EASLEY—He wasn’t really there for memories.

The Rev. Julian Ford, retired minister who has returned “home” to St. Andrew United Methodist Church, was actually part of the service, as he played the guitar while his wife Jane led the congregation through some praise hymns.

But he couldn’t resist the opportunity to share some memories about the young man who would be the church’s guest speaker for revival that evening.

Darren Hook, pastor of Covenant United Methodist Church in Greer, grew up in St. Andrew during Ford’s time as pastor of the church.

“I really am proud of that young man,” Ford said.

He remembered back in 2000 when Hook received a new church assignment — Grace United Methodist Church in Abbeville. Hook, who had spent his first two years of his ministry in Seneca, was a little nervous about moving so far away from his hometown.

“Darren called and said they were sending him to Abbeville,” Ford remembered. “I told him, ‘You’ll love it.’”

As it turned out, the church loved him. Under Hook’s leadership, the church grew from a membership of just over 50 members to more than 250 members.

After the Fords finished their songs, Kim Welborn — Hook’s former Sunday School teacher — made the introduction.

“Darrin talks about how bad he was when he was in my class, but I don’t really remember that,” Welborn said.

She said she knew Hook’s parents — Dial and Dee Hook —and also knew his grandparents, so she wasn’t surprised at what a good person he turned out to be.

“When we have good seeds sewed into us, we can’t help but be good people,” Welborn said.

Hook chose to speak about tithing Tuesday night, the final night of the three-day revival. He decided to open with a joke.

Three little boys were bragging about their fathers, Hook said.

The first boy said his father would write a few words on a sheet of paper, call it a poem, and he would get paid $50 for it.

The second boy said his father would write a few words on a sheet of paper, call it a song, and get paid $100 for it.

The third boy laughed. His daddy was a preacher, and he would write a few words on a sheet of paper, call it a sermon, and it took four men to take up all the money people paid for it.

Hook said that tithing is more than just “paying the preacher.”

“It’s an opportunity to participate in kingdom work,” Hook said.

Hook said the point of tithing is not how much money a person can give to God.

“God does not need your money,” Hook said. “He owns it all. However, if you are not tithing, you are missing out on one of the greatest blessings there is.”

Hook called tithing a “statement of faith.” He distinguished between tithing and giving an offering.

Tithing, Hook said, is 10 percent of what you make—net, not gross. Offering is what you give beyond the 10 percent.

Hook said he makes sure the members of Covenant know that he tithes.

“I don’t want them to think that is something I talk about but don’t do,” Hook said. “I put my check in my front pocket so everybody can see it. I don’t put it in the plate before the service or after the service, but during the service.”

Hook said that statistics show that only two out of 10 church members actually tithe. He said that tithing was something he had never had a problem with. He remembered getting paid $1,000 for a job when he was a teenager, and looking forward to giving a triple digit tithe for the first time.

“I’ve had so many people tell me after a sermon, ‘Boy, you stepped on my toes today,’” Hook said. “And most of the time, I can tell them ‘Well, God stepped on my toes first.’ I’m human, and I struggle with things just like you do. But tithing is not one of the things I’ve had a problem with.”