A best friend is someone to laugh and cry with, someone to share the deepest thoughts and secrets of the heart, someone to trust.  A best friend understands, even when the only thing
communicated is silence. A best friend is forever.

Walter Lumpkin became Bobby Lynch’s best friend in the second grade.

A best friend is forever.

But for Bobby’s best friend, Walter, the earthly portion of ‘forever’ ended at 2:10 p.m. Nov. 4 when he passed away from complications of cancer.

Lynch delivered one of the eulogies at the Nov. 7 funeral of Dr. Walter Lumpkin, associate professor in Christianity and philosophy who held the John Bisagno chair of evangelism and was executive director of the Antioch Institute. Lynch approached the podium with tears, but as he described his friendship with Lumpkin ­– a friendship that began in 1962 ­– tears gave way to laughter as he retold stories about growing up with Lumpkin.

“Walter Lumpkin moved to Conroe in the second grade. His last name started with ‘L-U’. My last name started with ‘L-Y’,” Lynch said. “My teacher came to me and said, ‘Bobby, this is Walter. You show him where the bathroom is, how we stand up for lunch line, recess and all the things that go with it.’ And we became best buds forever.”
Walter Harrison Lumpkin, Walter and Norma Lumpkin’s first child, was born April 14, 1955 in Bryan, Texas.

The Lumpkin family moved to Conroe in 1962 and lived across the street from Mims Baptist Church, where Lumpkin walked to church services. Lumpkin loved the outdoors and enjoyed fishing, hunting, swimming, football, water-skiing and camping with family and friends. His sister, JoAnn Lumpkin Chunn, said he was a storyteller with a vivid imagination who entertained his family with tall tales, such as “fighting wolves in the forest.” His skills as an outdoorsman helped him earn the rank of Eagle Scout from the Boy Scouts of America, and his competitive attitude and athleticism earned him a position on the Conroe High School tennis team before he graduated from CHS in 1973.

While growing up, Lynch said he and Lumpkin shared unforgettable experiences, but that as young teenagers around age 14, one defining spiritual moment influenced the way both boys  lived the rest of their lives.

Their Sunday school teacher challenged them to increase attendance, Lynch said, and then trained them for effective evangelism.

“God got a hold of our lives and began to show us that we could win people to Jesus,” Lynch said.
The boys decided to use their knowledge of the outdoors to lead camp-outs. During these trips, Lumpkin and Lynch told the boys on the trip about their faith in Jesus.

“We tried to share the Gospel with people, and our Sunday school class with three or four boys grew to about 30.”

Lumpkin’s wife Carol said that around age 16, Lumpkin sensed God wanted him to be a full-time minister, but it scared him. As a result, he stopped going to church regularly and tried to ignore that calling. After high school graduation, Lumpkin attended Texas A&M University and studied engineering. However, he left about one year later, grieving the death of his grandfather and knowing that engineering wasn’t what he was supposed to do. It was then that Lynch convinced Lumpkin to go back to church.

“He came to the church picnic with Bobby when he was 20, and the minister spoke about God’s call on people’s lives; then Walter rededicated his life to Christ,” Carol said.
 Walter met Carol at Mims Baptist Church’s youth group when Walter returned there, and Carol said he left a good first impression.

“I thought he was really cute. He had long hair and was shy.”
Walter and Carol were married in 1977, and lived in Conroe, where Walter worked while he pursued a bachelor’s degree in Christianity and psychology from HBU, starting in 1978.

Dr. James Taylor, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, taught Lumpkin, but he said their relationship was defined on the athletic fields during intramural competitions rather than in class.

“Walter was as competitive a human being as I have ever known. He hated to lose – and he especially hated to lose to faculty,” Taylor said. “He took that same spirit into the classroom, not so much as a competitor, but as an interest in learning as a student.”

Lumpkin graduated from HBU in 1981, three months after Carol gave birth to their first son, Ryan. Jason, their second son, was born in 1982. Lumpkin  continued his studies, earning a master’s of divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1984, a master’s of theology from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1986, and a doctorate in philosophy from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1991.

While Lumpkin was in school, he worked at Texas and Louisiana churches as youth pastor, minister of evangelism, director of missions, director of adult discipleship training and minister of adult education before becoming pastor of First Baptist Church in Sun, La. and later senior pastor of Honea Baptist Church in Montgomery, Texas.

Lumpkin used his skills as a pastor to continue the challenge that he and Lynch accepted from their Sunday school teacher, and the churches he pastored were recognized for it. First Baptist Church was twice acknowledged as one of Louisiana’s top 10 churches in Sunday school growth, and Honea Baptist Church was recognized as having the fastest and fourth-fastest growing Sunday school in Texas. Lumpkin was also recognized in Who’s Who in American Christian Leadership, Who’s Who in Biblical Studies and Archaeology and Who’s Who in American Teachers, and was awarded the 1992 Texas Pacesetter Award from the evangelism division of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Lumpkin began teaching at HBU in 1992 as an adjunct Greek professor and accepted the full-time positions of professor in Christianity and John Bisagno chair of evangelism in 1996.

Lumpkin’s wife said that while he enjoyed pastoring, teaching was his true passion.
“Even with his busy schedule, he couldn’t wait to get to campus and teach ­– that’s where he enjoyed being.”

During his tenure at HBU, Lumpkin also served as interim pastor at five Houston-area churches and founded the University’s Antioch Institute, a center for forming partnerships with churches and ministries to mobilize and coordinate a city, national and global center for prayer, missions and evangelism.

“Walter was passionate about his Lord, passionate about his family, passionate about students, passionate about teaching and passionate about his community – and that community for Walter was really the world,” Taylor said.

And Lumpkin’s office partner witnessed those passions.

Dr. David Capes, professor and chair in the department of Christianity and philosophy, shared an office with Lumpkin for two years and said getting work done was a challenge, since Lumpkin was constantly counseling and encouraging students spiritually.

“There were always students around him, and I think it’s because he gave them so much time, so much of himself,” Capes said.

One of those students was Melanie Barosh.

Barosh, who graduated from the University in 2000, said she was at the lowest point in her life and wanted to die ­– then she met Lumpkin during her first quarter.

“He could see through me. He could see the pain I was dealing with. He asked me if I wanted to sit and talk, so we went to the student cafeteria,” Barosh said. “There, in the student cafeteria, I gave my life to the Lord, and I’ve never been the same since.”

But Barosh is only one of many affected by Lumpkin’s life.
Junior Jenny Chunn, Lumpkin’s niece, said she took her uncle’s New Testament class spring of 2001 because he had so much knowledge and energy, and she wanted to soak up a little of it.

“He was so vibrant, so energetic, and he just made me laugh. It was just like wow, this is a person who is in my family – we belong together – we’re blood,” Chunn said. “And I never knew that taking his class then was such a blessing. That quarter ended up being his last to teach while he was completely well.”

That summer, while participating in missions in Germany, Lumpkin had difficulty swallowing, Chunn said. And when he returned, he was diagnosed with cancer.

During Lumpkin’s battle with cancer, faculty members covered classes he couldn’t make. However, even when Lumpkin was sick, he still wanted to teach – and he did.

“He would sometimes be very, very ill, and he would still make it to class,” Capes said. “There were a few times I could see, though he didn’t express it, that this was really hard for him.

But he was still here, and he still did it.”
And even when doctors delivered bad news, Lumpkin was still optimistic, Capes said, and as a result those around him were, too.

“This past summer when I saw him, he said he had about a one in 10,000 chance of living,” Capes said. “But even in that conversation, about one minute after he said that, he was talking about what he was going to do in the fall.”
Even during the difficult times, Lumpkin was still touching lives.

“This past summer he went to Germany again, and 114 people got saved,” Chunn said. “He wasn’t feeling that great, but he wanted to continue doing what he was called to do.”
Lumpkin’s calling affected many people, said University President Dr. Doug Hodo.

“I can’t number the students who stopped me and told me of his wisdom, of his kindness, of being led to the Lord by him. Everyone who knew him had affection for him,” Hodo said. “I don’t know anyone who impacted our campus like he did.”
Chunn said the song “Legacy” from Nichole Nordeman’s album “Woven and Spun,” epitomizes Lumpkin’s life.

“I want to leave a legacy.
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to You enough to make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering.
A child of mercy and grace who blessed Your name
unapologetically.
And leave that kind of legacy.”

For Bobby Lynch, that legacy began in the second grade with a boy, a best friend – Walter.

Walter Lumpkin is survived by his mother Norma; his wife Carol; his sons Ryan and Jason; his sister JoAnn Lumpkin Chunn; his brothers Robert, Steve and Michael; and 16 nieces and nephews.