March 28, 1969 was the day Tommy Marchman should have died. Running through the jungle on patrol in Vietnam, a mortar exploded on the solider just behind him. Mercifully, shrapnel grazed him, leaving only a flesh wound. Previously, a letter from his wife, Kathryn, surprised him, saying she was now saved and baptized. All he could think was, “I’m 14,000 miles from home and my wife is now a holy roller! What am I going home to even if somehow I live through this combat?” Tommy did not fully realize his wife and many others were praying for him.
Prayer, Jesus, the Bible, and gospel singing were unknown to Tommy. These were to become his motivation for life after returning home. Not only did God answer Kathryn’s prayers to protect Tommy, her influence also motivated him to commit his life to Christ in September 1972 at Isabella Baptist Church in Sylvester.
I met Tommy and his gospel-singing group, Southern Majesty, at Cross Cultural Musique one Friday night in Leesburg. Their music was encouraging and uplifting. Wanting to learn more, I talked with Tommy and discovered their amazing policies and some of their stories. They never ask for money for the group’s expenses. A simple invitation bids them sing. Huge crowds, small crowds, good and bad weather, they have experienced it all. One cold 20-degree night they sang to five people and about 50 cows. The cows liked the bass singer so much they tried to help him by mooing when he hit the low notes.
Benefit sings where they raise money for people with medical needs highlights their endeavors. A young man with muscular dystrophy who had no transportation was blessed with a van equipped with a handicap lift. Another time they raised enough to purchase a van, the handicap lift, tags, insurance and $1,000 gas card for a young man suffering from muscular scoliosis. Usually they average two benefit sings per month.
Miracles, yes, they experienced them! Ms Carr, a lady attending a singing, had been blinded from gunshot wounds to her head. During a song, she suddenly shouted out, I am healed! Her sight was instantly restored. Another time, Ms Cox requested prayer because her melanoma cancer diagnosis said she had a short time to live. Two weeks after prayer she burst through the crowd reporting the doctor’s could find no trace of the cancer in her body.
Divine protection and amazing grace characterizes Tommy’s life. His career placed him in harm’s way. As chief of police 12 years and then fire Chief 33 years for the town of Sylvester, Tommy has been shot at, blown out of an exploding building, and has driven a burning gas tanker truck away from gas storage tanks. He said, “Never was I in danger that I did not feel God’s presence and protection.” He literally died for a couple of minutes when his implanted heart defibrillator that had previously stopped, suddenly started up again. The nurses were shocked when he sat up from under the sheet after they had just covered him, thinking for sure he was dead. Tommy and Southern Majesty’s music are very much alive and they freely share it with everyone.
Cross Cultural Musique will host Tommy and Southern Majesty Friday at 7:30 p.m. I will bet you they can pull it out of the several hundred selections they have and sing it just for you! And if you need some of that amazing grace, you won’t find a group more ready and willing to pray for you. For more information, all Keith Hood at 376-3293.
William Gilchrist
Leesburg
(Gilchrist is a partner in the Cross Culture Musique)
