During the 1970’s, a mighty move of God was sweeping across the nation of America. The Presence of God was so tangible and recognizable, people recognized the moment as simply a sovereign move of God. Amidst this mighty presence, so many people were doing their own thing, but then God showed up and He started doing HIS thing. Some people decided to fight against it. Some decided to follow whatever it was that God was doing. Ken Sumrall was one of these men that the Lord was moving through, as he was sharing the Gospel on a radio program. Before Jack got baptized in the Holy Spirit, he would make fun of Ken Sumrall’s radio program. But that all changed when the Holy Spirit powerfully changed Jack’s life. “When I was baptized in the Spirit, then I had to go back to him and apologize.” Jack Hollis recognized that he wanted Ken Sumrall to be in his life. He didn’t care how, or in what capacity, he just simply wanted Ken Sumrall in his life. Jack recalls the day when he approached Ken Sumrall with his desire. “I really want to attach myself to who you are spiritually.” It was that simple. Surprisingly enough, Jack didn’t get the response he was looking for. “You need to find someone over there closer to home”, was Ken Sumrall’s response. As Jack points out, his manner of dress and attire was a little extreme for Ken Sumrall’s ways.
Jack recalls a time when he remembered those first days of wanting to be related with Ken Sumrall. “Brother Ken, I was determined to eat fruit of this tree. But he wouldn’t let me. He’d hold the limbs up where I couldn’t reach em’. I’d start shaking the tree until the fruit started to fall and I’d eat it all off the ground.” That’s the spiritual hunger that Jack had for Ken Sumrall to be in his life. Jack continues, “I really wanted him that bad. I wanted him in my life. He didn’t have to teach me anything. He didn’t have to carry me to any kind of schooling, or nothing else. I just wanted his covering, and I didn’t even know really what it was. I’m still carrying his covering.”
Ken Sumrall was also a spiritual father to Greg Lancaster as well. Greg recounts those beginning days when the Lord brought the two of them together as a spiritual father and spiritual son. As Greg shares, “It was at a time that the words that he was speaking, God was just speaking. It was just kind of like ‘what?’ Where have you been all my life?” The moment that Ken Sumrall went to be with the Lord, the day of the viewing at his funeral, the Lord spoke to Greg in a dream revealing the significance of the moment. Greg shares the details of what the Lord showed him, “The coach was coaching me. But now the coach was gone, and I was there to learn from Brother Ken about spiritual family and what’s going on”. During that time Brother John Kilpatrick was also a spiritual father to Greg as well. Greg continues, “God was putting in my heart what spiritual family is. It was like the moment of that viewing…[God] gave me a detailed dream of being on the field. The coach has left the team, and it’s time for me to take what the coach has taught me, to be able to go into the next realm.” Jack understands the significance of the moment as he responds, “because every play is different.”