Episode 40 - Odell McCallum - Part 1

If you know Mr. McCallum, then you are blessed!  He had lived an incredible life---  not to elevate himself, but to lift up, encourage, and strengthen those around him.   Other than being a principal in the Wynne School district for decades, he was vital in a prayer ministry that knew no bounds.  Mr. McCallum is living his last years with a daughter he wasn't around for more than 30 years.   Hear her story in Episode 41.  

Transcript

Becki 0:10

Hello, I'm Becky Dowd, and this is The Journey to Salvation. Join me as we walk alongside real people and hear the unique journeys that led them to faith in Jesus. Today my guest is Odell McCallum. Hello, Mr. McCallum.

SPEAKER_02 0:25

Hello. How are you doing?

Becki 0:27

I'm good. How are you doing? That's great. So we've we've spoken over the last couple of days as we've uh gotten this interview set up. And Mr. McCallum, I guess I've known you since I started in the primary school, which would have been in about 1970, I think. That's correct. And you were the were you the principal there or the vice principal? I was the principal, first principal there at the new went in primary school. Okay. Yeah, I think that um I think I was either there the first or second year it started, uh that we started in that new school. But anyway, so I've really known you for quite a while and just gotten to know you more so as I grew up, just you being in the community and and what you are to our community and when what you've been to the community and when and to every individual in Wynn that you've come across. But let's just back up a little bit. Can you just give us some uh some background information on you, where you grew up, and that sort of thing?

SPEAKER_02 1:29

Be glad to, um uh sister Becca. Um May of nine, May the 9th, 1937. I was um born to my beautiful parent parents, Odell and Odessa McCallum, and a little place called Roland, North Carolina, Robinson County, and the state of North Carolina. I was born as a to the my dad was a a sharecropper. I grew up on a farm and I was on that uh farm until I was graduated from high school. But um one thing as I'm talking to you today, and one of the things that I've learned since um today was by physical birth. But then I came into this world at that time, um, I had a sin nature, which all born into this world brings into this world.

Becki 2:43

You said a sin nature.

SPEAKER_02 2:45

A sin nature.

Becki 2:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:47

And that's I'm gonna pinpoint some things as I'm journeyed through to my when God really delivered me. Um this farm. I remember the times we had lamps before electricity. And I grew up and I was raised one through six, I attended the rural school. At that time we supplied our heat by cold. And uh I I can uh I will talk about my favorite teacher at that time later on. But as we as I grew into graduation, I graduated from high school in 1955. And at that time I pinpoint something about that sin nature. The sin nature at that time caused me to father a child that I'm living with right now, uh, which I will address later on. And uh from that I started my journey in life. Um I lived with my finally graduation from high school, I was the first out of the family of 13 but eight of us lived. And uh from that family, I was the first one to graduate from from high school. Later on, my older sister went back to school, got her degree, and went on and became a teacher and nurse as well. But um after graduated from high school, I left to live with my left rolling, North Carolina to live with right here in Charlotte with my sister and her brother, her husband rather. He was a Presbyterian minister and graduated from college here at Joseph C. Smith in Charlotte, North Carolina. Then they called him to a church in um Georgia. So I moved to Georgia at that time in Georgia while I was in Georgia. My uh brother-in-law said that, which my dad been growing up at 12 years old, my dad died of cancer. And um at that time there was no famous experiment, and I saw a pretty good-sized dad go down to um nothing but bones. And uh, but I saw a beautiful, sweet mother who couldn't read or write, stand by his side and and taught us one thing as I grew on, even with the signature, and grown, she taught all of the family unconditional love. And as we as when I got to in uh there in Georgia was uh the city that uh we lived in. And then I left there in Georgia in Georgia, went on to Pescaloose, Alabama, where I went to Steelman College there and completed a BA degree and uh at Steelman College. And while I was there, my brother-in-law, uh, they called him to Forest City, Arkansas. And uh from the city to Arkansas, I lived there with them until I graduated from uh Steelman in 1961. In 1961, I started looking for places of employment. And I've applied to all around, and finally I applied to Wynn, Arkansas. And that's how I'm in 1961. That's how I got to WAN, Arkansas. And note that I was born in May 9th, 1937. Physically, I am of the same nature. Because I am all read in some emparted that I fathered a child in in high school.

Becki 7:39

Did you know that you fathered that child when you were in high school, or was it after high school that you found out?

SPEAKER_02 7:47

Um it was during high school.

Becki 7:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 7:50

She was born uh the year that I left, probably 1958. Okay. I did pay for the birth. But after that, um now I'm in Arkansas in 1961. Hired children as a classroom teacher. And as a classroom teacher, the second year I was there, they hired a young man from West Memphis, Arkansas, not knowing then that that young man was married to my to be wife, Ollie. Uh they were best fans, my friends from childhood, college. Then now working, she was working in West Memphis at one high, one elementary other. And um so he introduced me to Collie. And from there uh we became husband and wife. And uh then from that we had one son, which was Stanford. And uh then from that, no, I'm pinpointing no one thing in my life. I meant keep I'm gonna keep mentioning a sin nature. That sin nature followed me into my marriage. And that sin nature almost cost me my marriage, but God wouldn't let it be. But had not received any message of the gospel that I knew coming along. But at this point in time I met, uh, at least I met a uh a young man from Chicago that was pastoring the church in Fort City that I became friends with. He was preaching, teaching, as I know truth now. He was teaching, preaching the law, but he was getting dealing with sin pretty heavy. And by from that, I came to realize I was a sinner, and uh and the the law did exactly what it would do to sinners, show us who we are, but it can't change it. But just showed me that I needed a savior. And my focus started, and I was then at that point in time, after going through within the house and within my family, dealing with it. And by the way, later on within that, my wife was able to tell me one Sunday that she had heard from God. And God spoke to her and said, trust me, I know what I'm doing. And then through that point, God, I cried out to God. I wanted to do the things that was right, and finally, I can't tell you what day it happened, but it happened. I got delivered from that sin nature. And from that point, that's why I'm at and when I started when in 1970, that's when the schools came together. And and at that point in time in my life, I wanted to do nothing but touch people and let them know that we had to live together with unconditional love. So I started going in the hospitals, nursing homes, and uh finally the jails and the prisons, just praying for everybody and praying for the whole city, and praying for the whole school system. Just praying, pouring the heart out, and uh do that. God started dealing with me to know I wanted to know more and more about it. And from that, you know, the sin nature only that can be removed in me, you, or anyone else, only by what Jesus Christ has already done on that cross. So as I've lived in there and went, uh we went through this. I can remember right there and when um after, well, before I go there, after after the ordeal of dealing with the uh the situation within uh being unfaithful in the marriage. And um at the time that Allah told me that God is spoken to her concerning it. After that, Oliver was stricken with cancer. And uh most of the older people realize that. When the doctor called me and told me that, I remember my wife was a strong believer. She said, me and Josh and having this. And sister Becky, I don't know what happened, but when the doctor came in two weeks after he had told us that, a week after he's told us that, he came in and said someone on the team questioned the uh the uh diagnosis. They sent it to Houston, Texas. And when they got to Houston, Texas, they couldn't find a trace of cancer. Oh wow. And then he came back and he talked to us, Sanford and myself and Olive, and he said, I want to do one more test, and explained to Olive what he was gonna do because it sounded pretty tough. But Oliver agreed that they did a bone marrow test. He did it, and he came back and said no trace of cancer. He started taking her off of that morphine, pretizant, and all that kind of potent medicine, and sent it home. And Ola lived 20-something years after that, and that cancer never did come back.

Becki 16:18

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_02 16:19

And uh I was sad down when it was all of that. And and as we after that, I I got to when God really opened up my understanding. I remember the fact that we were living at uh 603 Elf Street, never moved to 1724 up there lane. And I remember one morning I had the radio on listening to this evangelist. He's gone on to be with the Lord now, brother Jimmy's wife. And he was preaching teaching Jesus Christ and him crucified. I said to myself, at the back of here, I said, that sounds right, but I'm not preaching and teaching that, and if I need to preach and teach that, I want to know. I was told, I said that in my spirit. Do you know what happened on July 16th, 2013 at about 1130? God spoke to me. Do you remember what yeah, you know where it is? The intermediate school? Do you remember where Mr. Daryl Smith used to live?

Becki 17:53

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 17:55

Do you remember brother Budgreen, former mayor of Maria? Do you remember Sister Becky Weaver? Yes. I worked with her at the first national bank. Yes. Her husband's name was Jimmy. They lived on the corner of Bridges and they lived across from the Church of Christ there.

Becki 18:23

Bridges is lemon. Right, Bridges and Lemon.

SPEAKER_02 18:27

You're right. Bridges and Lemon. When I got there, millions of the enemies that showed my Jim Bishop worked. A voice spoke to me, said, look up. Sister Beckham, when I looked up between the trees and that Church of Christ church, God showed me a perfect cross in the sky. Brother Jimmy Weaver saw it. Was when he came to the door to let me in, I could see the scalpboard. So I asked him to come over there and look up and see what he saw. And he had told Brother Brown about it. I think he was related to Brother Brown that lived out there in the area close to what a restaurant used to be. That day I sat there. I started seeking everything I could read, and I got Brother Swagger's material and other material. That's why I tell people, make sure that you deal with that sin nature. Because if you don't, that sin nature, you don't kill it. You can't kill it, but Jesus is already taking care of it on the cross. And I know that now. So I'm passing that on. To anyone about that sin nature, there's no way. Only way we can, it's only can there's one problem in this world of sin and one solution to it, Jesus Christ. And Him crucified. Any other way is I'm going to take to the lake, a lake of fire. And therefore, today I'm free. I'm living a clean life, holy life, righteous life, dedicated life, consecrated life, and I'm living to try to get everyone possible to give up the world, that sin nature, take on the divine nature of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and stay rapture ready, sleep ready, heaven ready, so nothing else really matters. Thank God for this chance to tell my story. Thank God.

Becki 21:25

Yes. And it's funny because I was going to ask you this question, and I think you just answered it. I was going to say, um, let's say you're on your deathbed, and I pray that you're not on your deathbed, but if you were, what would your last message you'd want to tell people? And I think and I think you just said it.

SPEAKER_02 21:46

Well, let me say a thing and give me this in my life. And you probably remember it. Do you remember from March the 20th, 21st? I remember March the 20th. I that I lay along with myself. We had gone to Forth City and I had gone through she didn't go to the room to room with me because she stayed in the lobby. We had gone through the nursing home then and I was going to go from room to room and pray for all the residents. This particular day we came back to win. And she said, and this is her words. She said someone called and asked her about something. And at that point in time, she didn't know, but she called to me, and I was over there on the couch. And I didn't respond. She came and she called me twice more. And I didn't respond. And then she came and confronted me. I still didn't respond. That was no March 20th, 21st. That was on March 20th, 2014. Do you know they said that I was dead? I know one thing, they put four stents in there in there at that time. I said he was there with me. He said on March the 22nd, I came out of it and I was praying, calling people names and prayed for them for an hour. Now that I don't know he that I basically know something, but I know one thing, when my urinary track stopped up, I was I knew I was alive then. And the doctor, I never remember the doctor gave me some release, but in the cat there. But that some since you said that, no, that happened right because people were praying for me there and went. But that's that time. From that time, when I got in the hospital at this time today, that has not occurred. So I'm living a holy life now, righteous life, dedicated, consequences, doing the things that was and because I'm rapture ready, sleep ready, and heaven ready, and nothing else really matters. I just want to touch the lives of people and let them know. Jesus, I'm like Paul. I'm determined to know nothing among you. Say Jesus Christ and him crucified. Not the next.

Becki 25:05

So Mr. McCallum, who would you say was a big influence to you uh or or mentor to you as you were maybe a young adult into your adulthood?

SPEAKER_02 25:23

I love my I can say I love my uh my brother because he's the one that did not go back on what he promised my dad. He made sure I got a college degree.

Becki 25:44

And you really lived with him from the time you graduated high school on until I came the started working in Wynn in 1961. Yeah. Now did you did your family go to church when you were growing up?

SPEAKER_02 26:01

You better believe it. That's why I'm saying that about that since you I went to church. As a matter of fact, I wasn't going until until God through the Holy Spirit and the Holy Word delivered me. I was going to church. I was attending the church building. But the church was wasn't I was not in the true church. But God knew that and knew where he's gonna bring me to. Because everything after that, everything and wind that I touched. God threw that blessed.

SPEAKER_01 26:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:50

Because he knew my heart. And I ended up my I ended up with my wife and Little Rock and I nursing home. Because in the end, she had a stroke. She couldn't walk, talk. She couldn't, she knew me. She understood what I said, but she couldn't respond. But this same lady that said God told her to trust him. He knows what he's doing, saw me stand there and feed her breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Every night, every day rather, until she went on to be with the Lord. And in the end, I told him when I left her, I knew she was on the way out. I said, I'll see you when I get there.

unknown 27:49

Oh well.

SPEAKER_02 27:50

And I will.

Becki 27:54

Yeah, and one thing you were just saying just a few minutes ago was that you were in church growing up, but but really it's not about going into a building. It's about surrendering our life to the Lord. And that's kind of what changed in you. You finally surrendered everything to him.

SPEAKER_02 28:15

That's it.

Becki 28:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:19

I knew the minister that I met, even though he was presented in love. But the law that helped me to see what I needed. I needed a savior.

Becki 28:32

Right.

SPEAKER_02 28:33

I'm related to the father's name, Jesus Christ.

Becki 28:38

Yeah. You know, and just look at the impact that you've made in everyone's lives here and when that leave you because of that decision, decision you made to surrender your life to him. You know, you've touched so many lives here, either through uh, you know, you go into pray praying for them in the hospital or nursing homes or when they're sick, or, you know, just like uh Claire Nix's uh uh episode that that she told us about how you called her and uh had her open her Bible right after her son died. And there's just countless people. I mean, I I know that we probably couldn't even find everyone who you have really touched their lives in that way. And what a blessing that's been to everyone here, but also to just our community as a whole.

SPEAKER_02 29:38

We're in Arkansas that my wife and I was there. We had a marriage of 55 years. And when she died, she was 80. And I had her a little bit, uh a few months. So we're the same age. If she was living now, she'd be 89 just like me.

unknown 30:04

Mr.

Becki 30:04

McCallum, can you tell us about the positive impact program that you and some other gentlemen started back in the 90s?

SPEAKER_02 30:12

I'd be glad to, uh Sister Becky, because uh the community, along with um our life in Christ Jesus with the men that worked with this program. Matter of fact, it started because of at that time in most cities in the United States, they had a high rise in in the engines. And um I remember a good friend, uh Charles Jobs had gone on to be with the Lord. Um Mr. Wigginson, um boss at that time, and asked Superintendent um asked us to send us to Jonesbury to uh to a conference dealing with gang. With gangs. I remember after that conference, I came back uh very troubled in the in the spirit because I kind of realized what they were doing was just a good thing, but it it was coming from people that had money to do so. And I came back and uh thanking in the spirit and talking it over with the Lord, and I said, well, to myself, uh I don't have that money, but I sure have some time. And I would like to know how have directions and how to go about what's on my mind. So I started in my office at that time writing down some things that I would like to see uh a group uh go forth and uh wrote it down and talked with five men, young men, and and Charles Cobb was one of them. Well, Charles Runbush was another. Jack Shaw was another one, uh uh Clyde Collins was another one. And and and we met without what I had written down this and told him what I was um wanted to do and three of us to take that list and trail for a week and we would come back together. And we did. And after that, uh we started talking there as men and we did we all decided to pursue it. And we prayed about it and and then we started putting some things together. I remember Charles Wimbush was the one that suggested the name Positive Impact. And then some others uh came up with some uh things that we could do. And then from that we started meeting and um add another name to the group. Ended up about 14 men and I believe at one time. And we may have had close to uh between 15 and 100 boys in that group at one time. And what we started doing is we wanted to check on the attitude of schools, praise the schools, attendance at school, and wanted to um instill in them a love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Uh we had that number one in the project. And through that, um remember that's why I say um when um I can say when uh supported uh every uh uh pretty much everything that that went forth um on the uh while I was there in Land. Because uh at this time we we needed uh needed funds and uh the work of the board and and uh because uh I remember Brother Bird Green, the former mayor of Wynn, the brother gave us a gave us a uh a grant. Well Charlie had never written a grant and neither neither had I. But but we strayed over. Uh looked at it and then uh Charlie had by that time we had uh had some brother leaders, uh Charlie was the president, uh the vice president, you know, trade with chaplain and so on. But um filled that out, send it in. And the one I was knew about was knowing but would fill it out with God put uh God's prayers over. And they sent it back to us and and when they did they uh wanted us to delete and we would have referenced to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and how we're gonna be an example and set an example and point those uh young men to uh to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as well. Well then dealing with Grant and then want that pretty much want that in there. So when they sent it back, we prayed over it again and said, Well, we don't get it, that's fine, but we're not taking it out because we don't keep that in there and keep that before us. Then we uh need night and we won't be under and we'll be under our leadership and not the leadership of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And this time they asked for someone to come down and defend it. We prayed over Charlie and sent him. And uh uh after a week or so uh they sent us that grant for at that time of that impact, which was $45,000. And uh through that we were able to do big things with the boys, not only we saw that we had gang ex-gang members to come in with the resources and we kind of started doing different things and uh just yelling them to exposed to other cultures to build them. And I believe through that uh that's when we we felt that we had made an impact upon the city of wind uh because we had some gang problem, but we had the 14 men working with it. We had gang activities on like they used to put their signs up on this or that, and we had men that the next day we would go paint over. And uh so God bless this uh through that problem 14 years, and that's um that's fine and that into the after that uh the the men in the group and some of them moved away, some of them went on to be with the Lord, and and uh that's what um God placed in my heart about the send it. And first of all, um I needed uh a place to build to have it built. And that's where um uh how we were looking and uh uh one of my good friends that that was close to me with that and and filling that center the brother I've gone on to be with the Lord and by her as well. Um but I don't know look at the land. Someone said go across kind of back and talk to brother um uh brother down. I went up and talked with uh their brother. Don't know what I was trying to do. He let me have three and a half ages of land with a blessing. And from that we started the uh the center, looking for means of center. So when we got the writing aggression, just because we had that land, played a very important role in the city having that center within it. So that's how we got from the impact to the to the center. Um uh Mr. Dow and that blessed us with that land, and uh we were able to go forth, and God put it together with his blessing.

Becki 39:54

Odell McCallum Community Center is still a vital part of that community, our community, and there's always something going on there. They're always reaching out and meeting the needs of those around them. And Mr. McCallum, I just love how you saw a need back then because you know we don't we don't really even know the impact that that organization had on our city had it not been there. But God put it on your heart that there was a need there that needed to be addressed. You got together men that love the Lord, y'all prayed over it, and you took what God told you to do and put it into action. And so many people will just go and think, oh, something needs to be done, somebody needs to do something, but I love that you were one that didn't expect someone else to do anything, you took it upon yourself, whether it was to start this organization, to go to nursing homes and pray for people, to go to hospitals and pray with people to meet those spiritual needs uh as much as their physical needs.

SPEAKER_02 41:06

I'll tell you what, it's like people like you, your family, the Dow family, the Dugan family, and and umuda family, Caroline family, Yarrett family, uh all of those, and the United Methodist Church was a great boost and Mr. Wilshire and Mr. Buddy Murray and all of those. Those are people that had a son, had a good heart, people that knew that we were trying to do things there to keep our city a safe city, a city that loved each other, uh, that lived in harmony with each other. That was a family city rather than a divided city.

unknown 42:09

Mr.

Becki 42:10

McCallum, do you have a favorite Bible verse?

SPEAKER_02 42:13

I know that you probably have a lot of favorites, but is there one that you really um well one of one that uh that uh helps me and teach me focus is uh Galatians 2.20. Says I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ live within me. And the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave his life for me.

Becki 42:54

Yeah, that one explains uh I mean anyone's salvation story, but especially thinking back about you just sharing your story. Uh it's it's him that's living through you.

SPEAKER_02 43:08

Amen. And that's why it's one of my favorite, because my my God, my task now is when I deal with people. I ask them one thing. Do you know if you die right now that you're going to heaven? And you can get all kinds of answers there. But I don't stop there. Well, you know that there's no other way to go to heaven except through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only way to go to heaven. And when you receive him and he confesses you all your sins here, he takes away that sin nature and gives you his own divine nature. Who takes complete control of your life and my life through the Holy Spirit and the Holy Word? And I'd like to tell people you gotta do four things. Have a strong prayer life, then listen to that word, read that word, meditate on that word, memorize that word, obey that word, and then you have to assemble together with people who are preaching, teaching, and living the gospel, and then you have to do what we're doing here, share this gospel with others, and you'll be blessed. Yes.

Becki 44:50

So Mr. McCallum, is there anything else you'd like to share with us today?

SPEAKER_02 44:56

No more than I will say to them, everyone that's listened to the podcast and listen to us today. Don't be left behind. Because if you do, you're gonna have to deal with the flesh, the devil, principal powers, ruler of the darkness of this world, Antichrist, false prophet, and fallen angels. And I don't want my words that I have to face death.

Becki 45:33

That's right. I think I I was listening to a um, you did an interview with someone a few years ago, and I was just listening to that on YouTube a few minutes ago. And something you said on there was um, and you can you can finish it out if you want to, because I'll probably not get it right, but you were saying that from this time all the way back to Adam, you know, X number of billions of people have been on the earth. And we all have the same destiny, right? And we are destined to live a life separated from the Lord unless we surrender it, our life to Jesus.

SPEAKER_02 46:18

Amen. All of us shall have been hellbone. But that's why God brought Jesus out of heaven. One of us sent God, one of us sent man to go to that cruel cross and take our sins. I love that Romans 6. Made it clear to me about my sin nature. Because there, he said he baptized it on that cross, planted it, and he was he crucified it there. But let me know that if I surrender, as your words, I've made a total, complete surrender. And when I did, he took over. And um I'm I'm like Paul said, I'm persuaded that I'm not gonna let nothing separate me from the love of God, which is found in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Becki 47:34

Join me on the next episode as we hear from Odell's daughter Lamon. You don't want to miss her story. And thank you for joining us today.