In four and a half decades of working with churches, Edwin Jenkins accumulated at least 5,500 books. Now, as he prepares to retire, he’s deciding how best to pack them up along with his other experiences.

Retiring, though, isn’t the best word for the next phase of the pastor’s life. Following nine years at First Baptist, he uses words like “redirect,” “refocus,” and “transition” to pass along his message.

“I’m not quitting,” he said.

In fact, he’s ordered custom-made boxes to store his books for easy access, since he plans to continue teaching, writing and sharing from his Athens home.

“I still want to be very involved in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ,” he told The News Courier on Tuesday.

Redirecting simply means he’ll go from working 55 or more hours a week to somewhere around 15 or 20, he said. It means he’ll withdraw from his multiple areas of involvement and focus more on hosting seminars and writing books. Ideally, he’d like to be in a pulpit each Sunday preaching at different churches or giving workshop talks to Baptist ministries or joining his wife Joan in teaching at marriage retreats.

“I just want to maintain a flexible schedule,” he said.

The extra time also allows the 66-year-old Jenkins the opportunity to spend more time with his 13 grandchildren. After his final message at First Baptist on April 30, he and Joan plan to take a vacation before coming home to work on a book about marriage. Beyond that, he said he’s leaving it up to God.

“I am a very firm believer that we should not waste our lives,” he said. “God has given us too much.”

Calling

In 1969, Jenkins sat at a desk gazing at two separate application forms. One was for Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham and the other for the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

Jenkins had recently graduated from Samford with a bachelor’s degree in history. He had been studying at the University of Alabama, but knew his heart was in ministry. A friend told him a degree in history was general enough to help him in either profession he chose.

“The Lord was gracious in allowing me to personally make the choice,” Jenkins said.

So he packed his bags and went to Texas. After graduating from the seminary, he began his career at Lone Willow Baptist Church in Cleburne, Texas. On a good Sunday, the congregation numbered at least 25, but most times was under 20.

Jenkins returned to Alabama in 1984. After a pastoral stint in Birmingham, he began traveling the state in 1996 as an adviser with the Alabama Baptist Convention. Ten years later, he took to the lectern in Athens — a place he calls “a microcosm of what the Founding Fathers envisioned for America.”

“It’s been a great adventure,” he said Tuesday. “The people here have been so gracious, as they always are. I cannot say enough good things about First Baptist Church in Athens.”

Future

While Jenkins said he desires to travel around Alabama working with other Baptist churches, as he once did, he and Joan plan to stay in Athens and take on a supportive role in the church’s ministries.

“We want to be a real partner with our sister churches and all the good work going on in this community,” he said. “Right now we feel like God has led us to stay.”

First Baptist will continue being heavily involved in the Athens-Limestone Ministerial Alliance as well as Limestone County Churches Involved. It will also continue its partnership with the Limestone Baptist Association.

Until he and Joan feel called by God to go somewhere else, Jenkins said he will be here supporting his home church.

“The future of this church is outstanding.”