By Bob Bunn
When he chose to pursue a call to ministry, Dr. Charles Lewis didn’t have a clear word from God. The Air Force veteran loved flying, and he loved the local church. But he also knew that serving on a church staff full-time would never be a good fit for him.
Still, while he had questions about his calling, he believed he could find answers at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
“My wife, Glenda, and I knew that we were going to have to step out in faith and see what happens,” he recalled. “So, we started making arrangements. I wound up taking a visit to New Orleans, and we just kind of fell in love with it. In my first class, the professor asked us to introduce ourselves, and I said, ‘My name is Charles Lewis, and I have no idea why I’m here. I just know I’m supposed to be here.’”
To help pay for seminary, Dr. Lewis had sold his airplane back in South Carolina. But he quickly became the Director of Operations at a nearby airport. While working there, God began to reveal His plan for Dr. Lewis’s life.
“Since I had been in the Air Force out of high school, I took a ministry chaplaincy class,” he said. “One day, a colonel spoke to the class, and I was on the front row wearing my Air Force flight jacket. He asked me if I had ever thought about becoming a chaplain.”
Through that conversation, Dr. Lewis began serving with Air Force reserves at the Naval Air Station in Belle Chasse. He even spent time flying with pilots at the base, building relationships learn more about ministering to pilots in a combat unit. These experiences led to his doctoral project focused on chaplaincy methods for fighter units. He also had the chance to serve New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary as a pilot, flying seminary leaders to various meetings.
“I had gone to army chaplaincy school, but there model was not a good fit for me,” Dr. Lewis said. “It was more of a church model where people came to you for help. I was more interested in a model where you immersed yourself with the units. You gained credibility and rapport by being there, by taking part in their training. You became one of them.”
The ideas that began taking shape at Belle Chasse were refined at Dr. Lewis’s next assignment at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. As he personally invested in the lives of the pilots on the base, they responded. Chapel attendance boomed. Pilots with strong personalities started fulfilling leadership positions. The results of his work and ministry still resonate within the ranks of Air Force chaplaincy.
After retirement, Dr. Lewis and his wife moved back to South Carolina to take care of his mother. After 23 years there, they relocated to Texas to be closer to family who could help him care for Glenda before she passed away.
The Lewis legacy continues to live on at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary through the Charles and Glenda Lewis Scholarship, a fund with an interesting origin story. During an extended illness that put Dr. Lewis on the sidelines, the seminary helped his family by providing a $1,000 gift. The Lewis family was so moved by the generosity that they determined to return the favor and donate an equal amount back to NOBTS.
That $1,000 became the seed for the Lewis scholarship which has continued to gain momentum over the years.
“During seminary, we weren't able to do much with it,” he explained. “But when I entered the Air Force chaplaincy, we started sending money back. Over the years, it has helped a lot of people. Glenda’s gone, and I’ll probably be gone before much longer. But that scholarship will be there forever.”
From a man who came to seminary saying, “I have no idea why I’m here; I just know I’m supposed to be here,” Dr. Lewis’ simple obedience has led to the discipleship of countless pilots and the faithful investment of his life into the next generation of servants.