Back when I was in high school (and part of college, too), I worked in a jewelry store. When Richard Henderson was running Henderson Jewelry on Broad Street, he hired and trained me to be a repair/part-time sales guy for him.

 Of course, during those days, everything for me revolved in some way around the guitar. So it was always fun to sneak out every now and then and visit Osco Hughes and Cris CoCroft two stores down at CoCroft’s. Not only did they let me play every guitar in the music store, they also had some pretty good jokes to share (especially if Joe Rosolio came wandering by).

 One day, this fellow came by the jewelry store shopping for his wife and we struck up a conversation. I recognized him quickly as the “music man” from First Baptist Church. I introduced myself, he shook my hand and widened his eyes.

 “I’m Rick Jordan, and I’ve heard about you,” he said.

I guess I had a little bit of a reputation as a wannabe guitarist and word had somehow made its way to him about me.

 So, of course, the conversation turned to guitars.

“I used to play a little bit myself,” he said. When I asked what kind of music he played, he kind of shyly said “Fingerpicking stuff mainly, like Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed…”

 Now even though I was a rocker, I was all-too-well familiar with those two names. I grew up listening to Chet and Jerry, and knew how well respected they were in guitar circles. They were pretty much in a class to themselves.

 See, fingerpicking involves using all five fingers of your right hand to pick the bass, rhythm and lead parts of a song — all at the same time. While playing rock and blues — as I do — involves a lot of improvising and “winging it” on a string or two at a time. Fingerpickers are locked into a precise flurry of notes and coordination between their “picking” and “fingering” hands that sounds, when it is done right, like two or three guitars playing simultaneously.

 I stopped him from saying another word.

 “You mean, you know how to play Chet Atkins stuff?” I asked.

“Yeah, I used to,” he replied.

“What do you mean you ‘used’ to? You don’t play any more?” I quizzed.

“Not really,” he said kind of shrugging, “just don’t have the time for it.”

 I was stunned. No time for the guitar? Surely he jested.

 I convinced him to walk with me over to CoCroft’s to play a little. He insisted I go first, so I grabbed a Les Paul and jumped into my best “Eruption” imitation, which I must say wasn’t very good. But Rick smiled and complimented me regardless. He then found an elegant Gibson ES-335 and plugged in.

 After a couple of moments to make sure he was in tune and get his bearings, he proceeded to play something I had heard in my childhood. It was a Chet ditty called “Yankee Doodle Dixie,” which takes the two iconic tunes and turns and twists them into a single melodious blend of notes.

 Watching his right hand pick the strings and his left find the rights spots on the fretboard to match both impressed and baffled me. It was a totally different way of approaching the guitar from what I knew, but it was so cool, and I was blown away. He finished and kind of put his hands in the air like, “Well, that’s the best I can do.’

 I looked him squarely in the eyes and said as emphatically yet respectfully as I could, “Man, you are crazy if you don’t start playing again. That was amazing.”

He smiled and humbly said, “Thank you.” I’m not claiming sole responsibility for it, but that was around 1980 and, thankfully ,he’s been picking pretty much ever since.

 After 40 years of service, Rick Jordan’s last Sunday as the “music man” at First Baptist is this week. His talents (and sense of humor) have blessed so many and his influence on thousands of Thomasville musicians, as well as regular parishioners who otherwise couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, in helping them find their path to God has been immeasurable.

 Over the last decade or so, Rick has traveled the country with his guitar en tow, using those immense talents to open eyes and hearts. As his friend fingerpicking legend Doyle Dykes stated, “Rick is the only man in America that can play Chet on Saturday night then lead an orchestra and choir on Sunday morning.”

 I know his influence on me has been profound as well. He showed me that even in secular environments your talents can be used to witness, and that there was nothing wrong with that. As he told me one time, “The folks outside the church are the ones who really need the most churching.”

 Through the years, I’ve been honored to share the stage with him many times. Our musical styles may be different, but I feel our love for the music and for God helped bridge any gaps. I’ll look forward to seeing where God leads Rick and his guitar from here.

 Oh, and that Gibson ES-335? He now owns it.

 “Til we gig again, music man …