WS Chronicle

By Busta Brown

“For those of us who know Him don’t have to say if God is God, because we know Him by the very fact of our dealings, and His dealing with us. We know that He is not an ‘if’ God; He is God.” Those profound and powerful words came from Pastor Sir Walter Mack Sr., intimately known as Daddy Mack.

I found Daddy Mack’s powerful sermon on YouTube. It’s a nearly 18 minute sermon that will truly bless you. It’s simple and clear message about faith and our relationship with God. He was a Preacher’s Preacher; his sermons had something very few pastors had back then and today: STAYING POWER. When you left a Daddy Mack sermon, those words would stay in your spirit, such as, “If God be God, then you serve Him.”

Sir Walter Mack Sr. was senior pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Winston-Salem for 33 years. He preached the importance of God first, strong communities and strong families. He made tremendous sacrifices for his church. His son Dr. Sir Walter L. Mack Jr. witness that commitment firsthand. “I remember as a kid, we were on our way to a family vacation prepared to go.” Mack Jr. laughed as he flashed back to that moment. “We were in the car ready to go, and one of my father’s members passed, and we had to unpack the car.”

Sir Walter Mack Sr. passed in 1982, but his spirit and message lived through his family, members and friends. “He’s a God that which you can reach out, and He can reach you,” a simple word that has staying power.

Dr. Sir Walter Mack Jr. is Bishop, Senior Pastor, and Teacher, of the 2,800-member Union Baptist Church in Winston-Salem.  Mack Jr. is now carrying the legacy of his father’s ministry, but now without reluctance, “My mother was a registered nurse so while my father took care of the spiritual body, she took care of the physical body. My grandfather who was not necessarily a preacher, but he would preach every now and then. And also he would build churches, and I had two uncles that were preachers, so it was always in my genes.”

His mother’s side of family has a legacy of ministry as well, “I’m thankful for the legacy of ministry in my family.” But before studying at Oxford and Harvard University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications from Elon College, a Master of Divinity degree from Duke University, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, Dr. Mack Jr. ran from his calling, “Believe or not Busta, I did not want to go into ministry, because I had seen up close some things that I didn’t want to take on as a pastor.” I asked him to share a few of things, “The tremendous sacrifice of your time, your family; you’re not your own.”

As The Bishop continued speaking, I could envision and even feel his fear, “Whenever you go into public, you belong to the public. It’s almost a thing of putting other people first in all things. And that’s the truth.”  In April 1990 he finally had to face the ultimate truth; it was time to accept God’s calling on his life, “I was just happy with the fulfillment and purpose of the calling on my life.”

Bishop Mack is a strong proponent of ministry beyond the four walls of the church. His global work began with missions trips to Haiti and Israel, and he has ministered on three continents.

Check out more of my interview with Dr. Mack Jr. on our YouTube channel, Winstonsalem Chronicle.

For more info on Union Baptist Church, visit their website at: www.unionbaptistwsnc.org.