SCRIPTURE: I Corinthians 15:1-4 – “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures”
 
HIS BACKGROUND: Theo was born in Oakland on Oct. 28, 1958 to Arthur Polk and Mildred Davidson. He was the middle of nine children. Lisa, Portia, Fernanda, Panda, Brian, Bisey, Myron, Darryl grew up in Oakland. But Theo, when he was four years old, moved to Bay City, Texas (near Houston), to live with his grandmother, Phyllis Davidson.
Theo visited the Bay Area during the summers, but moved back for good when he was a senior in high school, graduation from Berkeley High in 1978. After high school, he attended Laney College, then transferred to Pepperdine University. He finished school in 1983 at San Francisco State, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Business.
After college he dabbled in a few professions before landing in counseling. At the Center for Independent Living in Eastmont Mall, Theo helps the disabled and handicapped find jobs and housing, and counsels others.
 
HIS FAMILY: Back in 19##, Theo was at a singles gathering. There, he finally worked up the nerve to ask a woman named Angela – who served with him at the 73rd and Holiday congregation – for her phone number.
“I thought he was too boring and lived in the stone age,” Angela said with a snicker, recalling her first impression of Theo. “Too retro in his personal appearance and his mannerisms. He still dressed like he was in the 70s and uses the same jokes from the 80s.”
Polk had just cool enough to get the digits and, over the next several years, proved to Angela that he was just what she was looking for in a husband.
“He’s a good man,” Angela said. “I knew he would come home at night. I knew that he would be really faithful. … Also, he was a Christian. I wanted a Christian man, and not just one who was a Christian by words only.”
They married in April of 1999, officially making Theo, Angela and her two-year-old daughter Nandi a family. The couple then had Nahderia in 2001 and Nayo in 2004.
 
HIS CONVERSION: While in Bay City, Theo attended the Moore Avenue Church of Christ. The congregation was full of his relatives, including his grandmother and the minister, Booker T. Spencer.
Theo ended his defiance at 12 years old, obeying to what he’d known for years.
“I was a knucklehead,” Theo admitted. “Then one Sunday, I just stood up. August 1971.”
 
HIS WALK: Theo said he started becoming active in the kingdom’s work when he attended the Central Church of Christ in Oakland – teaching, sharing the gospel, baptizing believers and even hosting radio broadcasts. He continued his ways when he eventually switched memberships to church of Christ in Berkeley. Theo serves as a deacon, coordinator for the door-knocking ministry, preaching and teaching Bible classes and holds personal Bible studies in homes.
 
SOMETHING YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT THEO: He collects Pepsi cans and Coca-Cola bottles from the 70s and 80s. He also collects old jewelry, which he repairs, and coins.