June 1, 1986 I preached my first sermon as pastor of the Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral. My text, which has served countless “first sermons,” was 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. My ambition, while commendable, far surpassed my abilities. From the perspective that 3 decades gives I now realize that…
Thirty-five years ago this month I began serving my first church as pastor. The Rock Prairie Baptist Church in College Station, Texas took a major risk on a senior Texas A&M student by issuing me a call to be their pastor. It was my happy privilege to serve them…
Last year was one of unprecedented transition for Grace Baptist Church, the family of believers that I help lead and pastor. After a couple of years of unusual growth and trials, God opened a door for us to sell the facilities that we had utilized for over two decades…
On April 3 of this year I had the honor of preaching the graveside funeral of Art Davis, a World War II hero. Like many veterans of that war, Art was very reluctant to talk about his experiences in combat. In the 26 years that I knew Art, we…
One of my greatest joys as a pastor is the privilege of being with children. I love kids of all ages and I love to watch them mature. Some of my fondest pastoral memories involve children, like the time that 3 pre-elementary-aged girls stopped me in the hallway to…
This is the third and final installment of the story of God’s grace of restoration through church discipline at Grace Baptist Church. The other parts can be found here (#1) and here (#2). When I came to serve Grace Baptist Church 23 years ago it was like many contemporary…
When I received Steve’s email I was overwhelmed with a sense of God’s power and grace which certainly appeared to be working to rescue a man who had been living in the far country for over a decade. I wish I could say that I had lived in expectation…
On June 1 I began my 24th year of serving as pastor of Grace Baptist Church. While there are challenges that go with a long pastoral tenure blessings that attend it far surpass them–things like baptizing and marrying the children of people you baptized and married 20 years ago….
Our Christmas staff party got a little out of hand this week. Here is the result, featuring my fellow pastors, Asael Gonzalez, Ken Puls and Tim Brister along with our chairman of deacons, John Swaska. The credit goes to two of my children whose time for leisure is exceeded…
Tonight Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, where I serve as Senior Pastor, called Tim Brister to become our Associate Pastor. He has accepted that call and hopes to be on the field the last week of May. The process has been very deliberate and marked by clear indications…