, one of the criminals crucified with Jesus pleads, “Lord, remember me when You come into your kingdom. His heartfelt cry of faith from the cross saves him.

Jesus answers in the next verse with a promise. He says, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” The first person to accompany Christ to Heaven was this lowly thief on the cross.

Isn’t it time to decide which “thief” on the cross you are? Are you the one who put his faith in Jesus Christ? Or are you the one who rejected our Savior who gave His lifeblood for us?

The most famous 25 words ever written:

For God so loved the world. He gave His only begotten Son. Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. —John 3:16

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If these words are how you feel in your heart, then pray:

Heavenly Father,

I pray to You, asking for the forgiveness of my sins.

I confess with my mouth. I believe with my heart that Jesus is Your Son. He died on the cross at Calvary so that I might be forgiven.

Father, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead. I ask Jesus to come into my life as my personal Lord and Savior.

I turn from my sins and will surrender to your will throughout my life.

Your word is truth. I confess with my mouth that I am born again. I am cleansed by the blood of Jesus!

In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen!

Reach out and touch Him today!

For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well. —Matthew 9:21

Epilogue

I was headed to Temple Baptist Church with Grandma, and my owner’s manual: the Bible. It was Grandma Lillie Hanks Willis who first poured Jesus into me; sometimes, she even used words. That’s my dog Pedro wanting to follow me.

We attended Temple Baptist Church in Clute, Texas, every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. It seemed that everyone attended church in those days.

On a Wednesday night, my mother could not attend church. I walked to church from our home at 519 Coleman Street. My twelve-year-old sister Marjorie accompanied me. I was only eight.

I had no intention of that night being any different from any other. I cannot recall a word Pastor Bill Campbell said in his sermon. But I remember vividly another voice that spoke to my mind—my heart—my spirit.

It was not an audible voice. It was a still, gentle voice, tender but ever so clear, telling me to go forward and accept Christ as my Savior.

I recall my response to the Holy Spirit as if it were five minutes ago: “Lord, I am too shy. I would if my mother were here to go with me.”

I felt someone touch my left shoulder. My sister Marjorie was sitting in the back row with her friends. She could not see my face, for I was seated near the front.

She said, “I’ll go with you if you want me to.” I immediately stood and walked with her to the front of the church and made my decision public.

I know you do not have to have an experience like that to be born again. Nevertheless, I am grateful for that experience; it has never left my mind or my heart.