Pastor B.R. Lakin
1901 - 1984
"A
person said to me, 'Why, Dr. Lakin, Jesus could not have been born of a human
mother without a human father.' Listen, I would have you know that the first
man who ever got in this world got here without either.""
On June 5, 1901, a baby boy was born to Mr. and Mrs. Richard Lakin in a
farmhouse on Big Hurricane Creek in the hill country of Wayne County, West
Virginia. Mrs. Lakin had prayed for a "preacher man" and had dedicated this
baby to the Lord even before he was born.
Lakin was converted in a revival meeting at age 18. Following his conversion,
he became a Baptist preacher. With a mule for transportation, he preached in
small country churches in the mountains and hills of West Virginia and
Kentucky. The transportation changed as well as the size of his congregations.
In 1939, he became associate pastor of Cadle Tabernacle, Indianapolis, and
upon the death of Founder Cadle, became pastor of that once great edifice of
evangelism that seated 10,000, and had a choir loft of 1,400. Lakin preached
to over 5,000 on Sunday mornings and half that many on Sunday nights.
Cadle Tabernacle had no memberships. It was a radio-preaching center
broadcasting from coast to coast. In those thirteen years there, Ray Lakin
became a household word across America.
In 1952, he entered full-time evangelism. His ministry carried him around the
world, resulting in an estimated 100,000 conversions, and legion the number
entering the ministry.
He was the preacher's friend, the church's helper, the common man's leader,
and for sixty-five years, God's mighty messenger.
He was one of the most sought-after gospel preachers in America. On March 15,
1984, the last of the old-time evangelists took off for Glory. He would soon
have been 83.
Bascom Ray Lakin 1901-1984, Circuit
Preacher
Written by: Unknown Posted on: 03/12/2003
Category: Biographies
Source: CCN
Bascom Ray Lakin 1901-1984 B.R. Lakin was born on a farm near Fort Gay, West
Virginia. Although his parents were devout Christians, it was not until he was
16 that he was converted to Christ during a revival. The minister who baptized
him was the nephew of Devil Anse Hatfield, of the Hatfield-McCoy feud
families. One week later, he preached his first sermon, and soon after became
a circuit preacher, riding a mule to country churches near the forks of the
Big Sandy River. After attending Moody Bible Institute and pastoring several
churches, he was called to assist E. Howard Cadle at the Cadle Tabernacle in
Indianapolis, Indiana. Upon Mr. Cadle's death, he became pastor and, during
the next 14 years, the ministry grew until he was preaching to 10,000 people
each Sunday in addition to broadcasting the services nationwide. He was given
honorary doctorates by Bob Jones University and Kletzing College. In the
early 1950s Dr. Lakin began a 30-year itinerant ministry that included the
largest churches in America, averaging 50,000 miles annually and 4,000 people
weekly. He witnessed more than 100,000 conversions to Christ. His sermons were
a combination of sanctified wit, Bible teaching, and a strong appeal for
people to come to Christ. After more than 65 years of preaching, Dr. Lakin
"hung his sword on the shimmering walls of the city of God," and went to be
with the Lord on March 15, 1984. His funeral was conducted at the Thomas Road
Baptist Church, Lynchburg, Virginia, and attended by more than 5,000 people.
BASCOM RAY
LAKIN
Pastor - Evangelist
1901– 1984
B. R. Lakin was a man who never
aspired to be and never expected to be more than a humble mountain pastor
riding his mule to minister to his humble mountain people in his native West
Virginia. And that's the way it began; but as Bascom Lakin followed his Lord,
God gave him a spiritual leadership that made him a prominent pastor, a
renowned radio preacher, and then evangelistic fame.
Lakin was a teenage lad skidding logs out of the forest of West Virginia when
he was converted to Christ. Reverend J.C. Simpkins, nephew of the legendary
"Devil Anse" Hatfield, one of the principal figures in the famous
Hatfield-McCoy feud, was the preacher. It seemed to Lakin that every
indictment and every word probed, pierced, and penetrated his innermost being
with a sledgehammer's force. He got saved and a few days later was baptized in
the Big Hurricane Creek.
Almost immediately God called him to preach. In his first pastorate, Evangel
Baptist Church, Greenbrier, West Virginia, B.R. rode his mule to call on his
members and seek sinners. His "salary" was the sum of $7.00 monthly, to which
Lakin laughed "I was the most overpaid preacher in the whole state!"
1939, Lakin became Associate Pastor of CADLE TABERNACLE, Indianapolis, India,
and upon the death of the Founder, Dr. Cadle, became the pastor of that once
great edifice of evangelism that seated over ten thousand. Cadle Tabernacle
had no membership. It was a radio preaching center and every day the only
daily religious broadcast, then coast-to-coast, originated at the platform at
6:15 a.m. It was listened to by an estimated eight hundred thousand people.
1952, Lakin entered full time evangelism. "Preaching" is the right word to use
of B. R. Lakin. Dr. Tom Malone said about Lakin; "He has no peer as a
preacher. He was gifted by God with a scintillating, brilliant mind and a
masterful eloquence... All of this talent has been completely dedicated to the
service of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have watched him preach when it seemed a
heavenly halo had settled about him. Then I have witnessed God putting His
stamp of approval upon this man of God as multitudes came to be saved, and
many lives have been blessed and changed."
Lakin fought the battles for Fundamentalism. He knew the toil of plowing,
sowing, and reaping in the harvest fields of sin.
Lakin spent his last few years associated with Dr. Jerry Falwell and the OLD
TIME GOSPEL HOUR. He died March 15, 1984 in Lynchburg, Virginia.
CITATION BY:
Dr. Fred Barlow
"Profiles in Evangelism"
1987
Several Audio Sermons
by B.R. Lakin
Great Men of God
