Marsha and Tom Lineberger: A match made in heaven

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him and God will make straight your paths.”

Proverbs 3: 5&6 RSV

Marsha and Tom Lineberger have been married for over 50 years. Back in 1970, when they started seeing each other, she was living at Mrs. Hessie Mitchell’s rooming house on East Meeting Street. Marsha says, “We never really had a date. Tom would either come to the parlor of the rooming house to visit, or we would go to a gospel-music singing – usually with others, or to some other church function.”

One evening, when Tom took her home, he finally got up nerve to ask, “Do you mind if I kiss you?” Marsha replied, “Okay.” After the kiss, Tom - obviously on “cloud 9” - bid her goodnight, hurried out the door and down the porch steps, lost his balance and fell over into some bushes nearby! Marsha says, “I just ‘died’ laughing at his mishap.” Tom was afraid her loud laughing would wake up the neighborhood. He was “shushing” her as he tried to extricate himself from the shrubbery before Mrs. Mitchell came out to investigate what was causing the racket.

MARSHA 

Marsha came to Morganton in 1970 after graduating from UNC-Wilmington. She entered the Teacher-Training program at North Carolina School for the Deaf through Lenoir-Rhyne College. After completing this training, Dr. Rance Henderson (NCSD Superintendent at that time) hired her to teach at NCSD.

She explains, “I grew up learning sign language since my older brother and sister are deaf.”

Her Bible “life verse” since childhood had been Proverbs 3: 5&6. At an early age, she wanted to know God’s specific plan for her life. Marsha reveals, “I had a strong sense that I wanted to:

1. Marry a preacher;

2. Play the piano in some way to serve God;

3. Be a missionary.”

Marsha says that the lady who operated the rooming house where she lived, Mrs. Hessie Mitchell (who was a mother of JC Mitchell - a well-known minister), was “my mom away from home.” Mom Mitchell and she would often go to different churches on Saturday nights to gospel-singings. Marsha had grown up singing gospel music with her family.

Marsha herself has a fine soprano voice. She used it in the talent competition to help her win the Miss Brunswick County Beauty Contest and went on to compete in the Miss North Carolina Pageant of 1966.

One night after Marsha and Momma Mitchell had been to a gospel singing, she got a call from Ray Denton, who said he had heard her singing during the congregational songs and wanted to know if she would be interested in singing in a quartet. She agreed and the quartet of Ray, his brother Jerry Denton, and wife Loretta, and Marsha was formed. They were known as “The Dentons.”

Soon after they started singing together, Jerry and Loretta introduced her to Tom. Tom would often come and listen to them practice. Jerry Denton says, “I thought Tom really must’ve liked gospel music a lot, but I soon realized it was Marsha he really liked.”

This began Tom’s visits with Marsha in the rooming house parlor and taking her to gospel singings. Not long after that, Tom told Marsha that the Lord had told him that Marsha should be his wife. Marsha laughed and told him, “The Lord has not told me that and when the Lord does I will let you know.”

TOM

Tom’s father, Rev. T.A. Lineberger, was the founding executive director of South Mountain Baptist Camp. Many churches in this area brought their youth for programming there over the years, from the time Tom was a child to this very day. He says, “We meet people all the time that tell us of their interesting stories of their camp days at SMBC and will say ‘thank you for leading me to faith in Christ’.”

Tom tells the story of one young man who came to camp and had a stutter. The other boys were making fun of him. He hit one of them and ran off. Tom went after him and the boy kept running from Tom. Finally, Tom hollered out to him, “I know how you feel!” The kid stopped long enough for Tom to be able to share with him how he himself had a stuttering problem and had a very hard time throughout his life (especially at school). He related to the boy how his faith had helped him deal with it. The boy went back to his cottage and apologized to the boy for hitting him. Years later, this young man (now an adult) came back to see them at camp with his wife and children to thank Tom for how he had helped him that day.

Tom really wrestled with becoming a preacher because of his stutter. (He should’ve realized he was in good company. Some scholars think Exodus 4: 10 suggests Moses had this same concern.) Little did he know how good he would become at sharing God’s stories in sign language. Both he and Marsha are licensed interpreters and Tom continues to interpret for the deaf in various capacities (like at the hospital) and public functions around the community.

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY

Tom answered the call to Gospel ministry. Apparently, Marsha got the same direction from the Lord Tom had told her about earlier, because Tom and Marsha were married in 1973.

Marsha thereby fulfilled her childhood wish to marry a minister! They moved to Lynchburg, Va., for Tom to finish his degree at Lynchburg Baptist College, and then graduate from Liberty Seminary. While they were there, their first son, Mark, was born. Mark is now a professional interpreter in Greensboro. He and his wife, Mayah, have three children who are also learning to sign.

Tom and Marsha’s second son, Matthew, was born 12 years later. Matthew is a talented musician. He has degrees from several prestigious institutions of higher learning, including Cambridge University in England and the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. He is currently finishing up work on his Ph.D. in Liturgical Studies and Sacramental Theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, while working as the part-time director of music at a nearby church.

BACK TO BURKE COUNTY

In 1980, after Tom graduated from seminary, the Linebergers moved back to Burke County. Tom followed in his father’s footsteps and became director of South Mountain Baptist Camp. Marsha played the piano every summer at the camps, thus fulfilling her #2 childhood goal of using her musical talents for the Lord.

They joined Burkemont Baptist Church and served in deaf ministry there. Their friend and mentor, Reverend Jerry Potter, who was Missionary to the Deaf in N.C. with the Baptist State Convention, asked Burkemont Church if they would be interested in supporting a missionary at the North Carolina School for the Deaf. Thus began Tom and Marsha’s vibrant 15-year ministry among the children at the school. Marsha then accomplished her third desire/promise to God to become a missionary!

A NEW CHAPTER OF MINISTRY

In 1996, Tom became full-time Pastor to the Deaf with the First Baptist Church of Morganton Deaf Mission, where he and Marsh carried on their wonderful ministry with the deaf community for another 23 years. Over the years, First Baptist Church also utilized Tom’s experience in “fixing things” at South Mountain Camp to assist with property maintenance.

When Tom retired from the FBC Deaf Mission in 2019, the Reverend Larry Barnes became the Pastor. Larry had, as a child, accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior at a revival at South Mountain Camp.

Marsha’s childhood memory verse, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart…” continues to guide Marsha and Tom’s “blessed and blessing” life together.