Glenn Young has been pastor of First Baptist Church in Kilgore three years. From deep in the heart of one Texan, he shares his background and thoughts on church and ministry. To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated minister to be featured in this column, or to apply to be featured yourself, click here.

• Where else have you served in ministry, and what were your positions there?

I served as pastor at Clear Lake Baptist Church in Houston seven years, and also at First Baptist Church of Devine seven years before that. I pastored a mission church in South Louisiana and was student minister at First Baptist Church in Devine during seminary.

• Where did you grow up?

I grew up in deep South Louisiana, about an hour south of New Orleans on one of the peninsulas jutting out from the toe of the Louisiana boot. The community was Cajun and Catholic, except for a few families like my own who had moved in with the oil industry. I was in seventh grade before I met another Protestant student in school.

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

My parents always have had a deep and abiding faith. The last thing I saw each night when I walked by their room heading to bed was my dad on his knees praying. The first thing I saw each morning when I awoke was my mom reading her Bible at the kitchen table. Since there were so few Protestants in our town, church and faith were never a matter of culture and community, but commitment.

My salvation seemed never to be a question of “if” but “when.” I was saved when I was 8 years old. As pastor, I am always cautious when children make decisions at such a young age, but I cannot deny what happened in my life at that age. I remember the look of shock on my schoolteacher’s face when I told him of my baptism. He seemed to think I was concocting some wild blasphemous story until my classmates explained to him that I was not Catholic.

• Where were you educated and what degrees did you receive?

I earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. I earned a master of religious education degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a doctor of ministry degree in theology from New Orleans Baptist Theological seminary.

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

Ministry always has been at the core of my life. My parents were not missionaries, but I grew up in a mission environment. I surrendered to full-time ministry at age 14. That was never as surprising to me as that I have spent my ministry career serving churches in the United States. I always assumed I would serve internationally through the International Mission Board. That has never been God’s plan for me, but he has been gracious to allow me to be involved in international missions as a local pastor.

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

My two favorite things in the world are God and people. Ministry is the perfect intersection of both passions.

I believe God has designed us so that we derive great joy from doing the things we were created to do. A racehorse is most happy when sprinting. A hunting dog is most happy when on the trail. A preacher finds his greatest joy in preaching, and a pastor his greatest joy in pastoring.

Not everyone is called to do what I do, but everyone is called to do something. It is our greatest and most satisfying act of worship to do our best at what God has designed us to do, for his glory.

• What one aspect of congregational life gives you the greatest joy?

Personal relationships across a broad spectrum of people. Words like “community” and “family” can be cliché’ and over-used, but it happens to be the core of the church as conceived by God.

This is not my natural personality. I like solitude, but I need community.

God, not I, designed his family, so I should not expect a tailored church made to my preferred tastes. He is the one doing the reforming, and I am the one in need of reformation, and part of the cure he has prescribed for me is a big, sometimes unruly, diverse community of people.

Because, as Evangelicals, we emphasize personal relationship so much, we sometimes forget the vital role of the church family. When two people decide to marry, that is a very personal and intimate decision, but one marries a family not an individual, and through that union, together they grow a family. In the same way, our salvation is a personal decision that leads us into a much larger family.

The truth is I never will be as good a Christian on my own as with my church family. If I am, then I am probably in the wrong church.

• What one aspect of church life would you like to change?

What I describe above is great in theory, but it is not the reality for much of the church today. In our obsessive drive to be relevant to a sometimes-irrelevant culture, we come dangerously close to making the institution of the church irrelevant. We try too hard to make sure the church has the same décor as the hip coffee shop down the street, as if our mission was nothing more than to get people in to sell them a cup of coffee.

We should be aiming for a much more significant target.

Those 20-somethings who think your church is uncool will show up at grandma’s house for Thanksgiving dinner, and her kitchen decor is at least as dated as your church foyer. They show up for something much more important than a clever marketing plan; they show up for family.

Some of our churches are like the 50-year-old youth volunteer who shows up at the student event in baggy, sagging jeans and a ball cap turned backwards on his head. He is not relating to students; he just looks silly. Be who you are and relate to people authentically.

It already has been said by someone that the church has become the purveyor of religious goods and services to consumers of religious goods and services. We have our big-box outlets and our neighborhood boutique outlets. The Great Commission must be about more than that. The one aspect that motivates me is the idea of personal relationship in a larger family setting.

• If you could launch any new ministry—individually, through your congregation or through another organization—what would it be? Why?

Well, now that I have insulted the local coffee shop, I must confess the ministry I would most like to get started is a coffee shop.

For years, I have pastored in Texas and worked with churches in Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala. Every time I go over budget numbers for ministry projects on this side of the border, I feel guilty knowing how much further that money could go in ministry just a few hours south of us in Central America. I have many pastor friends in these other countries who are reaching as many or more people than I am, and for whom a $100 a month could make a major difference in their church and ministry.

All those countries happen to be coffee-growing areas. It first occurred to me years ago, when I was serving a church in Houston. I was having breakfast with my church staff at a local restaurant. We began looking around the dining room of this secular restaurant and noticed six different Bibles studies going on from six different churches in the area.

I wondered why we could not set up a coffee shop selling the coffee of Central American churches—and thus funding their ministry—to Central Texas suburbanites—thus meeting their need for community and connection. The idea is not unique to me, and there are, of course, several logistical challenges, but the coffee shop of today has taken the place of the pub of yesterday, and wherever people gather for community, it is ripe space for the gospel.

About Baptists

• What are the key issues facing Baptists—denominationally and/or congregationally?

At a denominational level, we have a lot of great institutions doing great work, but many of our local pastors are disengaged from that work. My generation of pastors came of age in the middle of the “Baptist wars.” We feel like children of a bad divorce. Because of that, we often are too cynical of denominational life. Wounds heal but often leave scars. Sometimes comparing our scars just becomes an unhealthy focus on the past that serves as an excuse to inactivity in the future. We insulated ourselves in the local congregation as a defense mechanism.

We have a stronger generation of Evangelical Christians—many of them are Baptist but just don’t know their rich heritage—who are passionate about engaging the world in big ways informed by the gospel. Unfortunately, too often, all they see is a disengaged and thus ineffective local congregation specifically designed to insulate from rather than engage the outside world.

They are unaware of the amazing institutions we already have in place to do the work they are called to do at a denominational level. Their generation’s ignorance is informed by my generation’s cynicism. We need to learn to forget the scars, break this destructive cycle and re-engage the younger generation into a vigorous denominational life.

About Glenn

• Who were/are your mentors, and how did/do they influence you?

My mentors in ministry are all dead now. I have had three men who served as my pastor throughout my life. They could not be more different, but all three have had a profound impact on my life and ministry.

The first was Reggie Hanberry. He was a sometimes-prickly hard-edged fire-and-brimstone preacher. He was the only pastor I ever knew until I left home for college. From him, I learned the importance of truth, even when it is difficult, and the value of longevity in ministry.

My college Pastor was Dr. Perry Sanders. He managed to engage the predominately Catholic community of South Louisiana as friends rather than adversaries. He was trusted and respected, and so his ministry thrived.

Finally, I learned the importance of pastoral care from Charles Bush. The rumor is that Charles once drove to Colorado from South Texas to make a hospital visit. I don’t know if that story is true or not, but it is close enough to his character that everyone in Devine, Texas, believes it.

• What did you learn on the job you wished you learned in seminary?

I wish I had learned more management skills in seminary. Church business is big business, and there is nothing particularly spiritual about poor management. Churches may not deal with the cash flow of big business, but the church’s structure is at least as complex. Often, what makes for a great pastor makes for a poor businessman. Those are two very different skill sets, but both are needed. It is the pastor’s role to lead the church in ministry and manage the many gifts God has given the church through its various members. It was never intended to be a “one-man show.”

I remember sitting in a finance committee meeting early in my career. I looked around the table at a bank president, two bank vice presidents, two CPAs and one CFO. I certainly was not the financial expert in the room. My job as pastor was to give this dedicated team of laymen the ministry goals of the church, and their job was to get us there financially.

That is the way the body of Christ works. Spiritual management demands that we set our egos aside and allow God to bless his church through the many giftings of all its members.

• Name some of your favorite books (other than the Bible) or authors, and explain why.

There are so many, I am kind of a book hound, but like most pastors I would point to C.S. Lewis and say Mere Christianity is one of my all-time favorites. After being raised in a rather narrow fundamentalist setting, Lewis opened my eyes to the possibility of living an intellectually fulfilled life that was also faithful and true to God’s word.

Calvin Miller did the same for me with his Singer Trilogy. I always assumed I hated poetry. Miller made me realize I just hate bad poetry, and there is a lot of bad poetry out there, especially in religious literature. Today, my favorite epic poem is Milton’s Paradise Lost, but I needed Miller’s much more accessible verse before I could ever fully appreciate Milton.

Finally, I like most everything by Charles Dickens. His stories are nothing special, but his mastery of the English language makes him a must read for anyone who communicates for a living.

• What is your favorite Bible verse or passage? Why?

“Those who trust the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people from this time forth, and forevermore” (Psalms 125:1-2)

I am not sure why that has become my favorite passage, but I know when it became so. I read it as part of my quiet time sitting by the lake in Glorieta, N.M., on a frosty morning many years ago. If you know that setting, you know the lake is surrounded by majestic mountain peaks. The imagery of God’s word matched the beauty of his world that morning in a way that has made this passage my life verse ever since

For eight and a half years, Jacob West has been pastor of First Baptist Church in Stamford, located about 40 miles north of Abilene and famous for the Texas Cowboy Reunion. He and his wife, Emily, live there with their three children, Ellie, 7; Ryan, 5; and Natalie, 2.

From deep in the heart of one Texan, West shares his background and thoughts on church and ministry. To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated minister to be featured in this column, or to apply to be featured yourself, click here.

Background

• Where else have you served in ministry, and what were your positions there?

My first ministry position was at First Baptist Church in Rotan. I served as student minister for five years. In May 2006, I received a call to First Baptist Church in Sweetwater to fill its student minister position.

• Where did you grow up?

I grew up in a family of three boys living in small Concho Valley towns. My family lived in Ballinger, Eden and Sonora as my father served with state and county law enforcement offices.

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

Faith for me started with my parents and grandparents teaching me about God’s love from an early age. My father and mother took us to worship and Sunday school classes regularly at First Baptist Church in Eden. My twin brother and I actively participated in Mission Friends and Royal Ambassadors.

The moment of repentance and following Jesus happened in my bedroom with no one around. This was a rare moment of solitude for a 9-year-old twin. I simply prayed, “Jesus, come into my life.” It was the first time I ever prayed something like this, and I believe God heard the prayer and honored my request. A couple weeks later, Bro. Mike Harkrider baptized me.

• Where were you educated, and what degrees did you receive?

Hardin-Simmons University has provided everything I have educationally. I arrived at HSU in August 2000. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree, I then sought the master of divinity degree from HSU’s Logsdon Seminary. Logsdon’s doctor of ministry program started soon after I graduated, and I entered the program in August 2010. I walked the stage in Behrens Auditorium as the program’s second graduate in May 2013.

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

I feel called to the ministry because God made it clear that’s what I should do. I felt strongly impressed while in high school that serving the local church is what I should do with my life. The pull of this call was inescapable as I considered other career paths. The night I committed to God’s call was a pivotal night in my life. I remember it vividly 17 years later.

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

My favorite aspect of ministry is that it is God’s redemptive instrument. The broad work within Christian ministry gives light to the narrow path to our Savior.

• What one aspect of congregational life gives you the greatest joy?

The church’s worship service gives me the greatest joy. Here’s why:

First, FBC Stamford has one service in our rural church. Everyone is together in one room. Children, teenagers and senior adults all worship together. I am completely in favor of multigenerational worship. I admit this requires patience.

Second, our worship activity connects us with past generations. Pastor F.S. Groner, a leader in the Cooperative Program’s founding, led the dedication of First Stamford’s current sanctuary in 1909. When we gather at First Stamford, children worship in the same room as their great-great grandparents.

I could give many more reasons, but the last I will give is the worship service affords the opportunity I have to hold up God’s word before his church. I consider preaching an incredible opportunity. It is hard, challenging work, but it brings great joy.

• What one aspect of congregational life would you like to change?

Some things I have wanted to change the church has already worked with me to alter.

For instance, we changed how much we ask people to commit to on a weekly basis. A person can look up and have eight requests of his or her time on a weekly basis. This should not happen. It is not sustainable. Church leadership and I worked to simplify the schedule and the amount of activity.

As a congregation, we have sought to change the ethnic balance of the congregation. Only 7 percent of churches are multi-ethnic. Most of us participate in a multi-ethnic culture except at church. We are working to change this.

• If you could launch any new ministry—individually, through your congregation or through another organization—what would it be? Why?

I try to pay attention to what God persistently brings before me. What I am seeing right now is the alarming growth of people struggling with addiction. We cannot logistically relocate a significant percentage of the town to rehab centers 40 miles away. Folks looking for help walk into the office, text me and reach me through social media. The reach for help shows me many, and probably most, people do not want to live as addicted citizens. I can offer prayer and dialogue, but the situation demands more. I recently discussed with other Stamford ministers how to approach this. My personal target date is to have a program or ministry operational by next autumn.

About Baptists

• What are the key issues facing Baptists—denominationally and/or congregationally?

A key issue facing Baptists is patience. I once listened to a recorded sermon from Dr. George Truett on patience. I never heard a person repeat “patience” in a sermon more than Pastor Truett offered in that message. The Apostle Paul listed patience among the fruit of the Spirit, and we need patience with one another as a person matures, develops his or her personal theology, and determines how best to love one another.

About Jacob

• Who were/are your mentors, and how did/do they influence you?

Mentors for me include my father and Ken Lyle Sr. Ken, a retired denominational leader and pastor, adopted me as my field supervisor in the doctor of ministry program. It was the first time I met with someone on a regular basis to discuss life in ministry. We met for two years, and I pray often that God would allow Ken’s love for people to appear in my ministry.

My dad, Joe David West, provided stable, consistent leadership for our family. He worked in a high-stress job as a state trooper but kept a calm environment for our home. I saw him volunteer in our towns and lead organizations with fairness. He said some things that definitely stuck with me. For instance, a situation arose where I was able to give a sermon at church at a young age. It went well, and the sermon was brief, which everyone loved. A few weeks later, some of my preteen minor acts of rebellion did not correlate with statements I had made in the sermon about the Christian life. Daddy pulled me aside and in a kind but stern manner said something that set me up well for a life in ministry. He said something like, “If you want to be a leader at church, you need to think about your choices.” As a 12-year-old, I hadn’t processed something that seems so obvious. He didn’t mean I would have to be perfect, but that I would have to take care of business. He wasn’t a pastor, but the state trooper side of him knew that if you aren’t careful, even pastors can get in trouble.

• If you could get one “do over” in ministry, what would it be, and why?

Pastors are communicators at multiple levels. I try to prepare a sermon for a mass of people, while also looking for opportunities to visit with people one person at a time. I know there are sermons with mistakes or misunderstandings, but I can’t think of a sermon that caused undue grief. On the other hand, some of the individual conversations definitely brought on some temporary frustration or pain. I would love to have the opportunity to have a handful of conversations from the last two decades over again. Maturity, further training and experience have taught me so much about how to handle almost everything better.

• What has being a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan taught you about ministry?

The easy answer is perseverance, but lessons learned or observations made go further. One of the most incredible experiences in my 35 years was witnessing Harry Caray lead the Wrigley Field faithful in “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” the summer before my freshman year of high school. He leaned over the railing of the broadcast booth and chanted, “A one, a two, a three … Take me out to the ballgame.” I could almost shed a tear thinking about that moment. Perhaps worship leaders and pastors can learn from his ability to get people to participate in a corporate exercise with such joy.

Also, after so long—108 years—the Cubs finally won the World Series this past November. Journalism exploded over the huge story. One journalist asked the players what made the difference in Game 7 turning to the Cubs’ favor after the Indians tied the score late in the game. Many said it was a teammate’s speech in the guest clubhouse voiced during a rain delay. The speech inspired them to take the lead and win the World Series. Let those of us in the communication business never underestimate the power of words.

To read other “Deep in the Hearts of Texans” columns, click here.

Wesley Shotwell has been pastor of Ash Creek Baptist Church in Azle 19 years. From deep in the heart of one Texan, he shares his background and thoughts on church and ministry. To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated minister to be featured in this column, or to apply to be featured yourself, click here.

Background

• Where else have you served in ministry, and what were your positions there?

In college, I served as the minister of youth and music at Oglesby Baptist Church in Oglesby and then as the minister to college students at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Waco.

My first full-time pastorate was Excell Baptist Church in Clarksville, Tenn., from 1987 to 1991. Then I was pastor of Hickory Hollow Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn., from 1991 to 1997.

In January 1998, I began as pastor of Ash Creek Baptist Church.

• Where did you grow up?

Dallas until age 14, then Franklin, Tenn., during high school.

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

My parents were very faithful believers and influenced my life and my decision to follow Christ. Having grown up in church, the religious education I received, as well as the influence of many adults, made me aware of the work of the Holy Spirit convicting me of sin and convincing me of the need of a Savior. At the age of 11, I made that decision public on Easter Sunday 1973 and was baptized by my father the next Sunday.

• Where were you educated, and what degrees did you receive?

Bachelor of arts in speech communication, Baylor University, 1984

Master of divinity, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1987

Doctor of ministry, Vanderbilt University Divinity School, 1990

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

Ministry gives me the opportunity to devote full time to activity with eternal significance. Every Christian should be engaging in spiritual activity for the well-being of others, but in ministry, we can devote more of ourselves in serving God and serving others. As a teenager, I knew I had certain gifts that would be useful in ministry and felt the Holy Spirit urging me to use those gifts in ministry.

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

Funerals. That may sound strange and even morbid, but the crux of the gospel is the hope we have in the fact Christ has defeated death. It is at the funeral when you have the opportunity to remind people of why we have faith. People of faith can grieve, but we do not grieve like people with no hope. Funerals are the purest moment of ministry for me; a time when the message we convey can truly show God’s grace. Also, funerals give us an opportunity to leave a positive impression of the gospel on people who do not yet believe and who may never be in church except for this moment. Funerals can show unbelievers there really is hope in Christ.

• How has your ministry or your perspective on ministry changed?

My perspective on success has changed. Like most ministers, I suppose, we search for some sort of objective measurement by which to define ministerial success. In business, success can be measured by units sold, profits gained or rising stock prices.

Ministry must be measured by a different standard, although as a young minister I fell into the trap of objectively measuring how successful I was by answering objective questions: How many people did I baptize? How many people came to Sunday school or worship? How much money did we collect? Do they like me? Did they like my sermon today?

While those questions are not irrelevant, the older I get, I realize success in ministry is deeper. It is not about whether they like my sermon or me. It is about people forming a community of faith that is faithful to the gospel.

When a 9-year-old boy came to me with excitement in his eyes to tell me he had told his friend about Jesus, I counted that a success. When a ministry of our church works to make someone’s home livable, or a Sunday school class provides food for the hungry people in our community, or the RAs and GAs get excited about a missions project, it is a success. When the church is able to deal with conflict in a mature, Christ-like manner and compromise with each other and still love one another in unity if not in uniformity, that is a success.

Those kinds of things are not the things we report on the Annual Church Profile, but I think they are more important. Even though we cannot put an objective number on those things, they are the things that remind me of what a healthy community of faith is about.

• What qualities do you look for in a congregation?

1. Do they love one another? This is the most important one.

2. Can they deal with conflict in ways that are healthy and lead to solutions to problems that are better because of healthy conflict resolution? Do the people who disagree with a decision of the church still live in unity with the rest of the church?

3. Is there mature lay leadership who can make wise decisions?

4. Is there a heart for missions, evangelism, prayer, worship, ministry to the poor and oppressed, and a thirst for justice in the world?

5. Does the church reflect the demographics of the community in which it is located?

• Name the three most significant challenges and/or influences facing your congregation.

1. Competition on Sunday for the attention of people. Children’s sporting events and other extra-curricular activities take families away from church attendance too often. Also, those who are more affluent are tempted to invest time and money in recreational activities that reduce their investment in church.

2. The challenge of reaching the millennial generation. It is very difficult to reach people in their 20s and early 30s. They are spiritual, and many of them grew up in church, but now they have no interest in church or organized religion.

3. Giving to the church by the next generation. Although they do not have the resources of older adults yet, many younger adults have not developed the spiritual discipline of tithing. In the decade to come, this could be a real challenge.

About Wesley

• Who were/are your mentors, and how did/do they influence you?

My Dad, Larry Shotwell. He was by far the most significant influence in ministry. I watched his leadership style and skills in ministry and learned from him how to lead people. He taught me about Sunday school and administration.

My Uncle, Bob Edd Shotwell. I listened to Bob Edd and my Dad talk and debate about church work when we were together as a family for holidays and other family get-togethers. He was a mentor to many, many people in Texas, and I learned much from him.

Larry Nixon. Larry was my pastor when I was in college. He trained a group of ministerial students in the church by meeting with us once a week to talk about ministry, preaching, pastoral care and other things. He allowed us to preach from time to time to give us experience.

• What did you learn on the job you wish you learned in seminary?

1. Leadership skills.

2. Church administration. How do you lead a church to put together a budget? What is the role of deacons, committees, staff, etc.

3. Conflict resolution.

• Who is your favorite Bible character (other than Jesus)? Why?

Jeremiah. I identify with him often. Ministry is frustrating sometimes, and you wonder why you are doing it when things are not going as well as you think they should. Jeremiah faced incredible frustration and was very honest with God about how he felt. But he continued to be faithful, even though from his standpoint, he was a failure. Now we think of him as one of the greatest of the prophets.

To read other “Deep in the Hearts of Texans” columns, click here.

Patrick Adair joined the staff at Central Baptist Church in Marshall three years ago and has been the congregation’s pastor for “two years and some change.” From deep in the heart of one Texan, he shares his background and thoughts on church and ministry. To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated minister to be featured in this column, or to apply to be featured yourself, click here.

Background

• Where else have you served in ministry, and what were your positions there?

Youth minister at First Baptist Church in Waco from 2005 to 2011

Pastor at First Baptist Church in Matador from 2011 to 2014

• Where did you grow up?

I was born in Lufkin but consider Palestine my hometown.

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

I was raised in Denman Avenue Baptist Church in Lufkin, and I responded one Sunday at the age of 7 to the preaching of Dr. Charles Roberts. He encouraged me to speak with my dad, and later that night, my father and I prayed, and I became a follower of Christ.

• Where were you educated, and what degrees did you receive?

I received a bachelor of arts degree in religion from East Texas Baptist University and a master of divinity degree from Truett Seminary. I currently am working on a doctor of ministry degree from Truett.

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

I was called to ministry at Student Week at Glorieta, N.M., the summer after my freshman year of college. I remember distinctly I was hesitant, because I felt the conviction if I committed to a life of ministry, it would be something I was committing to for life. In that moment, the Spirit reminded me this is also true of committing to follow Christ as Lord, and I made that commitment.    

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

When seeds that were planted and watered continue to bear fruit. Third John 4 is absolutely true: “I have no greater joy than to hear of my children walking in truth.” To see youth that I taught continue to walk in faith, and to teach others the faith is a tremendous blessing.

In ministry, you often have to wait to see if you are making a difference, and sometimes I long for the kind of work you can evaluate at the end of a day and say, “There, it’s done!” But seeing the results of time and love you have invested pay off—even in youth I was convinced were not listening!—is worth the effort.

• What one aspect of congregational life gives you the greatest joy?

Each part of being a minister is a privilege, but the most joyful are baptizing new believers, dedicating babies and children, and officiating weddings. It is a tremendous privilege to be able to speak words of blessing over new life, whether new life in Christ, the promise to raise a child in the faith, or the beginning of a new family.

In a similar way, each time I can open the Bible and tell God’s story is an opportunity for the Spirit to bring new life, a new dimension of Christ-likeness, into people’s lives.  

• What one aspect of congregational life would you like to change?

I would like to see more collaboration and less isolation. We should be confident enough in the Spirit who desires us to be unified to see our fellow believers and fellow churches as partners in ministry and not as competitors. This especially is important across racial boundaries.

• How has your ministry or your perspective on ministry changed?

I think this quote from Henri Nouwen’s In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership sums it up well: “Not too many of us have a vast repertoire of skills to be proud of, but most of us still feel that, if we have anything at all to show, it is something we have to do solo. You could say that many of us feel like failed tightrope walkers who discovered that we did not have the power to draw thousands of people, that we could not make many conversions, that we did not have the talents to create beautiful liturgies, that we were not as popular with the youth, the young adults, or the elderly as we had hoped, and that we were not able to respond to the needs of our people as we had expected. But most of us still feel that, ideally, we should have been able to do it all and do it successfully.”

I still am in the process of laying down expectations for ministry that spring from a worldly definition of “success” and/or my own pride, and learning instead to measure success by being faithful to do what God has called me to do in the place he has called me, with the people he has blessed me to minister to and with.  

• How do you expect congregational life to change in the next 10 to 20 years?

My hope is we learn to have a broader vision of congregational health. David Bolin, the minister of music at First Baptist Church in Waco, made a statement once that I never will forget: “Churches are like children. If your child is not growing (or is shrinking!) you know your child is not healthy. But no parent has the goal that their child should be the biggest child in town, or the biggest child they can possibly be. Growing in a healthy way means growing in all ways.”

Too many churches are fixated on size as the only marker of health. We should be focused on growing in maturity, in grace and in love as well as numerically. I hope we can learn that in our congregational life—what I hope and what I expect varies on whether I see evidence such a thing is happening!

• If you could launch any new ministry—individually, through your congregation or through another organization—what would it be? Why?

In Marshall, the population has been static for nearly 50 years. The demographics have shifted, however. The Anglo population has declined through moving out of the city limits. The African-American population has stayed relatively stable. The Hispanic population has doubled. There is very little outreach among Baptists to our Hispanic community here relative to the size of the population.

This has been a burden on the heart of Randy Babbin, our Soda Lake Baptist Association director of missions, for a while. I want to see at least one vibrant Hispanic Baptist congregation in Marshall, and all the Baptist congregations of Marshall, whatever their racial makeup, to support it.  

• What do you wish more laypeople knew about ministry or, specifically, your ministry?

It is possible there may have been pastors who were over-encouraged. But if so, I have not met any. The Apostle Paul, at the conclusion of his list of trials and troubles in 2 Corinthians 11, which included whippings, beatings and shipwrecks, adds in verse 28: “Apart from such external things, there is daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.” That is no joke.

And even if there have been pastors who were over-encouraged, I am certain there has never been a pastor’s spouse or family who were over-encouraged. Their burden, I believe, is greater than the pastor’s.

Pray for and encourage your pastor’s family, and you will bless your pastor.

About Baptists

• What are the key issues facing Baptists—denominationally and/or congregationally?

Oh boy, here we go.

In general, we as Baptists have become committed to drawing “our circle” ever smaller. We dis-fellowship and splinter with our fellow believers, not because we abandon fundamentals of the faith, but because we interpret Scripture on ancillary issues differently.

As one example, I have been blessed to know many excellent women who were called and gifted to ministry, trained and taught in Texas Baptist institutions. But with very, very few exceptions, they have to go outside of Texas, or outside of Baptist life entirely, to use their gifts in the churches.

We are fighting a battle with one hand tied behind our backs. Orthodoxy is, in general, big enough to accommodate churches with different stances on this and other issues. What is required is a spirit of generosity among churches and leaders to validate, fellowship with and serve alongside those who practice church differently, while faithfully following the same Lord.  

• What would you change about the Baptist denomination—state, nation or local?

My wish for Baptists applies to evangelicals in general. We have bought into a false dichotomy that has made it possible for us to be easily politically manipulated, rather than insisting our political standards approach the standards of the kingdom of God.

We have one political party that has planted its flag and said: “We have a handle on righteousness. We believe in morals and strong faith.” We have another that has planted its flag and said: “We have a handle on justice. We believe in compassion for the poor, the immigrant and the outcast.”

The kingdom of God does not separate righteousness and justice. It simply cannot imagine one without the other. It cannot imagine a nation insists on personal morality without also being willing to lay down one’s own “rights” for the sake of the poorest among us. It cannot imagine a nation in which social justice exists, but there is little insistence on a personal commitment to living a life of faithful purity. You cannot find a biblical prophet willing to make that trade, in either direction.

The evangelical church has flocked mostly to the party that claims the flag of righteousness, but which has, lately, abandoned even the pretense of a commitment to personal righteousness or strong Christian faith. What is left, then, except blind party loyalty?

The church of God is made of sterner stuff than to be led around by the nose by vain and vulgar political opportunists. We have good news to share and to live out. The word of God is two-edged sword, and it cuts to the left, and it most assuredly cuts to the right.

I would have us evaluate public policy and public figures by the standards of justice and righteousness, and stop being massive hypocrites who pretend we do either. We should celebrate people with the willingness to speak prophetically from a place of moral courage.

Well, you asked!

About Patrick

• Who were/are your mentors, and how did/do they influence you?

My father and mother, Tim and Delores Adair, led me to Christ and showed me what faithful Christianity looks like in church, in the workplace and in the home. Doug Washburn was my youth minister for most of my adolescence and demonstrated a commitment to authentic faith and sharing the gospel. Dr. Bob Utley taught me the skill and joy of biblical interpretation.

I have been greatly shaped by the wonderful faculty of Truett Seminary, including Drs. Todd Still, Roger Olson, Angela Reed, Hulitt Gloer, Terry York, Ron Cook, Levi Price and Lai Ling Ngan, and others who have gone on to glory—Drs. Ruth Ann Foster, Bill Treadwell, A.J. Conyers and Frank Pollard. All of these—and others I have inadvertently left out—grew and continue grow in me a love of learning, teaching and leading for the sake of the body of Christ.

Dr. Wallace Watkins has been a wonderful friend and mentor, and the kind of pastor I aspire to be. There have been many others who have encouraged and blessed me generously in so many ways! I have been richly blessed with colleagues who are only a little older than I am, but I look up to as models of courageous and faithful ministry—Drs. Ryan Berryhill at First Baptist Church in Marshall, Taylor Sandlin at Southland Baptist Church in San Angelo, Matt Snowden at First Baptist Church in Waco, and Jennifer Garcia Bashaw at East Texas Baptist University. I want to be like them when I grow up.  

• What did you learn on the job you wish you learned in seminary?

You can do a lot of pastoral things—preach, teach, counsel, etc.—but each person in the congregation must choose whether they will see you as their pastor. For some, that will happen automatically when you stand in the pulpit. For others, it will be when you stand in their hospital room, and for others, it will be when the Spirit works on them do so.

My part in that dynamic is to keep showing up to do the work of pastor—even in my flawed and haphazard way—and be patient.

The other thing was given to me by Bill Manney, who was the Methodist minister in Matador. He told me: “If you preach less than 20 minutes, people will think you don’t know what you’re talking about. But if you preach more than 45 minutes, people will know you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

• What is the impact of ministry on your wife and children?

I prefer for people to meet my wife, Jeni, first, before they meet me. This always helps people have a much higher opinion of me, as they think, “Well he can’t be all bad if she married him.” Fortunately, my daughters, Sheridan and Meagan, take after her. I have been blessed by being a part of churches that have understood and honored that my first commitment is to be a husband and father and then a pastor. That said, I repeat that there never has been a pastor’s spouse or family who was over-encouraged.

• Name some of your favorite books (other than the Bible) or authors, and explain why.

There are several books that I keep returning to in my preaching and teaching in order to communicate what the gospel means and how we are supposed to live it out: Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together and C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity. N.T. Wright’s Christian Origins and the Question of God series, beginning with The New Testament and the People of God and through to the latest, Paul and the Faithfulness of God, is altogether a robust defense of the historicity of the New Testament, a powerful portrayal of the meaning of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and an incredible example of how to present an intellectually sound Christian worldview to the watching world. A shorter work that accomplishes the same things in a very different way is G.K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy, a wonderful book with a terrible title. It should be called The Romance of Orthodoxy, and it is a one-of-a-kind kaleidoscope of an apologetic, philosophical, worshipful defense of the faith encased in an armor of razor-sharp wit.  

• What is your favorite Bible verse or passage? Why?

Romans 8 begins with “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ” and ends with the fact that absolutely nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” In between, we discover the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead gives us life, lets us cry out “Abba, Father!” that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy of comparison with our future glory as part of new creation, and that the Spirit and the Son intercede for us. That is a whole lot of good news.

• Who is your favorite Bible character (other than Jesus)? Why?

I am going to cheat on this question and give a character from Christian history. Saint Patrick was kidnapped from Britain at 16 by Irish pirates, escaped slavery there, became a Christian and a priest, and was then called by Christ to return to the people who had once owned him and preach the gospel to them. He went to an island of bloodthirsty barbarians who literally drank wine out of the skulls of their enemies, and within a generation, the slave trade there was ended and Ireland’s main export to Europe was monks. That guy was something else.

• Name something about you that would surprise your church.

If I were not a pastor, I think I really would enjoy being a zookeeper. You can make up your own joke about the similarities and differences here.

To read other “Deep in the Hearts of Texans” columns, click here.

Bobby Dagnel will celebrate his 15th anniversary as pastor of First Baptist Church in Lubbock this summer. From deep in the heart of one Texan, he shares his background and thoughts on church and ministry. To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated minister to be featured in this column, or to apply to be featured yourself, click here.

Background

• Where else have you served in ministry, and what were your positions there?

I came to Lubbock from First Baptist Church in Nederland, where I pastored seven years. This was preceded by First Baptist Church in Hemphill, where I served in my first pastorate five years. Prior to the pastorate, I served three years as the business administrator for First Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, Ala. This following my first staff position as associate recreation minister at Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler.

• Where did you grow up?

Tyler

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

Having been suspended from the University of Oklahoma, I was working as a welder’s helper at the pipe shop of an engineering firm in Tyler. The welder for whom I worked asked if I was a Christian. Overcome with guilt and shame, I lied and told him I was. He seemed so genuinely relieved by my answer, I determined that before the next sunrise, I was going to have in my life what this man had in his.

Not growing up in church, I had a friend from high school, Kent Powell, whose father I knew to be a pastor. For two hours that night, I drove in front of the home of Paul and Cathy Powell, circling the block, waiting for them to arrive home. As soon as the front porch light came on, I stopped, approached the front door and knocked.

When Paul answered, I explained my situation, the workplace conversation a few hours prior, my guilt, shame, the conviction that somehow my life was at a crossroad, and that it had to be settled that night. We went into his study, where he explained what it is to be a Christian and how I could awaken each day with a sense of mission and purpose. A half hour later, I walked out his home a devoted follower of Jesus Christ.

• Where were you educated, and what degrees did you receive?

University of Texas at Tyler, bachelor of business administration; Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, master of divinity.

Ministry/church  

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

Mine is, and has always been, an overwhelming burden for unchurched students and adults whose lives have not been framed, structured or informed by a church culture.

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

Leading the church, by challenge and example, to engage. The opportunity to be providentially and strategically used by God, as the presence of Christ, for the purpose of penetrating this world with the offensive movement and force that is the church.

• What one aspect of congregational life gives you the greatest joy?

Our church is one of such rich ethnic, intergenerational and socio-economic diversity, there is nothing more inspiring and motivating than when we gather together in corporate worship.

• How has your ministry or your perspective on ministry changed?

Where I began in ministry 35 years ago, it was a church culture that gave the impression the mission we are called to carry out could be performed inside the walls of  a physical structure referred to as the church. One of the refreshing benefits of a post-church culture is that it has demanded of us a deliberate engagement of our communities, drawing us out of the safety of our sanctuaries and into the messiness and brokenness of the human condition.

• How do you expect congregational life to change in the next 10 to 20 years?

Whether it’s increasing hostility toward those Christians who hold to biblical authority or those like Demas, who depart because they love this present world more, I believe there will be a continuing winnowing process and/or a falling away in the visible church. As a result, however, I believe the church will be more efficient, effective and impactful.

• If you could launch any new ministry—individually, through your congregation or through another organization—what would it be? Why?

Ministry partnerships with businesses having an established commitment to our city and region, that desire to see marriages and families grow stronger.

• What qualities do you look for in a congregation?

I’m fortunate that the churches I have had the privilege of serving all have had a desire to be organized and challenged strategically for the purpose of being a missional force and presence in their community and beyond.

• Name the three most significant challenges and/or influences facing your congregation.

Like any church in this post-church culture, if we are to be most effective in accomplishing the mission given us, we must continue to be proactive in anticipating the forthcoming challenges of the next 25 years. If we wait to react, it’s too late. The new definition of “regular church attendance”—once every four to six weeks—has very real implications in programming and budgeting. The ever-growing complexity of issues facing individuals and families, that are beyond the training and scope of seminary-trained clergy, require an awareness of resources and ministry specialists with whom we can partner. The ongoing identification, training, blessing, empowering and unleashing of leaders within the congregation must remain a matter of paramount importance.

• What do you wish more laypeople knew about ministry or, specifically, your ministry?

While pastors always have been “on” and never “off” the clock, the advent of cell phones, texting and emails these past 20 years has taken it to another level. Thus, 24-hour accessibility, congregational oversight, strategic planning, sermon preparation, community engagement and participation, and one’s own spiritual formation mean there are a great many irons in the fire. It’s a tension I long ago embraced and have never begrudged it. Nor do I begrudge the “fishbowl” existence. Should not a pastor’s desire be that our people would practice the things they have learned, received, heard and seen in us? (Philippians 4:8)

About Baptists

• What are the key issues facing Baptists—denominationally and/or congregationally?

Denominationally, the challenge of not just surviving but finding viability in a post-denominational culture. Congregationally, continuing to be a voice and advocate for the time-honored, historic, biblical principles for which Baptists have stood. I preach and teach these not because I’m a Baptist, nor do I do it under the banner of Baptists, but because I believe they are rooted in Scripture.

• What would you change about the Baptist denomination—state, nation or local?

At every level, it probably needs to be re-invented. I’m the first to admit I don’t know how that needs to be done, because my only reference point is the “old tapes” in my mind of how denominational work has been done. Those in their 30s may have fresh ideas for how this might be done.

About Bobby

• Who were/are your mentors, and how did/do they influence you?

Paul Powell. He not only led me to the Lord, but he shaped my philosophy of ministry and service to the local church. He also gave me my first staff position as a minister. His influence was so pervasive in my life, I don’t recall ever disagreeing with him on any matter until I was nearly 50 years old. There probably never has been a day in my adult life that I have not thought of him and his influence in my life.

• What did you learn on the job you wish you learned in seminary?

Seminary provided me a wonderfully enriching academic experience. It dug the well from which I continue to draw, but everything I learned about ministry in the local church—pastoral care, building an efficient organizational structure, dealing with various personality types, leading a staff, casting a vision—I learned from Paul Powell or flying by the seat of my pants.

• What is the impact of ministry on your wife and children?

I have been married to Patti 33 years, and we have two adult children. We have served three wonderful churches as pastor and family. These churches have modeled the love of Christ and, thus, our children grew up loving the Lord and his people.

• Name some of your favorite books (other than the Bible) or authors, and explain why.

When I went to my first pastorate in 1989, I read Resident Aliens by Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon. It’s the book that most shaped my approach to pastoring, preaching and leading a church to embrace its unique and distinctive role. The writings of Eugene Peterson and C.S. Lewis represent two voices that have shaped much of my thought. My favorite novelist is Michael D. O’Brien, a Catholic “author, artist and essayist.”

• What is your favorite Bible verse or passage? Why?

“Cast your burden upon the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never allow the righteous to be shaken” (Psalm 55:22). I’m a worrier by nature who wants to fix things, but early on in faith and ministry, there is the realization that some things can’t be fixed, that waiting upon the Lord will bring forth what we cannot not yet see or understand.

• Who is your favorite Bible character (other than Jesus)? Why?

Peter always has had a soft spot in my heart. Like us, he just seems to keep blundering his way forward.

• Name something about you that would surprise your church.

Most are shocked to learn that through the entirety of my educational experience I had a phobic-like fear of public speaking—to the point of taking zeros on all oral book reports, even though I had done the written work.

• If you could get one “do over” in ministry, what would it be, and why?

The number of years wasted early on worrying about whether or not I was liked or if people were happy. One of the first things Paul Powell told me when I surrendered to the ministry was that the most beneficial lesson I could learn for myself, and my church, was that not everybody is going to like you. He said he watched men waste their entire ministries trying to win over the 5 percent to 10 percent who didn’t like them, to the neglect of the 90 percent who wanted to be led in the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

We are called to lead an army, not placate a crowd.

To read other “Deep in the Hearts of Texans” columns, click here.

Chris McLain has been pastor of First Baptist Church in Crowell two years and three months. From deep in the heart of one Texan, he shares his background and thoughts on church and ministry. To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated minister to be featured in this column, or to apply to be featured yourself, click here.

Background

• Where else have you served in ministry, and what were your positions there?

Youth ministry intern, Calvary Baptist Church of Vernon, 2007

Youth director, South Park Baptist Church of Lubbock, 2008-10

Youth pastor, associate pastor of youth and interim pastor, Hilltop Christian Fellowship of Crawford, 2010-14

• Where did you grow up?

Vernon, Texas

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

After an ordinary Sunday morning service at Calvary Baptist Church of Vernon. I was 8 years old, and I remember my mother encouraging my little brother and me to pay special attention to the service. That morning, Bro. Ron Fox preached about Noah, but that’s all I remember.

After the service, I told my mother I was ready to make the decision people make when they go to the front during the invitation. She spoke to Bro. Ron and set up a meeting for us during the discipleship hour that evening. I remember sitting in a big studded-leather chair in his office and feeling a little intimidated as he talked to me about the decision I was making. I don’t remember any of what he or I said in that conversation, but that evening, I walked the aisle during the invitation to make my decision public.

When Bro. Ron asked me why I came forward, I took the microphone and shared the gospel truth I now knew and believed. I only remember taking the mic, but my father said that was the proudest moment of his life, and I was baptized the next Sunday.

• Where were you educated, and what degrees did you receive?

Vernon College, associate of science degree, December 2007

Texas Tech University, bachelor of science degree in human development and family studies, December 2009

Baylor University’s Truett Seminary, master of divinity degree in theology, May 2014

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

My call came during the summer between my eighth grade and freshman year of high school. I’d taken a spring break mission trip to Carlsbad, N.M., with my youth group and then attended Super Summer that summer. I had a spiritual awakening on the mission trip, and Super Summer was a formative experience.

My faith had become very real and very immediate to my everyday experience on that trip, and as I unpacked the rapid spiritual growth I was experiencing with my parents, I came to the conclusion that I was called to church ministry. I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but I pursued my own spiritual formation and service with vigor through my home church and began serving in youth ministry while I was in college.

It wasn’t until the last year and a half of my time at Truett Seminary that I gained clarity about pursuing the pastorate as the primary call of my career. It happened on a “BGCT Day,” when Baptist General Convention of Texas staff visit Truett and host chapel service. After the service and into the afternoon, I networked with the BGCT representatives, and everyone I spoke to asked some variation of “So you’re a pastor, right?” When Dr. Andy Arterbury stopped me in the stairwell to ask the same question while I was on my way out of the building that day, I suddenly had the sense of being beaten down by the call.

So, I walked home and immediately sat down and prayed a prayer of surrender—it was one of those special moments of spiritual clarity that don’t come around often.

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

My favorite aspect of ministry is the opportunity I have as a pastor to give informal spiritual direction to people.

I’m the “preacher” at “the Baptist church” to most people in town, but I strive to be a pastor to the whole community. I try to maintain a relatively high profile and participate in a wide range of community events in order to know my town and build relationships with members and non-members of my church.

In the process of doing that week-in and week-out, I occasionally have opportunities to talk to people about their spiritual growth and how their faith interacts with daily life. Some days, that involves wrestling with the conflicts that inevitably arise between Christian identity and national identity or politics. Some days, it involves puzzling through the experience of suffering and loss. These conversations occur outside the bank on the courthouse square, via text message and even occasionally in my office at church.

I love seeing folks work out their salvation, even with fear and trembling. I ask questions and offer insights, and sometimes I see lightbulbs flicker on above heads. I learn and grow as much from these conversations as my friends do.

I’m not the expert. At my best, I’m “a beggar telling other beggars where to find bread,” and there’s nothing better than breaking bread together in faith.

• What one aspect of congregational life would you like to change?

There is a long tradition of care and concern for young people in my church and in our community as a whole, and there’s a strong sense in Crowell that the life of our town and church is bound up in the well-being of our young people. That means in a town where the potholes are so bad we’d be better off with dirt roads, the school is a gleaming jewel, and in a church where the average age is nearly eligible for Social Security benefits, there’s a booming Wednesday night youth ministry. Those are good things, but they also push us toward age-divided, programmatic approaches to ministry.

If I had a magic wand, I’d wipe out the barriers that keep us separated and make us an intergenerational congregation where Sunday morning wasn’t predominantly geared toward adults and Wednesday night wasn’t predominantly geared toward the students. I’d make it so that our fantastic, part-time youth pastor could attend our church on Sundays and build relationships with senior adults as well as senior high school students, and I’d open the eyes of the students to see how much they could learn from and enjoy the company of their grandparents’ generation.

Celebrating our students’ athletic and academic achievements is wonderful, but we are missing out on so much by not getting to know our kids better. And in the same way, it’s wonderful that our church can serve as a community center for our students, but when they only have superficial relationships with the pillars of faith in our church, they are missing out on the vital resources they’ll need to tackle challenges of faith and life when they strike out on their own.

• How has your ministry or your perspective on ministry changed?

When I first became serious about my faith in high school, my focus was on the capital “T” truth. I loved apologetics and participated in evangelism with a crusader’s zeal. My passion for truth and concern for a lost and dying world haven’t changed, but the way I approach ministry and mission has.

I’ve come to realize that for myself and everyone I know, it wasn’t a persuasive argument for the truth of the gospel that convinced us to place our faith in Christ and become invested in kingdom life through the church. It was a personal relationship with one or more people over an extended period of time that softened our sinners’ hearts. As we witnessed the lives of people of faith over the long term, and as they shared truth with us, the Holy Spirit began a saving work that neither we nor our evangelizing friends could have imagined at the outset.

So, it became clear to me neither evangelism nor salvation are events that happen all at once, and neither operates solely on the spiritual and intellectual level. I became convinced God works through human relationships and tangible acts of love and justice to inject truth into the human heart.

As I read Scripture, that’s how I see God’s truth mediated to humanity at every turn. Moses really got to know God on Mount Sinai when he received the Law, and that Law was designed to organize the whole life of God’s people, not just save their souls. When Paul wrote his epistles, for the most part, he was writing to people he knew about the particular concerns of their individual communities, and his apostolic effectiveness was tied directly to his personal investment with the people.

Of course, Jesus is the primary example of this. His disciples followed him across the countryside spending time with him in daily life, not simply attending lectures about the kingdom of God. Jesus’ miracles addressed the specific needs of particular people, often involving a direct touch and expression of care.

But somewhere along the way, maybe during the Enlightenment period in Europe, we dissociated the soul from the body, denying God made us with both and addressing the needs of the one often impacts the status of the other. If Jesus, in the time of his temptation, subsisted not on earthly bread, but “on every word that comes from the mouth of God,” then why can’t a soccer ball and a new pair of shoes begin the work of leading an orphan’s heart to God?

• Name the three most significant challenges and/or influences facing your congregation.

First, we are a rural congregation in an urbanizing world. In our culture of extraction—a concept I’m borrowing from the Walter Brueggemann’s George Knight Lectures at Logsdon Seminary in November 2016, combined with some of Wendell Berry’s thinking—most of the resources are flowing out of our community toward the cities. We produce beef and wheat that is consumed predominantly in urban contexts. We raise and educate children who obtain employment in cities and have little desire and even fewer job options to return and give back to the community and church that brought them up.

In a recent conversation with my Methodist counterpart, we discussed how when Texas booms, Crowell doesn’t, and when Texas busts, we hurt more. This affects everything about our congregation. We bury more members than we marry, and we cut the budget every year in anticipation of stagnant wheat prices. The peak in county population came in the 1930s and has dropped steadily since then. Like so many small communities, there is a general sense of being unappreciated for the contributions we make to the world and an undercurrent of fear for the future.

Second, and directly associated with the first, our church is aging steadily. Although we host robust programs for young people, few families are meaningfully connected with our congregation. Much of this has to do with a generational disconnect.

For most of our congregation’s history, the bedrock of our congregation was built on a core set of families who raised their children in the church, and those children in turn raised their children here. As new families moved to town, some joined and added their strength to our strength.

But today, that old way of sustaining the membership of the congregation has faltered. The children grow up and move away, and the new families who move to town are very unlike the core congregation. They are mostly poorer and ethnically unlike the majority, and those boundaries are difficult to cross, even when there is a desire to bridge the differences. This means we are not replacing the members who die or move away at a sustainable rate. And even when the will is mustered to take on bold projects to serve and evangelize, there are few able-bodied members to do the heavy lifting. This results in an inward-focus, so that we are tempted to pine after days gone by and focus our energies on maintaining the status quo.

Third, poverty is an ongoing challenge to the congregation, both for those members of limited means or who are on fixed incomes, and also in our outreach. The median household income in our community is less than half the state average, and that financial stress raises a lot of barriers to our ministry.

Even so, I regularly witness extraordinary acts of generosity as our folks pull together to care for one another.

About Baptists

• What are the key issues facing Baptists—denominationally and/or congregationally?

The defining issues of the present time in Baptist life, and American Christianity in general, are questions revolving around the LGBT community.

On various occasions, friends have suggested these will be the biggest questions we wrestle over in our ministry careers. I’ve witnessed and participated in countless conversations, and I’ve spoken frankly with my friends and congregation. I’ve seen the pain and care on both sides. I’ve struggled, and I’ve watched others struggle, with discerning how to balance truth, love and Christian kindness. I’ve witnessed both sides lash out, voice contempt and condemn. There has been more disunity than unity, and the power games of a bygone age of Baptist wars that were before my time are once again rearing their ugly heads.

All of this pains me deeply. I have friends on all sides, and I sympathize with the spectrum of viewpoints expressed. I’ve publicly stated where I stand on some of these issues, but I abhor that human beings created in the image of God, many of whom are faithful Christian brothers and sisters, and some of whom are friends and fellow ministers, have been reduced to theological and hypothetical “issues” for us to discuss and fight over. There is wickedness in that sort of dehumanized rhetoric.

But even more than all that, the church has utterly failed in its responsibility to offer a compelling Christian vision of human life in this broader cultural debate. When it comes to LGBT issues, we’ve allowed the culture to set the terms of the conversation. Sex and gender identity have been artificially elevated as matters of first importance in our lives and world. All “sides” of this conversation have treated sex and gender issues as if they are nearly as central to Christian faith as the divinity of Christ.

Traditionalists rage against these sins with a spiritual fervor that far outstrips their biblical significance, while the revisionists have treated their free expression as a litmus test of Christian love. Both have allowed culture to set the terms of the conversation when, regardless of where we may stand on these matters, the church should be undermining the idolatry of sex and gender identity in our culture.

If we were to set those concerns back in their proper place, then much of the strife and division we are seeing among Baptists and in the church as a whole would be, perhaps not resolved, but certainly diminished.

About Chris

• What did you learn on the job you wish you learned in seminary?

While I was a student at Texas Tech and serving both as a part-time youth director and volunteering extensively with the Tech Baptist Student Ministry, I had an ongoing inside joke with Jeff Kennon, the Tech BSM director, about “the things they don’t teach you in seminary”—like driving around campus looking for dumpsters to offload 2,000 meals worth of garbage after 99 Cent Steak Night, or navigating South Padre Island in a church van at Beach Reach during spring break when the clock strikes midnight on St. Patrick’s Day.

I’ve continued to add lessons to that list, including proper technique for shoveling snow around handicap spaces in the church parking lot on the morning of a big funeral while wearing a suit and tie, and tidbits like how to respond properly to the witty banter and jokes made in poor taste around the table at the local cowboy café at breakfast time.

Seminary was one of the most formative and meaningful seasons in my life. I look back on those years with great fondness. But as helpful as it was, I’m thankful both before and during my seminary studies I already was engaged in congregational ministry. Even when you’re making it up as you go along, the experience of leading and serving a congregation and getting your hands dirty, physically as well as spiritually, provides insight and ministerial framework that simply can’t be taught.

As the aforementioned lessons indicate, ministry teaches you not to take yourself so seriously, and it teaches you to love real people where they are.

• Name some of your favorite books (other than the Bible) or authors, and explain why.

Wendell Berry has had an enormous impact on me personally, and my approach to ministry. I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of his literary corpus, but titles including Farming: A Hand Book, Jayber Crow and What Are People For? have been particularly insightful. As a son of a rural community, I appreciate Berry’s attention to the plight of the small, some would say “backwater,” communities in the country. He sees the richness of the land others dub “flyover country.” His attention to “place,” home and observation of ordinary lives has been remarkably helpful to me in ministry and personally. I am deeply indebted to Dr. Robert Creech at Truett Seminary for introducing me to Wendell Berry in his “Life and Work of the Pastor” class, and it is my understanding that Dr. Creech first came across Berry’s writing because it is referenced by Eugene Peterson, who reads Berry by substituting his mentions of “place” and “land” with “congregation” and “parish.”

Coincidentally, Eugene Peterson himself has become another favorite author, particularly his book, The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction. It is because of Peterson’s book that I’ve largely eliminated the word “busy” from my vocabulary. Peterson says pastors become busy for two reasons—first, because we are vain and want to appear important; and second, because we are lazy and let others dictate the way we use our time. With this in mind, Peterson reframes the work of a pastor as praying, preaching and listening. These insights, and many others, from Peterson’s work also have been particularly formative for my ministry. I struggle and strive to be “unbusy” and to always have time for people.

As a young pastor, I seek to humble myself and listen more than I speak. In doing so, I come to know my congregation, my “field” in the language of Berry, so that I can serve them faithfully.

• What is your favorite Bible verse or passage? Why?

My favorite Bible passage is Romans 12:1-2.

I first encountered it meaningfully while I was a high school student attending a worship conference for youth group praise bands. Paul’s image of a “living sacrifice” struck a chord of truth in my heart, and I’ve found it a helpful touchstone in my spiritual life. It was in Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life that I first came across the corollary saying, “The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar.” So it is a daily task, or as Warren says, sometimes a “50 times a day” task to offer myself as a living sacrifice.

And along with this image of the “living sacrifice,” Paul continues in verse two with the instruction, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” I’ve always had an intellectual bent, so the idea of a transformed and renewed mind appealed to me.

Christians practice a different sort of thinking that leads them to a different sort of interaction with the world, an interaction that is directed by the will of God. This idea of discerning God’s will through a renewed mind has been helpful for me at various stages in my personal and spiritual development. I think it generally is true of young people who are serious about their faith, and it certainly has been true of me at times, that we are occupied with a desire to discern the will of God for our lives. There are many ways we try to divine God’s will; through some spiritual “sign” or opening our Bibles to a verse at random, for example. And although I can’t rule those insights out completely, I’ve found that using a mind transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit to consider the various options that fall within the will of God is a far more reliable method of discernment. I’ve found that God honors the choices we make with the minds he’s given when we approach them from the position of a living sacrifice.

• Who is your favorite Bible character (other than Jesus)? Why?

This is a far more difficult question than it seems. I have lots of favorites, but the one who strikes my fancy at the moment is Ehud, the second judge recorded in Judges. His story is recorded in Judges 3, and it’s a marvelously composed piece of satire and wordplay.

Ehud himself is a left-handed Benjamite, literally a “left-handed son of the right hand,” and Israel’s adversary in the story is the Moabite king, Eglon, a very fat man whose name sounds like the world for “fatted calf.” It’s a raucous story full of innuendo and prominently features potty humor as the enemies of God’s people are shamed and Ehud escapes having assassinated King Fat Calf, got his hands “dirty,” and returned home to lead his people to an astonishing victory in which Moab switches from oppressor demanding tribute to subject offering the same.

All we know about Ehud comes from those 19 verses, and he’s perhaps my favorite reminder of God’s highly developed, elementary-school level sense of humor.

• If you could get one “do over” in ministry, what would it be, and why?

When I was a student at Texas Tech and just starting to work in congregational ministry, I got deeply involved in the Tech BSM international student ministry. My “do over” would be taking another crack at the work I did with those students.

With basically no cross-cultural training, missional naiveté and the best of intentions, I started knocking on the doors of students from at least 10 different nations living in my apartment complex and inviting them to a Bible study. If I could go back, I would be a lot less focused on the programmatic model of attracting students to a Bible study in my apartment and more interested in getting to know them on their terms.

I now realize that as desperately as many of them needed to hear the gospel, there was so much learning that I missed out on because I didn’t take the time to listen more. Deeper friendships and dialogue with those men and women from India, Iran, China, Ethiopia, Nigeria and elsewhere could have benefited my faith and worldview as much as I could benefit theirs.

• What are some of the benefits of doing ministry in your context?

Crowell is 30 miles from where I grew up, and it’s my father’s hometown. My moving here makes me fourth-generation Foard County, and much of my sense of call is bound up with Crowell being a sort of “home.” I am both an insider and an outsider—an insider in that my family is known, and an outsider in that I was not personally known until I came. I take that to be the best of both worlds.

I remember a comment in one of Wendell Berry’s books that many young seminary preachers were called to come pastor his small, rural church near Louisville, Ky., but none had ever been called to stay. With Berry, I believe small, rural, out-of-the-way churches deserve good pastors, too.

So, I’m here in Crowell, and I have no plans to leave anytime soon because ministry in Crowell is like serving a church in Mayberry. It’s hard to overstate the pleasantness of the slow pace of life, and the benefits of living along with the seasons. Since moving here, I’ve taken up gardening and beekeeping, and I’ve rekindled my old loves of hiking, fishing and camping. When I walk back across the alley from having supper with my neighbors in the evening, I can look up and see so many stars that it’s given me a whole new appreciation for God’s promise that Abraham’s descendants will be as numerous as they are.

Rubbing shoulders with my congregation at the grocery store, pharmacy, bank and restaurant fosters a biblical sense of community life that I’ve never experienced elsewhere. In our digital, connected, fast-paced world, I think most people are starved for true community. That’s something the church offers, but it’s hard to do when the only time you see your Christian brothers and sisters is at worship.

I love Crowell because so many of those barriers are stripped away and the church can really be a community center. There’s certainly a sacrifice we make in return for that simplicity, but it’s so worth it.

To read other  “Deep in the Hearts of Texans” interviews, click here.

John Durham has been the lead pastor at Highland Baptist Church in Waco for a little more than three and a half years. From deep in the heart of one Texan, he shares his background and thoughts on church and ministry. To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated minister to be featured in this column, or to apply to be featured yourself, click here.

Background

• Where else have you served in ministry, and what were your positions there?

I served for 10 years as the student pastor at Houston’s First Baptist Church, then served as the lead pastor at First Baptist Church in Irving for 11½ years before coming to Waco in 2013.

• Where did you grow up?

Waco is my hometown, so I have boomeranged back home!

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

I believed upon Jesus for my rescue when I was 7 years old. My father explained the gospel to me, I received it and Christ made me a new creation. I have never doubted that transformation.

• Where were you educated, and what degrees did you receive?

I received my bachelor of arts degree at Baylor University and my masters degree in biblical studies at Luther Rice Seminary.

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

I sensed a call to ministry even as a young high school student at a camp in Glorieta, N.M. It was confirmed many times in high school and college. It seemed the only other option was disobedience.

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

I love seeing people grow in Christ-likeness, and I enjoy watching transformation. It reminds me that the kingdom is not about me, but the King’s power to change a heart. And I love teaching God’s word. Much like Eric Liddell said, I feel God’s pleasure when I proclaim God’s word.

• What one aspect of congregational life gives you the greatest joy?

I love watching inter-generational friendships develop. I love seeing a growing diversity in the congregation. But organic discipleship probably lights my fire the most.

• What one aspect of congregational life would you like to change?

I wish we had the looseness of schedule to spend more time together outside of the church campus. People are busy, lives are cluttered, schedules are tight and deadlines are real, so I understand. But I still long for more meals, more sit-downs and more life together outside of church gatherings.

• If you could launch any new ministry—individually, through your congregation or through another organization—what would it be? Why?

An intern program to give young ministers-to-be a place to sharpen skills, ask questions and learn. I think Watermark in Dallas has the best one out there. I’d just copy theirs!

• What qualities do you look for in a congregation?

Mainly ones that can put up with me.

• Name the three most significant challenges and/or influences facing your congregation.

Watching the church get younger and younger without losing the needed presence of our senior adults. Watching the church get younger and younger but keeping up with the budget. We are in a great time of growth right now—so adding a fourth service or a new campus, needing more parking and running out of space have been challenges the past six months.

About Baptists

• What are the key issues facing Baptists—denominationally and/or congregationally?

Personally, I don’t think we are facing anything new. We are still learning how to love our neighbors, being counter-cultural yet kind, holding on to the authority of Scriptures in a changing national landscape, and producing disciples rather than just more church members.

About John

• Who were/are your mentors, and how did/do they influence you?

Three main mentors for me:

My father, Ron Durham, who was a longtime pastor at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church in Waco. I learned authenticity and care for people from him.

Louie Giglio, who taught Choice Bible Study when I was at Baylor. I learned about a relationship with God through Jesus from him.

Byron Weathersbee, who has been a mentor and friend. I learned that if I could grow up to be like him one day, I was on the right track.

• What did you learn on the job you wish you learned in seminary?

Pretty much everything. I just told a young ministry student yesterday, I only use my seminary degree about three hours a week. The other 50 hours in ministry I learned from others, from failures and from elementary school

• Name some of your favorite books (other than the Bible) or authors, and explain why.

My favorite books are Knowing God by J.I. Packer, The Cross of Christ by John Stott, The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer and Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper

• What is your favorite Bible verse or passage? Why?

Colossians 2:6-7: “Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude.” For me, it wraps up a disciple’s life in 40 words or less.

• Who is your favorite Bible character (other than Jesus)? Why?

Gideon, for sure. Poor shaky guy. Didn’t think he was up for God’s calling. Then he discovered it was God who would do what Gideon could not. It’s like my biography.

Craig Curry has been senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Plano nine months. From deep in the heart of one Texan, he shares his background and thoughts on church and ministry. To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated minister to be featured in this column, or to apply to be featured yourself, click here.

Background

• Where else have you served in ministry, and what were your positions there?

Senior pastor, First Baptist Church of Dripping Springs, 2009-16

Senior pastor, First Baptist Church of Cisco, 2006-09

Event communicator/evangelist, leading revivals, camps and retreats and supply preaching in more than 80 churches while also working full-time for Hardin-Simmons University, 2002-06

Baptist General Convention of Texas youth-led Shine Out Revivals preacher/team leader, 2000

BGCT youth-led Shine Out Revivals preacher/team leader, 1999

Summer staff, Camp Riverbend, 1998

• Where did you grow up?

My dad was a Baptist minister who served in Powell, Dawson, Coahoma, Tahoka and Arlington. The most complicated transition was the move to Arlington, when I was in seventh grade, from a cotton farming community in West Texas. It was culture shock! For me, “home” is the churches where I was raised. Those churches were gracious to our family, and they displayed the love of Jesus.

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

I accepted Jesus as my Savior and my Lord when I was child during a Sunday evening service at First Baptist Church of Coahoma. I was overwhelmed with great conviction that I needed Jesus.

• Where were you educated, and what degrees did you receive?

Hardin-Simmons University, bachelor of behavioral science degree in speech communication and church ministry, 2002

Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon Seminary, master of divinity degree in spiritual care and preaching, 2005

Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary, doctor of ministry degree in church leadership and preaching; project: “The Effects of Community Engagement Through Asset-Based Service at First Baptist Church Dripping Springs, Texas,” 2015

On a personal note, I am grateful for my education at Texas Baptist/BGCT institutions, and I am appreciative of the BGCT ministerial grant I received throughout my entire education. Thank you to the churches in our state for investing in ministerial students.

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

I did not choose the ministry. I had other plans for my life. They were not great plans, but they were my plans. I wanted to be a movie actor.

I began sensing the Lord leading me toward ministry when I was a teenager. At first, I tried to ignore the call, but it was all I could think about. I thought about running from the call to ministry, but I do not run very fast, and I knew the Lord would catch me. I begrudgingly answered the call with a frustrated “yes.”

My testimony about this is that as soon as I committed to this, my life and my heart changed! Ministry became all I wanted to do. I do not have a backup plan. I really do not know what else I would do. I know that did not come from me. I believe the Lord put that in my heart once I said “yes” to him.

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

My favorite aspect of ministry is the opportunity to serve alongside Fallon Curry. The Lord richly blessed me with the greatest ministry partner. Fallon is passionate about ministry, very talented and fun. Serving with her brings me great joy.

• What one aspect of congregational life gives you the greatest joy?

The aspect of congregational life that gives me the greatest joy is shepherding. I love that I have the opportunity to serve alongside families through most of their major life events—from baby dedications, to baptisms, graduations, tough times, weddings, funerals and everything in-between. I enjoy trying to be there and minister in all of these different situations.

• What one aspect of congregational life would you like to change?

I would change the tendency that we have to see the church as a place that we go to take, instead of seeing the church as a mobilized body on mission to give.

A wonderful example is from one of my previous churches. There was money left over in the benevolence line item of our budget at the end of the year. We decided as a church the money should be used to bless several families in our community that Christmas. The church felt it was important we not leave a surplus in benevolence. One of the families we sought to bless that Christmas was a blue-collar family with small children. This family was trying to make it financially while the wife worked outside her home to send the husband to college with the hope he would one day go to medical school to become a doctor.

I never will forget the day that young man came to my office and brought back the money we sought to bless his family with that Christmas. He came in and smiled and graciously said: “The church is a place where I am called to go, and serve, and give; not to take. I can’t take this money.” I understood his position, but I insisted he leave the office with that Christmas money that day. I loved his heart and his concept of the church, though. I never will forget it.

I hope we all can take on his mentality. I received a card from that young man eight years later. The card was a graduation announcement to let us know he completed medical school!

• What qualities do you look for in a congregation?

Gospel centered, loving, gracious, tight-knit, welcoming, fun, community-oriented.

About Baptists

• What are the key issues facing Baptists—denominationally and/or congregationally?

Local church partnerships seem to be undervalued. Churches are more likely to partner with a church in Mexico or South America than they are to partner with the church down the street or across town.

I think this is a mistake. We have an opportunity as neighbor churches to come together in fellowship and unity with a close camaraderie for the sake of the gospel. Together, we can do more in the local community in the same way thattogether, we can do more globally. The difference is the impact can happen much faster in the local context, and the community is watching.

About Craig

• Who were/are your mentors, and how did/do they influence you?

My greatest ministry influences have been my Dad, Dan Curry, and my Pawpaw, Bill Curry, who both served as Baptist pastors in Texas.

Dad has a very wide ministry skill set. He is great with people, and he is a great administrator. His impact on my life and the churches he has served is tremendous. One specific thing to point out is his emphasis on grace throughout his ministry. Dad taught us to extend grace to people through his words and through his actions. It is my sincere hope that my ministry carries that torch. Dad’s greatest skill is his natural ability to mentor. He has mentored a great number of people that now serve in full-time ministry.

My Pawpaw was a loving shepherd, and he influenced Dad, and then me, to love people and love community. He was a very sincere man. He was known for his wisdom, his warmth and his ability to reach people through relationships. His influence was wide-reaching in the whole community. I have preached in some of the churches he served as pastor, and the people still talk about his influence 40 years after he served. It is my desire to be a shepherd like Pawpaw.

• What did you learn on the job you wish you learned in seminary?

We did not discuss the ins and outs of going to visit the jail in seminary! My first pastoral-care visit as a pastor was to the county jail. I was 26 years old, and I probably looked like a teenager. I did not have any identification available to show the jail clerk I really was a minister there to visit my church member. I did not look like a pastor.I looked suspicious! They kicked me out of the jail that day, assuming I was up to no good.

I learned funeral/grief ministry on the job. This is true, not because we did not discuss this ministry in seminary, but because preaching a funeral just cannot really be simulated. When I was three weeks into my first pastorate, I was asked to preach my first funeral. I was very nervous. I wasn’t ready. I knew I wasn’t ready. The first thing I thought to do was to go get advice from the funeral director who was also a deacon in my church. I worried he might lose respect for me when he recognized I did not know what to do, but he was very gracious and helpful. He knew exactly how to encourage me. Thank youfor your support and encouragement, Brad Kimbrough. That week I also found it helpful to read everything Paul Powell wrote on how to minister to a grieving family.

• What is the impact of ministry on your wife and family?

I will start with the impact of the ministry on my wife, Fallon. When we were newly married, I was going to seminary, but I did not see myself becoming a pastor. I thought we would be involved in ministry in other ways. The first thing we did in full-time ministry was enter into pastoral ministry. This caught both of us off guard! Fallon became a “first lady” at the age of 23. She initially had anxiety about this, but she thrived in church ministry immediately. We quickly learned we enjoy working on projects and events together and shepherding together. Fallon is good at everything I am not good at, and that always has been a godsend!

My children have only known love and acceptance from the church. Our church people are like family to our kids. We like how our children are in close fellowship with senior adults. It is as though they have many grandparents. I also love watching how being around people all of the time affects their personalities. I am grateful for the churches we have served and how they have treated our family. Our children are young right now, though, and I know it might get more complicated in the coming years.

• Who is your favorite Bible character (other than Jesus)? Why?

Although a difficult story, my favorite character is the prophet Habakkuk. The prophet is upset about the injustice he sees in his own people. When he voices this frustration and invites the Lord to intervene, God declares Habakkuk’s people will be wiped out by the even-more-reprehensible Babylonians. That is not exactly the outcome Habakkuk hoped for when he cried out to God.

Anyone who has ever cried out to God hoping for a specific answer and God’s response is very different than what they expected can relate to this story. Habakkuk did not give up on the Lord, though. He climbed to the highest point in the city on the watchtower to focus his attention on the Lord and seek clarity. Habakkuk did not get the answer he wanted at that time, but he still looked to the Lord, anyway!

He has this to say about how he is going to stick with God, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Habakkuk 3:17).

• If you could get one “do over” in ministry, what would it be, and why?

I want two ministry “do overs” at least! I really need even more than that.

First Do-over: I once vented to church members about things regarding the church I was frustrated about. I noticed over time that when I did this, I was souring my people to their church. I was poisoning my own well. I have determined this goes against everything we were and are trying to do to lead people to unity and dynamic ministry. Do over! I desire to be a positive leader and head encourager.

Second Do-over: For years I hand-wrote my sermons and put them in a filing system only I understood using manila folders. I was invited to speak at a youth camp in New Mexico several years ago, and I took with me the sermon file labeled “favorite.” I left that file of sermons, all of my favorites, on an airplane on a flight to El Paso. I never saw them again. No backup. The sermons were gone! I still struggle to breathe when I think about it. Do-over! I hope someone got saved on the next flight reading through the “favorite” file.

To read other “Deep in the Hearts of Texans” columns, click here.

David Ritsema has been pastor of First Baptist Church in Waxahachie almost five years. He also is a resident fellow, professor in New Testament and governor of the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute and an adjunct faculty member in Dallas Baptist University’s Graduate School of Ministry.

From deep in the heart of one Texan, he shares his background and thoughts on church and ministry. To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated minister to be featured in this column, or to be featured yourself, click here.

Background

• Where else have you served in ministry, and what were your positions there?

Lead pastor, Woodlawn Baptist Church, Austin, 2007-12

Senior pastor, Oak Knoll Baptist Church, Fort Worth, 2003–07

Senior pastor, North Waco Baptist Church, Waco, 2002-03

Senior pastor, Mosheim Baptist Church, Mosheim, 2000-02

Children ministry associate, Green Acres Baptist Church, Tyler, 2000

Youth evangelism, 1999

Youth intern, Green Acres Baptist Church, 1998

Youth minister, First Baptist Church, Gresham, 1997

• Where did you grow up?

The East Texas town of Big Sandy, near Tyler—under the shadow of Green Acres Baptist Church with pastors Paul Powell and David Dykes

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

I made a profession of faith at 6 years old when attending Sunday school and was baptized. However, my parents subsequently dropped out of church, only rarely ever attending, thereafter. I did not start regularly going to a Baptist church until college.

• Where were you educated, and what degrees did you receive?

Doctor of philosophy in New Testament, B. H. Carroll Theological Institute, dissertation thesis: The Divine Messiah: A Portrait of Jesus in the Johannine Literature, 2011

Post-grad, Regent’s Park College, University of Oxford, 2008

Master of divinity in theology, cum laude, George W. Truett Theological Seminary, 2002

Bachelor of arts in Christian ministry, magna cum laude, East Texas Baptist University, 2000

No degree, Tyler Junior College, Tyler, 1995-1998

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

My senior year of high school, I attended classes at Tyler Junior College, so I could graduate a semester early. After I finished, I kept taking classes, and the next semester, I met a girl in my physics lab who invited me to church, Green Acres Baptist in Tyler, and also to the Baptist Student Ministry. I got involve in both, and the next semester the BSM asked me to be the president.

I spent the summer interning at East Texas Medical School in the area of my major, computer science, and realized I did not want to do that. When school started again in the fall of 1997, I went with other students from the BSM to Focus, and while Dave Busby was preaching, I was praying with my Bible open to Romans 1:16. I closed my eyes, and I could see a dimly lit valley with hurting people in it and a cross in the distance. I heard God say to me, “Will you help me help those people?” I saw “the hand of God” waiting for me to respond, and I stood and went down to the front for the invitation and surrendered to the ministry.

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

At first, my favorite part of ministry was just being with people. The scary part was that I was responsible for teaching God’s word. The responsibility of that drove me toward education. However, today, one of my favorite parts of the ministry is to spend hours digging into God’s word and learning the background. Plus, there is nothing more exhilarating than standing before God’s people to deliver an impassioned and well-prepared presentation of the gospel.

• What one aspect of congregational life gives you the greatest joy?

Seeing a person’s life transformed, and then watching over time as they grow into maturity in their faith.

• What one aspect of congregational life would you like to change?

I’d like to see more of our people committed to deep discipleship. (Heck, it would be nice if they showed up on Wednesday night for Bible Study.)

• How has your ministry or your perspective on ministry changed?

It changes all the time—sermons now have videos, images, handouts—but one thing that has remained the same is my commitment to making a big deal about the preaching and teaching of God’s word.

• How do you expect congregational life to change in the next 10 to 20 years?

That depends a lot on what happens in our culture, from Hollywood to Washington, D.C. I expect some major cultural transforming event will happen that will jar society back to a need for God—or else farther from him. I would predict that within 20 years, we will see an influx of young people back to church/God. However, the world’s religious voice will increasingly come from Africa, South America and Asia.    

• If you could launch any new ministry—individually, through your congregation or through another organization—what would it be? Why?

This is not novel, but I’d love to see a nice coffee shop in our church. Beyond that, I want to develop a ministry that connects young people with a relevant understanding of the Christian message—and how to articulate that within our world.

• What qualities do you look for in a congregation?

Dynamic worship, preaching and teaching.

• Name the three most significant challenges and/or influences facing your congregation.

Other churches that tend to monopolize demographics by catering to specific interests.

The long historical tradition of the church its members find pride in but outsiders see as an obstacle to assimilation.

And the natural tendency of church members toward inaction when it comes to evangelism.

• What do you wish more laypeople knew about ministry or, specifically, your ministry?

I wish people “knew”—or better “appreciated”—the enormous financial sacrifices that ministry continually brings—not so much the idea that a pastor is not paid enough (I think most pastors are paid pretty well), and a lot of them have a nice car or a nice house. What the layperson does not understand (I know for me particularly) is that I am ready to give that up at any point (and probably will) for a gospel-centered cause. A pastor’s heart and treasure are with the Lord, not with that stuff.

For example, I don’t have a college fund for my kids (and, man, are they going to need one) because we are giving every extra dollar we make (including me working two side jobs, and my wife working another) to give to our church’s building campaign. I don’t think anybody else knows that, and I seriously doubt anyone is more financially and personally invested to the point of real sacrifice than we are.

Frankly, I have turned down great opportunities to go to much larger churches because I am so deeply invested in the success of the ministry here. I wish people would remember that when they decide to send a trivial email or quip about some unimportant issue.

About Baptists

• What are the key issues facing Baptists—denominationally and/or congregationally?

The historical challenges of Baptists have never really changed much—polity, interpretation of the Bible, Calvinism versus Arminianism. Since Baptists never really defined themselves early on but developed their views over time—even believer’s baptism was not initially by immersion—coupled with the fact that Baptists developed a reputation for division, it is always going to be hard for Baptists to co-exist with each other.

Now, if we can figure out a mission project that we all agree on, we might have a truce for a few decades.

To me though, the simple answer to your question is the interpretation of the Bible. I think the single greatest Baptist theological question today is: Is the Bible’s ancient message still God’s word for today, or does modern man know better? For example, if the Apostle Paul prohibits porneia—the NIV translates it as “sexuality immorality” multiple times and includes all forms of sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman—does that prohibition stand for us today, or can the modern Baptist pastor say, “I know better than Paul!”

• What would you change about the Baptist denomination—state, nation or local?

I would push the reset button and get Baptists back together. I would, frankly, scrap the name “Baptist” for any denominational identity and move to include churches that do not define themselves as “Baptist” but are in fact within the same theological stream of thought, especially many non-denominational churches. Baptists ought to remind themselves sometimes that the Bible never says we have to call ourselves “Baptists.” In fact, that might be label affixed upon us by our critics and no longer relevant to our worldm especially outside the United States in places like Russia and China, where I have talked to missionaries and leaders who constantly make this suggestion.

About David

• Who were/are your mentors, and how did/do they influence you?

My first mentor was my Baptist Student Ministry director, Mark Jones. Several guys at Green Acres helped a lot, including a layman named Jeff Phelps and a youth minister named Bob Billups. Directly and indirectly—through his sermons, especially the ones on tape—the pastor at Green Acres, David Dykes, was and is the most continuous mentor in my life. His predecessor was a beloved mentor of mine, Paul Powell. Paul came to Truett when I was student there and became a dear friend, preaching for me several times at all my churches and doing revivals. He was my job reference and the source of almost every bad joke I ever told. I will cherish his memory and our friendship to the day I die.

Living in Austin, Ralph Smith, the longtime pastor of Hyde Park Baptist Church, became a mentor. The faculty at Truett Seminary and B. H. Carroll were also mentors, especially Bruce Corley.

I’ve had so many great mentors in my life—men who have poured into me their time, honesty, energy and passion for the Lord. I would not be who I am without them. I would encourage every young pastor to get a mentor—or two or three or more.

• What did you learn on the job you wish you learned in seminary?

My first year of seminary was my first year pastoring. My much older pastor friend at First Baptist Church in Pineland wrote to me while I was pastoring. I told him how things were not going well—the chairman of deacons did not like me, the church had many conflicts, they had not baptized a person in many years, but someone they all knew better than I did. I told him I was surprised at how awful, ugly, mean, vicious and vulgar church people were. He wrote back to me and said, “David, sooner or later in your ministry, you are going to find out that people are really no d–n good!” (His words not mine, since I don’t use vulgarity). His honesty, however, is perhaps the truest statement I ever discovered in ministry.

My job—to work with people whose lives are all screwed up but who come to church in hopes of finding something that will help—is not an easy one. Paul Powell told me: “People have enough problems in their life. When they come to church, they don’t need any more.” I wish I learned earlier that I can’t fix everyone’s problems, but I can keep from making more of my own, and no matter how hard I try, people are still going to need fixing.

• What is the impact of ministry on your family?

I married up. It’s true. My wife loves the church; she loves ministry; she loves my preaching—really; she loves her family going to church. I suppose if she didn’t, I wouldn’t do it anymore. My kids don’t always want to leave their iPads and listen to a sermon, but they enjoy and appreciate what they get out of church.

In our family, church is fun, but it is also important. The impact of ministry on my kids is that they don’t always have dad at 100 percent, but they have a dad who gives 100 percent to them and to the Lord. I sincerely believe my kids will look back on their youth and say they loved their dad being a preacher.

• Name some of your favorite books (other than the Bible) or authors, and explain why.

Early on, I always loved mysterious novels, history, autobiography and literature akin to J.R.R. Tolkien. I loved the world he created and the way in which he showed the evil of evil and showed the path to triumph through the power of weakness.

I love reading the biographies of preachers. Recently I have read or reread George W. Truett’s biography, B.H. Carroll’s and Jay Frank Norris’. Those stories are full of real life and real ministry. Also, I have also read the biography of the early Baptist pastors William Carey, Andrew Fuller, Charles Spurgeon. I have read the biography of almost every important Christian leader in history. I did most of that before I came to seminary. I keep adding on, though—a new biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer; which, by the way, I like anything Eric Metaxas writes. I don’t read a lot of fiction but do sign up for reading retreats periodically and catch up on all the latest Pulitzer Prize-winnings pieces in all genres, but especially children’s fiction.

Most of my reading is the area of my Ph.D., which is in New Testament and biblical studies. I keep up on all the current material about “the Messiah” in the Dead Sea Scrolls, messianism, Judaism, and stay on top of Johannine studies. I read voraciously, especially in these areas—several books a week; sometimes more than one in a day. Recently, my review of an academic book was published in the Review of Biblical Literature. I have another one I am going to complete in the next few months. I don’t just read for fun, or to preach, or to teach, but I also read to publish and regularly present at academic guild meeting. Last year, I presented with N.T. Wright at St. Andrews University in Scotland.

• What is your favorite Bible verse or passage? Why?

Romans 1:16 is the most important verse in my life because it was the text that started me on this path into ministry—the haunting question in my mind was, “Am I ashamed of the Gospel?” I decided that for the rest of my life I would live the gospel out loud.

Before that, I would have said Philippians 3:10, which was the first verse that ever really haunted me. In my high school days, I found myself walking the aisle of a church one night, weeping and begging God that “I might know him and the power of the resurrection.” Since then, Paul’s mission statement in Acts 20:24 is important to me, especially when I have to decide on moving to another church or going into a dangerous mission.

• Who is your favorite Bible character (other than Jesus)? Why?

Paul, duh! No, I would say the early disciples of Jesus stand out as most significant. Certainly, Peter ranks at the top. However, I am a big admirer of John’s Gospel and the hero of that story, besides Thomas, is Mary Magdalene. I feel sometimes like I am closer to her than I am to the others. I, too, want to hold on to Jesus—especially when I am close to a tomb.

• Name something about you that would surprise your church.

I don’t like the taste of cigars or whiskey, but I love dark, red wine. In fact, my retirement dream is to own a vineyard. See John 15.

• If you could get one “do over” in ministry, what would it be, and why?

I have only one moment I wish I could redo. I got a mad at a person who deserved it, but I should never have sunk to depths. A wise pastor told me, “A bulldog can whip a skunk, but it’s not worth the stink!” That’s a lesson I learned the hard way.

• Where do you get your sermons from?

The first time I met one of my mentors—a man who pastored one of the largest churches in Texas—he said to me, “Where you do get your sermons from?” Whenever I meet a young pastor, that is my first question, too. I then tell that story, and it starts a conversation. One of the odd things happening nowadays in the preaching world are people who accuse preachers of stealing sermons from others, which I suppose there is some of that, but I think there is greater problem—a dearth of good sermons worth stealing!

David Rice has been pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in Marshall the past 18 years. From deep in the heart of one Texan, he shares his background and thoughts on church and ministry. To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated minister to be featured in this column, or to apply to be featured, click here.

Background

• Where else have you served in ministry, and what were your positions there?

Part-time student minister: First Baptist Church in Avinger, Port Caddo Baptist Church in Marshall, Northlake Baptist Church in Dallas

Full-time minister to students and education: First Southern Baptist Church in Colorado Springs, Colo.

• Where did you grow up?

Tyler

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

As a 9-year-old, I approached my parents about being saved, and they, along with my pastor, led me to trust Christ as my Savior.

• Where were you educated, and what degrees did you receive?

East Texas Baptist University, bachelor’s degree

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, master of divinity degree

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

Well, there are certainly some days that I don’t “feel” called, but I know that I am called because of a still, small voice that began speaking to me in the summer of 1989 and continues to confirm that original call day after day. I know I am called because, while at times I feel qualified to do something else, I know I only will be satisfied leading the church, loving its people and preaching God’s word.

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

The people. At every stage: Those who are wandering in their faith. Those who are pursuing a deeper understanding of God. Those who are on the outside of the faith. Walking with them through life. Seeing them grow in their faith. Going with them as we carry out the mission of the church.

• What one aspect of congregational life gives you the greatest joy?

When the light of the gospel opens the eyes of fathers so they begin to lead their families in worship. When a young mother realizes her worth in Christ is far more valuable than pursuing the Kardashian lifestyle. Watching students realize serving others is the greatest joy in life. My greatest joy in congregational living is walking together toward Christlikeness.

• What one aspect of congregational life would you like to change?

Nothing. I mean, I wish people wouldn’t hide behind self-righteous facades and religious pretension, and I do wish folks who have made mistakes in life wouldn’t listen to the slander and accusations of the enemy disqualifying them from God’s love and purpose.

But that’s what we have church for, isn’t it?

• How has your ministry or your perspective on ministry changed?

As I began to serve Crossroads as pastor, I defined success in ministry by judging how happy the people in the church were. I like to tell younger pastors that I confused peoples’ applause for God’s approval.

When we arrived, we began taking mission trips with the students and then later those became church-wide. For the most part, those trips served to satisfy our desire to help others and ultimately to feel better about ourselves. Later, we began to move outside the United States to Ethiopia and more recently Peru. Through those short-term trips, I began to recognize the role of the established church to partner with churches to help them accomplish their mission in their community or to work toward planting churches where there is no church presence.

My perspective has changed from pleasing people to intentionally creating an atmosphere for carrying out the purpose of the church to be influential locally and partnering regionally and globally to strengthen the presence of the church.

• What qualities do you look for in a congregation?

A good friend of mine said what is most important about a congregation is not its seating capacity, but its sending capacity.

About Baptists

• What are the key issues facing Baptists—denominationally and/or congregationally?

It is apparent that how we fund missions is changing. Many congregations are already adjusting their traditional methods of mission giving. In the immediate days ahead of us, there are some vitally important decisions to be made—from the national denomination to the local congregation—regarding how we send and support missions.

• What would you change about the Baptist denomination—state, nation or local?

Historically, our Baptist identity has been centered around a cooperative effort to reach the nations with the gospel. I would love to return to a concentrated effort to let the nations know that Jesus saves.

I desire an end to labeling and the divisiveness of theological disagreements. Whether we agree on the finer point of who can be saved, we must emphasize how we are saved is the main point of Scripture.

Could we please return to a prayerful, steadfast commitment to letting our neighbors and the nations know that Christ has come to save sinners?

About David

• Who were/are your mentors, and how did/do they influence you?

God has always surrounded me before and behind with men and women of grace and encouragement.

I would not be the man I am without my home church family at Trinity Baptist in Tyler.

I would not have the kind of work ethic I have were it not for my dad, Jim Rice.

I would not be the pastor I am without the pastoral examples of Hollie Atkinson, Jay Badry, David Dykes, Dennis Gibbons, Wallace Watkins and my director of missions and friend, Randy Babin.

I would not be the leader I am without the friendship of Dub Oliver.

All of these names are representative of the many others who have been strategically placed in my life, not just to observe what I was doing, but to see past the visible and help me be aware of what God was doing in my life.

I am most thankful for the examples of clear biblical teaching I received early in my call from Ken Lasater and Bob Utley as they taught me a love for the Old Testament. These two men provided me with a foundation for teaching God’s word I still use today.

I particularly was impacted by a short meeting with Ron Dunn as I was sensing a call to preaching ministry. God used that hour to seal my confidence in the call I was receiving into the pastorate.

It seems unfair to list these names and not the many others. God has been so generous to me in this area.

• What is the impact of ministry on your family?

I have been happily married for 25 years to Celina. We have two amazing children—Anna, 20, and Luke, 19. My children have only known Crossroads and our community as home. I am so grateful we were allowed to raise our kids here. Our church family has been incredible to my family. They have allowed my wife and children to be who they are without the labels of “preacher’s wife” or “preacher’s kids.”

• What is your favorite Bible verse or passage? Why?

I love the story of Baruch in Jeremiah 45. Baruch is Jeremiah’s scribe and has just finished a fresh copy of the prophecy of Jeremiah after the king shredded and then burnt the previous one. They are sitting in a cave, running for their lives, re-writing the very prophecy that got them into this jam. And God speaks to Baruch. I love it. I love in that moment, which very well could have been the lowest point in Baruch’s life, God had a word for him. It is thrilling to me to consider that in the midst of recording a national address, God has a word for one lone individual. It encourages me to encourage others that no matter where you are, what your role is, or what is happening around you, God has a word for you.

To read other “Deep in the Hearts of Texans” columns, click here.

Jack Bodenhamer has been pastor of First Baptist Church of Elm Mott six years. From deep in the heart of one Texan, he shares his background and thoughts on ministry. To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas- affiliated minister to be featured in this column, or to apply to be featured, click here.

Background

• Where else have you served in ministry, and what were your positions there?

First Baptist Church in Comanche—youth intern

Trinity Baptist Church in Sweetwater—youth and education minister

• Where did you grow up?

My younger years were spent in the Dallas suburb of Duncanville. I went to junior high and high school in the bustling burg of Comanche.

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

I grew up in the church—in every musical, at every service, being thumped in the back of the head at every turn. My parents prayed with me and taught about Jesus in the home. Even though I was a young child when I made my decision, I still can remember every step I took down the aisle at First Baptist Church in Duncanville to begin my faith journey with Jesus.

• Where were you educated, and what degrees did you receive?

Bachelor of arts in Christian studies, Howard Payne University, 2005

Master of divinity, Logsdon Seminary at Hardin-Simmons University, 2008

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

The call to ministry came from God after my freshman year of college on a mission trip in Kentucky. I had begun a career path in coaching that I was pursuing passionately when God interrupted.

It was a true Gideon experience in my life, where I threw out the fleece, and God answered in dramatic proportion. As I lay on an air mattress one evening, I prayed that if God was indeed calling me to ministry, I needed to hear it in an audible and real way. The following day, God spoke through three individuals, in three “unrelated instances,” expressing that I should be in ministry.

When I struggle or doubt my ministry in the everyday realities of church work, I recall this experience and am encouraged.

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

Seeing God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven. There is nothing better than seeing God’s people impacting this world for the sake of the kingdom. Meeting the physical, spiritual, mental and emotional needs of our little community has been something that our church has excelled at doing and is the very definition of ministry. Being part of the work that is done by God through this church is the best part of my days.

• What one aspect of congregational life gives you the greatest joy?

The greatest joy in my congregational life is being in the family of God at Elm Mott. We are a small congregation, and so we share in every aspect of life. Every member’s sorrow is a shared one, so that every death is felt, every sickness suffered together and every struggle significant. It can be overwhelming at times; however, in the same way, every birth is celebrated, every success is communal and love abounds.

• What one aspect of congregational life would you like to change?

Congregations can often lose sight of the work God is doing by focusing on less-important facets of church life. When we value buildings over people, or myopic ideologies over the cause of Christ, we fail. When personal and church politics supersede the sacrificial care for the marginalized, we fail.

If I could remove this temptation from congregational life, I believe church members would be much happier, and the impact of the church in the world would be far greater.

• How has your ministry or your perspective on ministry changed?

When I entered ministry, I believed my work with youth would be the singular purpose of my call. I had a vision of myself as some Holden Caulfield character from The Catcher in the Rye, saving kids from going over the cliffs in life.

My understanding of ministry quickly evolved and has deepened in two ways: (1) My call is to ministry. Any descriptors that I place in front of that word, be it “youth” or “pastoral” are arbitrary in comparison to the more general understanding of service. (2) Any ministry is, and should be, intergenerational. When you are working with youth, you also are ministering to their parents and younger siblings. When you are the senior pastor, you hear people’s struggles as parents and children of aging parents.

People need hope, whether they are 9 years old or 90.

About Baptists

• What are the key issues facing Baptists—denominationally and/or congregationally?

Denominational programs and cooperative giving will be a continual conversation moving into the future as my generation grows into leadership in churches. We already have seen the slow deterioration of denominational ties, whether it is in the scope of associations, state conventions or national alignment. The baggage associated with ties will continue to challenge younger generations, because they do not have the shared memories of the “good old days.”

Cooperative programs will need to shift and evolve in order to continue to meet the changing needs of the future.

About Jack

• Who were/are your mentors, and how did/do they influence you?

My mom, Ann Bodenhamer, shaped the person I am and the perspective I have in ministry in deep ways. As I began in ministry, I served in a church in the same community where she taught eighth-grade English. I remember early on recounting a story of a young man who I was teaching in Sunday school. He was the “perfect” youth; he was a well-behaved, good-looking, athletic kid from a good family. My mother then asked me about another student, one who wasn’t well liked, from a rough family and who needed to be loved. She told me I needed to minister like Jesus and love the unloved. This conversation remains one of the most transformative moments in my life.

Dr. Van Christian at First Baptist Church in Comanche and Dr. Ward Hayes at Valley Grove Baptist Church in Stephenville are pastors who have spent long years mentoring me. I wore out the phone lines in my first few years of pastoring with questions, concerns, hurts and joys. I still call them on a regular basis for coaching and their expertise.

Dr. Bill Tillman invested in me as a seminary student and has shaped my thoughts and beliefs throughout the years. He introduced me to the depth of biblical ethics and ethicist T.B. Maston, for which I will ever be in his debt.

Father Jared Houze, my Episcopalian brother, and I have invested in one another’s ministries in such ways that there is a mutual blessing and kinship.

• What did you learn on the job you wish you learned in seminary?

Self-care was often the subject of discussion in seminary but never modeled. In fact, the time in seminary can be the very antithesis of self-care. In my experience, I was in a ministry position while also working at the seminary, attending class, doing homework and attempting to have regular times of exercise, not to mention some modicum of a social life. Such habits of over-extending were, and still are, difficult to overcome.

Modeled self-care throughout seminary would encourage ministers to have a healthier lifestyle, thereby increasing their ministry and longevity.

• Name some of your favorite books (other than the Bible) or authors, and explain why.

The Lord of The Rings or anything by J.R.R. Tolkien. I love the expanse of this fantasy world and the themes of hope and endurance in the midst of suffering that are explored throughout the novels.

T.B. Maston, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Eugene Peterson are authors who continually compel me to be a better Christ follower, husband, father, pastor and friend.

• What is your favorite Bible verse or passage? Why?

Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

This Scripture was preached at my ordination. At the time, I had little idea of how profound it would be to my life and ministry. Doing good is exhausting work, especially when the fruit of your labors may be years in the making, or even never seen at all. And yet, never tire of doing good is the instruction. I have worn out the phrase among my church and staff, because when that due season does come, the harvest is so much the sweeter.

• Who is your favorite Bible character (other than Jesus)? Why?

I love Elijah’s story. For all the supernatural miracle work that is done within his story, he remains an example of success and struggle. He shows a depth of faith as well as frustration. We see Elijah be bold before King Ahab and then flee. He is fed by birds and shows deep compassion for the widow. He performs miracles, and his boldness is unmatched. He has a funny, sarcastic side to his taunts of the priests of Baal. What happens after he has these great successes? He flees; he is still scared and isolated. He has “down” moments and searches for the voice of God. Elijah’s authenticity toward God, his successes and his struggles speak to me and to my own ministry experience.

• Name something about you that would surprise your church.

I once got thrown out of an intramural basketball game at Howard Payne for arguing with the official and taking my shirt off in protest of the call.

What may be more disturbing is the fact that this might not surprise my church at all.

To read other “Deep in the Hearts of Texans” profiles, click here.

This summer, Allen Featherstone will have been youth pastor at First Baptist Church in Covington two years. From deep in the heart of one Texan, he shares his background and thoughts on ministry. To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated minister to be featured in this column, or to apply to be featured, click here.

Background

• Where else have you served in ministry, and what were your positions there?

First Baptist Church in Covington is my first church in which I have been on staff. I really began working with youth at my home congregation, First Baptist Church of Alvarado.

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

Growing up in a Christian household, I accepted Christ at 9 years of age, realizing I needed forgiveness. I really began to follow and pursue Christ in my late junior high to early high school years.

• Where were you educated, and what degrees did you receive?

I currently am studying at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, earning a bachelor of arts degree in humanities and biblical studies, which will lead me to pursue a master of divinity degree. Before going to Southwestern, I studied through Liberty University’s distance program.

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

God often calls insignificant people as myself to serve in ways that are not expected. I am called to pastoral ministry. A calling that, growing up, neither I—nor anyone else—ever expected.

I feel God has called me to play a part in equipping others to spread the gospel and make an impact wherever they are planted. I know God has called me to assist others in growing their personal walk with Christ.

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

Being in youth ministry, I sometimes say, “I get paid to play!” Youth ministry does have its tough aspects and times, but my favorite part is spending time and building relationships with youth that, I hope, will help point them and encourage them to grow in their walk with Christ.

• What one aspect of ministry gives you the greatest joy?

In ministry as a whole, whether it be youth, adults or children, I love seeing when the word of God penetrates their heart, and the joy and enlightenment it brings to them.

• How has your ministry or your perspective on ministry changed?

As I look back on the past year and a half, I realize that I may have felt like I was doing something in the first six months of this ministry. But in reality, I was evaluating the ministry, seeing how people reacted to certain things, and I was developing a vision. I realize that to create an effective ministry, one must be patient in evaluation and with people.

The ministry of the youth has definitely changed, one in which we are more devoted to the word of God as we are together on a weekly basis.

• If you could launch any new ministry—individually, through your congregation or through another organization—what would it be? Why?

I would love to launch a ministry within the church that trains people to do missions. I want us to take the Great Commission more seriously in our churches and spend more resources, whether that be time or money, and train up people to effectively share the gospel wherever they are.

• What do you wish more laypeople knew about ministry or, specifically, your ministry?

I am glad I found out early in the ministry, but I wish people knew how much time and how dedicated one must be to the ministry. Ministry is tough—especially in the aspect of feeling like everything in your day is coming against you, but in reality, it is God blessing you by preparing you to minster to others in the midst of their own hardship.

About Allen

• What is your favorite Bible verse or passage? Why?

It is tough to answer this question, but when asked, I always go to 2 Timothy 3:16-4:5. Paul is writing to a young pastor regarding how powerful the word of God is—relating it to God’s breath, thus leading into some of the hardships of ministry and through it all to keep your head in all situations and to discharge all the duties of the ministry God has called you to!

• Who is your favorite Bible character (other than Jesus)? Why?

Paul is my favorite Bible character. Paul was a man in the ministry! When I read any of his letters, a new fire is ignited within me to do whatever I have to in order to make an impact in the church and wherever I am in my typical day.

• What is the ideal church member/youth group member?

Many come to church, and fortunately at my church, many are dedicated to specific ministries, but my ideal church member is one who shows dedication to showing up and conversing with me regarding their walk with Christ, one who ties into the church by serving, giving and one who simply pursues Christ on a daily basis.

My ideal youth group member is one who shows dedication to Christ by the way they act, talk and walk and one who is developing a sense of conviction. A youth member who converses and asks questions about all topics or things they may be going through is one who is progressing in their spiritual growth.