Vicksburg, Miss. — THE Rev. David Brown Jr. preached so passionately that he started to shiver. Sweat flowed down his face as words poured out of him.
The gospel gave way to song. The song gave way to a name, and he let it ring out over the pews with a piercing scream that seemed to echo for an eternity:
\o7JESUS!\f7
"There is no high better than a Jesus high," Brown boomed with a wide grin. "I used to drink that California wine. I used to think I was high. But this Jesus high -- it just gets gooder and gooder."
After such a full-bodied religious workout, it was hard to imagine how anyone could have anything left in the tank -- and Brown, who is 60 and weighs 320 pounds, is neither young nor svelte. But when his 11 a.m. service was finished two hours later, the seasoned country preacher confessed he'd held back a bit.
He had many more souls to feed this Sunday, so he had to pace himself. His marathon for Jesus had just begun.
Brown is pastor of seven churches in Louisiana and Mississippi, and preaches one or two Sundays every month at each. He is one of a dying breed of traveling preachers in the Deep South whose calling is catering to numerous African American congregations, many of which date to the plantation era.
His predecessors galloped around on horseback, or rode the rails from town to town, and stayed overnight at deacons' houses. He drives the highways and byways in a 2003 Chevy Impala, and stops for meals at Waffle House or Wendy's, then heads home every evening.
Brown shuttles between churches during the week, leading Bible studies and performing funerals. His seven congregations -- ranging from about 250 to just 30 members -- are within two hours of his small brick home in Monroe, La. He has no salary or healthcare package and survives on whatever worshipers donated that week.
"It's a faith walk," Brown said. "Sometimes I can't even pay the light bill. But I still drive out to see the sick, to go to the funerals. I was chosen by the Lord to do this. Preaching is a God-given gift."
It is a way of life that Brown believes may not last beyond his generation. Younger church members are increasingly demanding full-time pastors instead of itinerant preachers, and are merging country churches to form midsized congregations. They are also increasingly abandoning the lore-filled worship houses of their forefathers in favor of the megachurches that are homogenizing the American landscape, much like Wal-Mart has transformed Main Street.
