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By LUCIENDA DENSON
Lifestyle Editor - BA Ledger
Very little surprises Betty White these days. "After 41 years in the ministry, you've just about heard it all," White told the Daily Ledger.
White's husband, Harlan, is a retired minister. They have been a husband-wife ministerial team in four churches in Missouri and Kansas. After they retired in 1996, they moved to Broken Arrow, where they became involved in Broken Arrow Assembly. Four years ago, White began teaching a Sunday school class.
That was the catalyst for what brought White her surprise. The letter, from the General Council of the Assemblies of God, was to Senior Pastor Michael Goldsmith, and read:
"Congratulations! Betty White has been selected as the 2003 Oklahoma District Sunday School Teacher of the Year. During 2002, someone in your church completed an application form for Betty to receive the Billie Davis Award for Excellence in Christian Education. Receiving that certificate for excellence qualified each teacher for consideration for this district (state) award."
White may be surprised that she won the two awards and is being considered for the national honor, but people familiar with her teaching style consider her a perfect choice for the honors.
"This is a very prestigious award. It has been granted by the education wing of the Assemblies of God. There are several reasons I think she was the perfect choice. Betty is great blend of a person who has not only knowledge and experience, but has the ability to teach in such a way that makes all that knowledge and experience understandable," said the Rev. Keith Hulen, praise and worship pastor at Broken Arrow Assembly.
"When you go by Betty's class, you usually hear the sound of laughter. That's always a good thing to hear... because that means people are engaged and they are wanting to learn."
White's class is unusual by most Sunday school class standards. Students number about 45 and range in age from children to senior adults. The class is so popular, it has expanded to two sessions and may be going to a third. She teaches at 8 a.m. and again at 9 a.m. each Sunday.
"Betty has contributed lesson plans to the national Assemblies of God," said Hulen.
She also contributes regularly to a church publication.
"I am one of the many writers for a little publication called 'Gods Word for Today.' it is put out by the Assemblies of God," said White.
She was born in Fredonia, Kan., and met her husband, also from Fredonia, at a skating rink when she was about 17 years old.
"I had a new pair of skates and he wasn't a very good skater," she said.
When she was 19, they were married. Now, 54 years, three children and a career in the ministry later, they are still in pastoral service but with a reversal of roles.
"We were in the ministry together for 41 years before he retired. He was the pastor and I was the teacher. I have probably a backlog of about 54 years of (Sunday school) teaching experience, 45 of that with adults. I
taught almost every Sunday during that time, and put together all the lessons," said White.
"I began by teaching children. Then in 1954 I was asked to substitute in an adult class, and I knew then it was my calling.
"We retired in 1996, and moved here to Broken Arrow and put our roots here in this church. I have been teaching here almost four years.
"I have a very unique privilege in this church to write my own material. We don't use study guides or anything like that. I work the lesson, print it and hand out a sheet to the class. We talk about the sheet.
"I have two Internet endeavors. I have 51 people who receive the Sunday school lesson by email. I call it my email class. And then I have a Web site where people can pick up the lessons. I recently had a contact from a man in Kenya, Africa, on my Web site, which was a thrill."
In a reversal of their roles, Harlan White serves as his wife's assistant for her Sunday school classes.
"For 41 years, I supported him. Now he supports me," said White, adding that it was his idea.
"There is no competition between us," she said.
"We have never raised our voices to one another and totally respect one another."
That, she said, is a pretty good start for their next 50 years.
(This article reprinted courtesy of Broken Arrow Ledger, BA Oklahoma)
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