ELGIN, Ill. (ABP) — Tom Adams, who penned one of the longest-running columns for a state Baptist newspaper, died April 1 following a heart attack. He was 75.
“Tom's humility and his lack of pretense were qualities that endeared him to friends and readers,” according to Bill Webb, editor of the Illinois Baptist from 1984 to 1996. “He seemed always to give an answer ripe with wisdom, practical and helpful. I'm convinced Tom became a surrogate pastor to many readers who felt they couldn't bring some of their questions to their own pastors.”
A Kentucky native, Adams published his first column for the Illinois Baptist July 5, 1972, while he was pastor of First Baptist Church of Johnston City in southern Illinois. The editor, Bob Hastings, asked him to contribute a regular piece, which began in a question-and-answer format.
His first Q&A column was a hairy issue — specifically a church member who was aghast by the number of teenage boys in the choir with hair growing too close to their collars. “Every generation of youth uses hair and clothing styles to express individuality,” Adams wrote, encouraging the writer to “judge them by lifestyle, not hairstyle.”
In subsequent columns, a used-car salesman fumed about fellow church members hinting for deals and later complaining that he pedaled lemons to them. Another reader was shocked to learn that a state Baptist convention was paying for pastors who needed to seek psychiatric counseling.
Over the years, his column moved away from answering questions and focused on what he observed and experienced in society, in church life and in his family, said Webb, who is editor of the Word & Way, a Baptist newspaper in Missouri. “‘Tribute to Gussie Adams,' written after his mother died, still moves me,” Webb said.
Adams continued his column while he was pastor and later as director of missions for Fox Valley Baptist Association, from 1978 until his retirement in 1997.
In January, one of his four children, Nate Adams, was named executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association, which publishes the Illinois Baptist.
Adams is survived by his wife of 54 years, Romelia, and three other children; their spouses; and 11 grandchildren.
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