The Wilsons: Online and In Life

     Like the Cutlers of South Dakota, Clarence and Patty Wilson, long time members of College Church, worship online now.
     In 2017, while serving communion in the auditorium one Sunday, Clarence was overwhelmed with a sudden loss of strength. He could hardly stand or hold the trays. The episode led to a diagnosis of post-polio syndrome, an untreatable condition afflicting some childhood polio victims in later life, resulting in gradual weakening of muscle function. Water therapy and limited activity would delay but not stop the loss of mobility.
     Never one to say “woe is me,” Clarence continued his role as deacon, taking communion to shut-ins for as long as possible. It was not surprising that he carried on despite increasing weakness and fatigue. He had been knocked down before.
     Born in Honey Grove, Texas, Clarence graduated from Oklahoma Christian, got a Master’s in Theology from Harding grad school, and ended up in Nigeria, where he was missionary, government school teacher, and co-founder of the School of Biblical Studies. There he met Patty, a Harding nursing school grad on a mission trip, and soon married her. Clarence calls her the “perfect wife” for him, and the couple formed an effective team for the kingdom: she ministered to Nigerian bodies, Clarence to their souls. He says, “When we got married in 1991, we thought we’d spend the rest of our lives in Nigeria.” But a medical emergency in Patty’s family forced them to return to her home near Searcy in 1993.
     That was the first blow.
     Unable to find work in his academic expertise, he took a job in maintenance at Harding. “It was very disappointing,” Clarence remembers, but, undeterred, he worked his way up to a satisfying desk job in accounts payable. The third disappointment came when he saw that College Church, awash in experienced preachers and teachers, seemingly had no need for his expertise.
     It was Patty who opened a new door. Her work at a nursing home made her aware of elderly church members who could not attend worship. She suggested to Clarence that he could take the Lord’s Supper to them and others in that situation. Using a portable communion set bought by Patty, Clarence plunged into the ministry, and a few years later was made deacon in charge of it.
     Three knockdowns, no surrender. Because, as he says, “God was always there,” blessing him somehow. The post-polio syndrome was no different.              
     True, its onset in 2017 hastened his retirement and forced a largely homebound existence—but still no giving up. The Wilsons’ Sunday mornings are spent in front of the television, where they participate as fully as they can in the worship service. Then, instead of an afternoon of delivering communion, Clarence sits at his computer, discussing the sermon or other biblical topics with a host of Internet friends, many of whom take part because of him. Each Sunday he sends them a link to the livestream.
     But it’s not just Sunday. His online presence is a seven-day-a-week commitment. He has continued his role as World Bible School teacher and coordinator. Many of his other contacts are friends and colleagues from Nigeria, including a young pupil he baptized in 1983 who is now a grandfather seeking advice on church planting. Clarence qualifies as a technology nerd. He can talk religious software and databases all day, and his computer skills make him valuable to others around the world.
     Life online has helped the Wilsons come full circle. All those years ago, Clarence and Patty had been torn from a work and people they loved. Now, with his faithful partner nearby, he can point to his computer, which he likens to an office door through which fellow Christians and seekers may come for counsel, and say, “I consider myself a missionary to Nigeria, living in America.”