(Photo courtesy of the Martin family)

Larry and Susan Martin with their daughters, Anna Leigh and Caroline, and their son, Anthony.

        “The greatest gift parents can give a child is that church and their Christian belief and practice of that belief are important to them.”

        In an interview with The Christian View, Senator Larry Martin spoke of the significance of the Christian faith to him, his wife, Susan, and their three children, Caroline, Anthony, and Anna Leigh. “We’re fortunate that all three of our children are Christians,” he told this writer.

        For Christian influences in his own childhood, Martin looked to his parents, Lois and Edgar Martin, and other adults in Nine Forks Baptist Church in Dacusville. “Some of my earliest memories are of my Mom and Dad taking us to church,” he said. Martin grew up with two brothers, Mike and Charlie, and a sister, Debbie (Martin) Morris.

        “My Dad had a tremendous influence on me,” said Martin. “For him, the Bible is ‘cut and dry’, a literal application. Some may view that as extreme. I think it’s admirable.

        “There have been a number of folks I’ve admired and appreciated over the years for their faith,” he said. Three older men, in particular, Roy Ogle, Joe Parsons, and Jim Wood, set examples for him when he was growing up at Nine Forks, he said. “They were terrific examples of Christian men by the way they were involved in our church and the way they raised their families,” he said. “I served with them when I was elected as a deacon at the age of 19. They really meant a lot to me on a personal level. I had a great upbringing in that church. It made a great impact on me.”

        In 1984, one year into their marriage, Martin and his wife joined Pickens First Baptist Church, where they are still members. “One of the great experiences, in terms of Christian growth and development, was having the opportunity to be part of Pickens First Baptist Church before Dr. Lloyd Batson retired,” Martin said. “He was there for 33 years. What a blessing that was, to experience the ministry that he had. His contribution to a lot of folks, me included, has been tremendous.

        “We have an outstanding Pastor, Fred Stone,” Martin said of Pickens First Baptist’s current Pastor. “He and his wife are outstanding folks. Susan went to high school with Fred at Pendleton, which is real interesting.” His wife, Lisa, participated in the Forty Days of Purpose group discussion the Martins held at their home. “It was a real meaningful experience,” Martin said. “That small group, we found, made for good discussions. And everyone realized that they would be missed if they weren’t there.”

        Martin co-teaches a couples’ Sunday School class at Pickens First Baptist with retired Pickens County School District Superintendent Dr. Mendel H. Stewart. “I started teaching Sunday School when I was about 18,” said Martin. “I taught a high school boys class, and Dale Looper, who is the County Treasurer, was in that class. The great thing about teaching Sunday School is that it forces you to study. That’s the reason I’ve always enjoyed it. It has required me to be a little bit more diligent than I otherwise might have been. Mendel has a lot of real-world experience to bring to the class. I think we have an interesting discussion. It has been a great experience.”

        Martin said that one of his favorite verses of Scripture is Micah 6:8: He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

        “Romans 8:28 is another favorite,” he added. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Often times, it’s hard to realize why things happen the way they do. But there’s part we can’t leave out: according to His purpose.

        “The Beatitudes are favorites of mine. And the book of Job is a real favorite of mine, in terms of what happened to him. His friends came to him and said, ‘Why don’t you go ahead and admit what you did wrong, some big sin you’ve committed?’ He questioned and probably crossed the line in the way he responded to it. That’s a very meaningful study.”

        Martin is part of a Bible study in Columbia when the Senate is in session. “It is on Thursday mornings at 8:30,” he said, “and lasts for 30 minutes. We have a small chapel in the Senate office building. It seats about 25 to 30. Most Thursday mornings, there are 15 to 20 there, usually the people who spend the night in Columbia. Sometimes, I’ll miss when I come home on Wednesday night for a particular reason. When I’m in town and don’t have a meeting, I’ll always try to be there. We’re asked to lead in a little devotion once a session. It’s not more than a 10- or 12-minute devotion, and then there’s a prayer time. Everybody has an opportunity to offer a short prayer. We have to be out by five minutes till 9, because everybody has a 9:00 meeting. In those 10- to 12-minute devotions, I’ve heard some of the best sermons, or devotional thoughts, I’ve ever heard in my life. Usually, people think through them well. A lot of times, they’ll bring their Pastor or a friend who’s a Pastor. I have had Rick Fisher to come over. It would be a long drive for Fred for a 10-minute devotion. But once Rick Fisher moved to Lexington, I’ve had him come over a couple of times.

        “I spoke to the Presbyterian men earlier this year at a men’s breakfast, and I shared with them that, although it (the Bible study) isn’t something we talk about, except when I’m talking to a group about my faith, folks do need to know that there is something like that taking place.”

        Martin has shared his faith when speaking at local churches and also during past Fourth of July observances at Legacy Square in Pickens. “Years ago, when Rick Fisher was at First Baptist, we did an observance at Legacy Square with basically a religious theme related to the founding of America based on religious principles and ideas,” he said. “Some quotes, including George Washington’s second inaugural address and his farewell address, are really powerful. A lot of folks read little snippets of history where there’s some thought Jefferson was an agnostic or not a practicing believer, or they hear some other comments about the founders and come to the conclusion that the founders were not religious believers—and that’s anything but the truth. They were very religious, but, more importantly, they were believers. They exercised their faith in the pursuit of what they were doing, and it drove them, to a large degree, in pursuing freedom based on the opportunity for religious freedom in the Colonies. A lot of folks want to rewrite history, unfortunately, so I try to become more familiar with the writings of that time period and incorporate them into comments I may be called upon to make when appropriate. I like to have the opportunity to let folks know that my faith and my belief do play important roles in how I make decisions and in how I live my life.

        “Faith tremendously affects my decision making. Everything I do is teamed with my faith and core beliefs. Not just right and wrong — a lot of folks whose faith may not mean as much to them are good people and have a sense of right and wrong.

        “I think, in terms of the kind of public service we’re called to deliver and provide in the General Assembly, I’m almost like an ombudsman, where people are calling if they have a problem with an agency or they have a problem and don’t know where to turn for help. Being able to respond to those problems, hopefully in a compassionate and empathetic yet helpful way, demonstrates that not only I care about them from the standpoint of what they might say to someone else about the job I did, but that their government works and that somebody who happens to be in their government is somebody who has the characteristics of a Christian and that they’re being treated the way he would want to be treated if the roles were reversed.

        “So I hope that comes through with folks as we talk—being fair, being objective about different things people come to me about. I think all of that gives me an opportunity to demonstrate how important my faith is to me—how I respond to them, how I react to their call for assistance. Or it may be somebody calling to bless me out over some vote I made, and it’s how I respond to that. Hopefully, I do it with a degree of humility and in a way that reflects well on me as a Christian. I don’t think you really have to overtly talk about it a great deal as you go about your daily tasks. People can see it or they don’t, in the way you react and the way you do things.”

        Referring to his faith and politics mixing, Martin said, “Often, the public looks at Christian politicians and says that they’re wearing their faith ‘on their sleeve.’ Well, it’s not supposed to be just on our sleeve; it’s supposed to be all over. I hope and pray that, in my case, it comes through that it has always been a part of my life. It wouldn’t matter whether I was in office or not. It happens to be that that has been a great opportunity for service. Christians can minister in a variety of ways. I think that is an important area of ministry, that Christians can be involved in and maintain their beliefs and principles and serve the public in a helpful way.

        “My faith does enter into my decision-making in Columbia. There are countless bills that we debate and consider, whether a tax issue, a Medicaid issue for people who can’t otherwise do for themselves, education, abortion, or various crime-related issues. Domestic violence has been a terrible problem, not just in this state but in this area of the state, and I don’t have a lot of patience for that.

        “I think it has helped me to understand and appreciate the fact that government has a role to play, but also faith-based organizations such as churches have a role to play in the community in responding to the crises that develop as a result of those issues. The church can really have a direct impact on providing couples and families and single folks with the information they need to be able to deal with those problems. Also, the church is a support system that oftentimes government programs can’t provide or victim assistance coordinators can’t provide.

        “With my lifetime affiliation with the church, the small rural church in which I grew up in Dacusville in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and with being a member of a larger church in Pickens, but also being affiliated with a lot of folks throughout the county and knowing how different churches respond, it helps me, I think, do a better job, making a better, more informed decision.

        “I really wonder what an even greater impact the church, all of the denominations, could have on making our society a whole lot better. That has the greatest promise—not a government program, and not a new innovative idea for some social movement. It’s the basic thing. We have more churches in Pickens County per capita than any other county. That’s something we’ve always bragged about. We just need to take more advantage of it. I just can’t imagine, in my own life, with raising three children, what life would be like without that structure and that important element in our family’s lives.

        “Our faith has been so important, to Susan and me, as we have raised our family. I don’t know how people live otherwise. I can’t imagine that not being in our lives. We’ve been so fortunate. I deal with the problems people come to me about. My wife teaches in public school, and she has a number of children who come from dysfunctional homes, where families broke apart or never existed. That causes a lot of the problems in education that a program or a new education initiative is not going to fix. We know that. It takes a change in heart and attitude to mend those kinds of problems and find those kinds of solutions. 
        “Faith has played an important role in our lives. I’m so fortunate to have had two parents who took me to church from the earliest days. Then I had the opportunity to make a personal decision about how that would impact my life as a believer.

        “Our children are involved in our church, have been on World Changers mission trips and have been involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Pickens High School.”

        Martin, a 1975 graduate of Pickens High, spoke well of his alma mater and the entire Pickens County school system. “We’re fortunate to have what we have here in Pickens County,” he said. “Teachers and administrators can have a powerful influence and witness on children’s lives. I can’t think of a better place than Pickens County to raise a family.

        “They’re great children. I’m so proud of them, and we’re so fortunate. With me being gone as much as I have, Susan has handled that extremely well and has been very understanding. Of course, that’s all we’ve ever known. I had been in the House five years before we got married.

        “It has certainly been an integral part of my life, serving in the Legislature, the House and now the Senate. The children have grown up around discussions at the dinner table. They’re probably a little better informed than most. We have a lot of discussions, and they can get real interesting. I want them to think and understand and draw their own conclusions.

        “I hope they see why I spend a lot of time doing it, and I hope I have honored the confidence folks have put in me by putting a lot of time and effort into it and answering all of the calls and questions. And they see me doing that. But there are other things in life, too, that are just as important. Not to minimize that, but that’s not the only important thing in their lives. We’re no different from any other family in that respect. We’ve tried to raise them in a way that they understand that they aren’t better than anybody else. We’re all very similar and part of the same community, expected to contribute and to do so in a constructive way.”