Legend and Legacy

This book is in some ways a collection of essays. Eleven men take up words and paint a picture they see in their memory of a great man.

Nine men called him pastor, two were born out of due season. This book is written in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the church he pioneered. It is written from the vantage point of the years I was in Bakersfield.

There are many other men who have been produced by his ministry. The writers of this manuscript are the men who impacted me and were my peers while I was in Bakersfield. Therefore, it is not a comprehensive picture of the man I. H. Terry. Herein are vignettes of pieces and periods of his life.

These brief palimpsests reflect the 1970’s and early 1980’s when I. H. Terry was in the last decade of his active office as Pastor of First Pentecostal Church. Each man wrote as he saw it. It is their view, their memory, their montage.

Surprisingly there was little repetition. Frankly, I expected more. As a bouquet of flowers is most brilliant when the colors contrast, so these men bring pungency and diversity.

The chapters were not edited except for spelling and punctuation. These pages are their words, their thoughts, their reminisces. Each man knew I. H. Terry personally.