By Mark Woolsey

A powerful preacher. A trusted friend. A mentor. A motivator.

All of those accomplishments were duly noted during funeral services for Doctor Nelson Lynn Price on Thursday. But those who preached also painted a far more personal picture.

MUST ministries director Ike Reighard talked about what he called “the darkest day of my life, March 1, 1983, when I saw my wife and child die in front of me during childbirth at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta.”

He and other family members were placed in a private room to help them grieve and try to begin to sort out what had happened.

Reighhard was told he had a phone call and made his way to a nearby nurses’ station.

It was his friend, Nelson Price who told him ”Cindy(his wife) is now with the only person who loved her more than you did.”                                                                                                          

“Those words of comfort were what he was known for, “ said Reighard.

Hundreds packed Roswell Street Baptist Thursday to honor Price, who pastored the church for 35 years, helping it grow from a few hundred to a healthy 10,000 members. He arrived in 1965 after serving small congregations in both Georgia and Louisiana and his heartfelt preaching and communication skills came into play as his flock grew.  He retired in 2000 but stayed active. 

Price was noted for his widely-broadcast worship program “Come Alive” and his weekly column in a local newspaper.                                                                                              

 His friend had many titles, said Hylton Dupree, a Marietta attorney; minister, doctor, beloved one, teacher.

“And even one interim county commissioner who called him ‘rabbi,” he added.

Dupree told mourners said that even with the accolades and honors that came his way,  nothing could surpass the fact that Price was a “good ole country boy from Mississippi, who kicked back and enjoyed life,” and loved crawfish etouffee.

But there was more to his makeup, which was plain early on.

“Even as a young boy, he felt the call on his life to preach the Gospel,”  son-in-law Roger Hill told mourners. “It became his  life’s role to share to share the good news of Jesus to all who would listen.”

That devotion was evident as he addressed his Sunday morning flock.

“A distinguishing part of his sermons, and you all know it, the first two words were always ‘Jesus Christ,’” Hill said.

Bookending that was the manner in which he’d conclude, with a fist pump and leading the crowd to proclaim out loud, “to God be the glory.” noted the Rev. Randy Turner, a son-in-law.

Reighard pointed out that Price went well beyond holding forth from his own pulpit in pursuing his life’s calling,

“Many young pastors benefitted from watching a man who was a statesman, who was an incredible preacher, who was a remarkable friend and who always seemed to have the right word at the right moment.’’

Other mentoring took the form of motivational speaking on high school campuses. And as his obituary noted, he also served on a number of different boards, including the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Southern Baptist Convention.

Turner said he while we can’t speak of heaven first-hand” I wonder if there might have been a banner stretched across the golden streets at the Pearly Gates, a banner and a throng of people who wanted to welcome him home, and the banner said “Welcome home, Nelson. We never would have made it without you.”

Price is survived by his wife Trudy, affectionately known as “Miss Trudy” by family members and others, his two children Lynn Hill and Sharon Turner, four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.