Carl Bryant first met his wife Janice in church. "She was playing the piano," he recalls. "She still does."
That may account for why, three children and seven grandchildren later, Bryant remains such an ardent church-goer.
But that's not the whole story.
The Bryants are members of Christ Baptist Church. That's where you'll find them on any given Sunday or Wednesday night.
"We don't miss unless one of us gets sick," Bryant says, "and that doesn't happen very often. I believe that's where we're supposed to be."
Bryant says he was raised in the church, but it wasn't until he became a grown man that he truly got serious about the direction he wanted his life to take.
"I guess you could say I didn't really grew up until I was about 30 years old," he explains. "And I've been going regular ever since."
Rhonda Drummond, a fellow member at Christ Baptist, says what impresses her most about the Bryants is their spirit of Christian service. "They are just super friendly people," Drummond says. "And they are willing to help anybody who needs help. They will not say no to anybody."
Visitors to the church are liable to find the Bryants singing in the choir. Or teaching the class for young marrieds. Or helping with the preparations for vacation Bible school. Or even working to keep the church grounds presentable.
And that's not all.
There is an elderly couple in the church whom the Bryants have more or less adopted. The woman is an invalid and the man has had extensive medical problems.
Each night the Bryants drive the 13 miles into town to help the elderly couple prepare for bed.
Drummond tells of another of the Bryants' second-mile efforts involving a family that ran out of butane this winter, the coldest hereabouts in years. By chance, one of the members at Christ Baptist works for a company that delivers butane.
"Carl would never admit this," Drummond confides, "but he told him, 'Go fill their tank and send me the bill.' To this day I don't think they know where it came from."
The Bible tells us that a man's deeds will one day be brought to the light. When, as a much younger man, Carl Bryant finally accepted that to be true, it changed his life.
It's why you'll find him in church this Sunday - that and the fact he's in love with the piano player.
