Please share briefly about your faith journey.
I was raised in a loving Christian family in Motlow Creek, S.C., where we were active members of Motlow Creek Baptist Church. Although I was baptized when I was 9 years old, I did not accept Christ as my personal Lord and Savior until my senior year in high school. On the night I accepted Christ, I knew that God’s plan for my life was to be a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Since that time, God has allowed me to serve three wonderful SCBC churches and be involved in missions in those communities, and in several states and countries around the world.
Why are you open to being nominated for SCBC president?
Over the past two years of serving on the state level, God has placed a desire in my heart to not only be an SCBC pastor, but to also help the SCBC continue our tremendous legacy while walking by faith into his future plans for us as a denomination.
What is your vision for our state convention? How can the president help effect change?
The SCBC has a tremendous legacy made up of Cooperative Program-minded churches and visionary church leaders. We must never have the mindset of standing on the shoulders of our forefathers, but rather the mindset of generations walking hand in hand into the future together to help penetrate darkness. At a time when CP giving has been less than in recent years, we as a denomination must find ways to do more with the resources God has given. We must empower our institutions and executive ministries not only with our financial resources, but also with our prayers, trust and support. Whoever the president may be in the coming years, he must strive to help bring about unity, healing and vision for the 2,100 churches in the SCBC, the institutions of the SCBC and the executive ministries of the SCBC.
What are your thoughts on the report of the SCBC’s Great Commission Resurgence Task Force?
Serving as a member of the GCR task force was both a?blessing and a challenge, as we sought to bring about a report the SCBC could embrace. Working side by side with godly men and women from across the state and the seven presidents and leaders of our institutions, we believe we have set forth a plan that is just one step on the journey that lies ahead of us as a denomination. Like many others, there were things in this report that I personally would have done differently, but I believe that despite my personal desire to see certain portions adjusted, as a whole, this is a recommendation that I can endorse as an SCBC pastor. At the onset of 2011, we, as a church, gave 5 percent to the Cooperative Program. In April of this year, we increased that to 6 percent because I was so encouraged by the work the GCR task force was beginning. In 2012, we will be giving 7 percent – not in support of the GCR recommendations, but in support of the Southern Baptist Convention work here in our state and around the world.
What is your favorite passage of Scripture, and why?
Mark 8:34-38 is my favorite passage of Scripture.?When I was a senior in high school, Michael Lord was my youth pastor, and?on Youth Sunday he asked me to share my testimony, and this was the passage that God led me to.?Michael had no idea that two weeks earlier I had prayed to receive Christ but was too ashamed to let people know that even though I had been baptized as a child, I was not a follower of Christ. God spoke to my heart as I read that passage of Scripture?to the congregation of Holston Creek Baptist Church, that what God knows is more important than what men think.?
Other than the Bible, what is your favorite book?
“The Purpose Driven Life,”?by Rick Warren, because the opening statement is, “It’s not about you.” God has used this one statement to keep me grounded over the past 14 years of ministry.
What book have you read most recently?
“Bonzai Theory of Church Growth,” by Ken Hemphill.
What are your hobbies?
Playing golf when my schedule permits and daydreaming?about having my own Harley-Davidson Fatboy one day.
What do you do to get away for rest and renewal?
Throughout the year, I attend various conferences and enjoy trips with my family.
Do you have other comments?
My prayer is?for whomever God,?through our SCBC messengers, chooses to be the next SCBC president,?that he will humble himself before our God and choose to lead with courage and compassion for the glory of Jesus Christ, our Lord.