"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." (Psalm 116:15)
My dear friend the Rev. Billy Meek, Jr. passed from this world into Heaven on Saturday, April 15, 2023 at 6:20 p.m. Central time. I am having very mixed emotions about that! Of course I rejoice that he has "crossed over Jordan" as his son wrote online. But I truly loved Billy and for me this is a big loss. I wish I could attend his funeral. Since that will be many hundreds of miles away from me (in Tennessee) I think the next best thing I can do is write this eulogy online.
I have given this a lot of thought. Billy would not want me writing a piece about what a wonderful person he was unless I would tell about what the Lord Jesus Christ meant to him. Many years ago, Billy received Jesus Christ as his Personal Savior and Lord. He read the Bible regularly and practiced what he read. He was sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit and walked in the Spirit. God was everything to Billy. That is what made Billy Meek, Jr. a great person!
I offer my sincere condolences to the family and friends of the Rev. Billy Meek, Jr. and to The Assembly at Hohenwald where he pastored for many years until just a few months ago.
I never met Billy in person, nor did I ever speak to him over the telephone. Thus it may seem very strange that I'm describing him as a friend who was pretty close to me. I got to know Billy somewhere around eighteen years ago on the old AOL Assemblies of God Message Board. I not only would leave messages there but would also correspond by email with Billy and another pastor, Wade Martin Hughes from Kentucky. In more recent years we all communicated a lot on Facebook. A few years ago Billy posted that he loved Good 'n Plenty candy. That didn't bring him too many positive comments, but I posted that I also love Good 'n Plenty! I promised him that if I ever visited him in Tennessee, we'd share a box of Good 'n Plenty! This morning I remembered that several years ago as he attended District Council in Clarksville, TN I posted a video of The Monkees' Last Train to Clarksville on Facebook in his honor. He got a big kick out of that!
I went through some very difficult times over the past thirteen years or so. During that time, Billy was always encouraging to me. If I were to actually eulogize him at his funeral in person, I think I would stress that Billy was always a Faithful Friend to others and a Faithful Servant of God.
One day during the Autumn of 2020, a family member had posted online that Billy had become very seriously ill and that he might pass away. I was at work at a call center job when I read that post on my phone. I quickly signed off the computer, walked into the men's room, and broke down weeping. In less than five minutes I asked God to work a miracle and please spare Billy's life. At that time, God did exactly that! I then began praying for Billy and his wife Pam every single day!
Billy was a great pastor and he led a great church there in Hohenwald. I know the people of that church were very supportive and helpful to Billy during his time of ill health. May God continue to richly bless that church!
There is so much more I could write about Billy. I entitled this post, "I Gots My Joy". Billy was constantly posting those words on Facebook. In my own life I've often struggled with negativity. So, Billy was a tremendous inspiration to me! I want to be an "I Gots My Joy" kind of a guy!
His son Billy Meek III posted that he would carry on his father's Legacy. God bless Billy III! ALL of us who knew Billy Meek, Jr. in any way, let us ALL carry on his Legacy! And even any reader who did not know Billy Meek, Jr. - well, now in a sense you do know him! YOU carry on his Legacy, too!
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