I shook my head slowly as I backed down the drive of the gracious home in Hermitage, Tennessee. Glancing over at the boxes of files stacked in the passenger’s seat, I muttered, “It just won’t be the same.”
For the first time in 51 years, Robert E. Picirilli is no longer a member of the Free Will Baptist Historical Commission. After stepping aside in July at age 92, he seemed quite content to pass along financial records and minutes to me. Seemed I was the one struggling with the transfer of paperwork.
Dr. Pic, as many of his friends and colleagues refer to him, was elected to his first term on the commission in 1973. To put that timeframe into perspective:
Richard Nixon was President.
The Vietnam War was winding down.
The Watergate Scandal was about to explode into the public eye.
The Sears Tower and the World Trade Center were completed.
Secretariat won the Triple Crown.
Loretta Lynn received top honors for “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
The Dow Jones industrial average broke 1,000 for the first time.
Oh, and yours truly was about to smear birthday cake across his face at a first birthday party.
Fifty years is a long time, but Dr. Pic didn’t waste a second. Over the five following decades, he became the
cornerstone of the Historical Commission. He poured himself into acquiring, organizing, and cataloguing
denominational historical materials. And he grew with
the collection from commission member to chairman
to curator.
The results of his efforts are phenomenal. Today, the Historical Collection holds hundreds of thousands of historical documents, books, and records. Dr. Pic also has been instrumental in researching and writing on Free Will Baptist history, from books and pamphlets to essays or the occasional personal letter to remind churches and clerks of the importance of preserving historical materials.
In recent years, Dr. Pic guided the commission through an expansion into the digital world. The resulting website, FWBHistory.com, has become one of the largest online repositories of doctrinal history for any denomination, let alone a denomination of comparable size.
Due to recent term limits adopted by the denomination, Dr. Picirilli will be the last quinquagenarian board member — that is, the last person to serve more than 50 consecutive years on a particular board. Somehow, the fact seems appropriate.
Perhaps this goes without saying, but the Historical Commission offers heart-felt appreciation to Robert E. Picirilli. The next time you see him, I hope you thank him as well.
About the Columnist:Eric K. Thomsen is managing editor of ONE Magazine.
