Newspaper Page Text
— Griffin Daily News Thursday, November 16,1972
Page 6
Parents say 5-year-old preacher son is no Marjoe
By KENNETH BARRY
ATLANTA (UPI) - Michael
H. Lord Jr., at five-years old,
is a preacher.
When his family, the Singing
Lords, travels the revival cir
cuit around the country Michael
takes the pulpit as much of the
time as his father, a 20-year
veteran revivalist. His mother
and younger brother, Eddy,
helpoutwith the gospel-singing.
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Michael is advertised on the
sides of the converted truck
which serves as the family’s
home as “one of the world’s
youngest singing, recording and
TV performers.”
His fundamentalist parents
claim never to have heard of
Marjoe until a film of the same
name was recently released. In
it, the main character tells a
supposedly factual story of how
he was exploited by his parents
from the age of four as “the
world’s youngest preacher.”
Marjoe (for Mary and
Joseph) Gortner, now a young
man, says in the film that his
parents robbed him of a nor
mal childhood and made mil
lions of dollars off his preach
ing appearances, religious
broadcasts and recordings. He
says they forced him to
memorize sermons and when he
resisted, covered his face with a
pillow as punishment.
The Lords of Columbus, Ga.,
are sensitive to comparisons
between Marjoe and their Mich
ael. “We’ve gotten unsigned let
ters telling us to stop making
another Marjoe,” Peggy Lord
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says.
To help dispel this associa
tions, the Lords take Michael
to newspaper offices and radio
and television stations for inter
views to convince others he
preaches because he wants to.
Like any 5-year-old, Michael
is restless and easily distracted
during an interview, asking
when the questions will be over
so he can draw pictures. His
father politely but firmly tells
him to mind.
With a little encouragement
from his parents he gives
a sample of his preaching
style. He wears a neat, brown
suit lined with gold spangles,
his blond hair cropped evenly
across his forehead. For a text,
the 3-fbot-tall preacher uses a
schoolboy’s notebook containing
crude drawings of characters
from such biblical stories as
David and Goliath.
The pictures, drawn by his
father, cue Michael to the
words and gestures in which
he has been rehearsed by his
parents. They back up his re
cital with an occasional
“Amen,” and the boy wags a
tiny finger in the air and in-
tones: “If you fall down on your
knees and pray, the Lord will
surely overcome your troubles. ’ ’
Michael, who says he meets
many playmates in the motor
home parks but can’t always
remember their names, is ask
ed what he has learned from
David and Goliath. “It proves
God can help you” is his ex
planation and he turns toward
his father for reassurance.
A newsman asked his father:
Don’t you think the child is too
young to understand what he is
doing? No.
“The main thing is he’s happy
with it. Sometimes we have to
make him stop or he would
preach every night.
“Some people think children
can’t take a part and learn
that God is a friend. One of
the reasons we let Michael
preach is to encourage chil
dren to come. But we also at
tract curiosity seekers who flat
out don’t believe a 5-year-old
can preach.”
Unlike Marjoe, Michael is not
an ordained minister and has
never performed a marriage.
“If some couple got very at
tached to Michael and wanted
him to participate (in a wed
ding ceremony), I would allow
it,” his father says, adding that
the marriage would not be leg
ally binding because Michael is
still a minor.
The Lords plan to enroll Mich
ael in the first grade in Colum
bus next year and insist they
don’t want his preaching to in
terfere with his growing up. But
it's likely the Singing Lords
will lose some of their crowd
drawing ability when they make
appearances without “one
of the world’s youngest singing,
recording and TV performers.”
Something special
LONDONDERRY, Northern
Ireland (UPI) —Combat-ready
British troops searched Mrs.
Rosemary Brand’s car for
weapons and explosives. Then
they presented her with cham
pagne and flowers.
The reason?
Her car was the 1,000,000th
searched by the officers and
men of the Royal Horse
Artillery’s 3rd battalion and
that, they figured, called for
something special.
Lady Bird’s
plan working
By GAY PAULEY
UPI Women’s Editor
NEW YORK (UPI) -It’s
working, Mrs. Johnson. The
Lady Bird beautification cam
paign is catching on.
Your project as former First
Lady to turn America back to
what it once was, plus all the
continuing efforts of various
organizations to Keep America
Beautiful, are paying off.
My husband and I have
rounded out one month of
motoring, covering 3,900 miles
from the Thousand Islands to
Bowling Green, Ky., hedgehop
ping through cities and towns
all the way. Somebody’s doing
something right. The litterbug
no longer is the bugaboo it was
about five years ago when we
made a similar trip.
Litter of course is minimal on
the interstate highways which
are patrolled constantly. But
the same generally was true for
the back roads which we
preferred.
Tough Laws Help
Undoubtedly the keep-clean
programs are spurred by our
national concern that we save
our environment—or else.
States with conservation con
sciousness — and laws — help.
The litter maker is discouraged
with threats of fines up to SSOO,
depending on the state. And we
found roadside rest area after
rest area so well equipped with
litter cans you dared not use
them.
Kudos to those states includ
ing Vermont, New York,
Kentucky and West Virginia for
well-kept picnic and barbecue
areas. Dining under a grove of
trees one sunlit fall day is a
joy too frequently missed.
About the only major litter
we encountered was at Ausable
Chasms, N. Y., the mini-
Niagara Falls that attracts
thousands of tourists. We found
the viewing areas cluttered
with empty beer cans, bottles,
papers and what-have-you.
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national problem, but we saw
very little. Someone had
painted his initials atop White
face Mountain, in New York,
though.
Something must be said about
rest rooms at gasoline stations
and in restaurants. In general,
they’re cleaner and more fully
equipped than on our last trip.
But there’s still room for
improvement. Some had no
soap. Some, no towels. They
were hardly like being at home,
although a couple of filling
stations had taken the pains to
wallpaper.
I suspect the fault here is not
always the station managers’.
Women away from home seem
just generally more careless
than in their own house.
We noted a thoughtful bit of
equipment at an Elizabethtown,
Ky. state rest area. One stall in
each had been equipped with
special bars for the safety of
any handicapped traveler.
I think that all told I counted
cnly nine automobile grave
yards, although one clearly
visible from Interstate 81
outside Carlisle, Pa., was a
lulu. Not too bad a record,
really.
Case thrown out
FORT MORGAN, Colo. (UPI)
—Elaine Greene, 31, of Fort
Morgan, was arrested for
drunken driving on a horse.
Police accused the woman of
riding a horse through one bar
and into another.
But district court Judge
Kenneth Skull threw out the
charge Wednesday.
“Since it wasn’t a state
highway, it wasn’t a state
offense and should have been
taken to a municipal court,” he
said.
NOTICE TO DEBTORS
To whom it may concern: As
of this date Nov. 15, 1»72. I
will not be responsible for
any debts other than my
own.
John T. Helms, Jr.