In place of my typical blog post, today I want to share with you some big news about changes happening in my life and ministry.

As we used to say in the military, the bottom line up front (BLUF): WE ARE MOVING! I have accepted the call to pastor the Chandler Southern Baptist Church of Chandler, OK. This will be effective at the beginning of the year.

As we prepare to make this change, and due to Thanksgiving being this week, I wanted to take some time to reflect upon the past several years. In 1 Chronicles 29, David says, ““But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand, we have given You. For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope.” For the past several years, I have felt like a sojourner, living in the foreign land of Texas. Just as God led the patriarchs to sojourn in foreign lands before returning to the land of promise, He has led me and my family and provided for us in this journey.

My family moved from Warner, Oklahoma to Fort Worth, Texas in August of 2019 for me to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in pursuit of a Master of Divinity degree. Growing up east of Ardmore and along all of my journey, I have always lived in rural Oklahoma. The shift from rural living to urban apartment dwelling was a pretty dramatic shift for me and my family. Yet we knew God was in it.

God provided for us every step of the way. We were originally told there would be no student housing available. Then, the week before classes began, the seminary notified me that we would be receiving housing the week after classes started. I applied for a position with Southwestern’s campus technology department as a computer support technician. I had no verifiable experience in technology, but they hired me anyway. My start date was also the first day of classes. The Lord had provided a job and housing. However, I still had to figure out some way to live in Fort Worth for a week while I worked and took classes.

I reached out to a friend that I thought lived in the area. Unfortunately, he and his family had moved and were much farther south at the time. However, he reached out to some friends of his to see about getting me a couch to sleep on. Instead, he found a couple that had recently downsized from their house to an apartment and had some extra funds. They generously offered to rent a motel room for me for the week (which I gladly accepted). The Lord had provided once again.

We still had to figure out moving. We didn’t have much money saved up for that purpose. We had planned to stay in Warner with my wife and I teaching in a public school. We had also just finished paying for my knee surgery. A generous church member and friend gave us a check for a substantial amount to assist with moving expenses. It was amazing to see how the Lord brought all things together.

But there was still one major issue for me. I wanted to work in ministry. We weren’t planning to leave Warner, but I had an interview for a pastor position at a church in southeastern Oklahoma. That did not work out, but it reminded me of my calling to ministry, which I had been running from since leaving my pastorate at Mill Creek. But now that was non-negotiable. I fervently desired to minister in the church. God apparently wanted the same. On my last Sunday at Warner, the music and youth minister at FBC Mannsville, OK resigned. My father-in-law was the pastor there. He asked if I would be willing to serve as interim in that position while they searched to fill it. I agreed and began in September. God had provided, but He would continue to do so.

I ardently wanted to preach, taking whatever opportunities my father-in-law provided me. Then, he accepted a position as director of missions in northeastern Oklahoma. The church leadership asked if I would be willing to serve as interim pastor instead of continuing in my same role. I was glad to accept. However, I was already feeling the strain of traveling every weekend on top of my classes and work at the seminary. My wife and I began to pray for relief. Then COVID-19 came in early 2020, shutting everything down. I was able to use a classroom at the seminary to preach and lead the music for the church via YouTube for about eight weeks. Then we began driving again, this time with COVID considerations to keep in mind. It was stressful and we began praying that God would bring us to a church nearer our location.

After several interviews that were dead-ends, I passed my resume to the pastor at Gambrell Street Baptist Church, where we had been attending on Wednesday evenings. Dr. Spivey was going to send my resume to a nearby church that was looking for a pastor, but after looking at my resume, he asked if I would consider serving on staff as a part-time Minister to Adults at GSBC. God moved us there in August 2021. After two years of driving (with a brief interlude due to COVID), God brought us to the nearest possible church – right across the street from the seminary.

When I spoke with Dr. Spivey before accepting the position, I told him that I would be graduating in May and could not guarantee how long I would be able to stay at Gambrell. He understood that and was willing to take me as long as he could. In April, I was offered a full-time position at the seminary, and thought this would mean that we would be settling in Fort Worth for a while. Chelsea and I began searching for a house to purchase, but could not find anything reasonable as housing costs rose across the metroplex. I was frustrated. If this is where God has placed me, why not provide for us now?

God knows our future. A couple of months into the search, I began sending out resumes to some churches with open pastor positions. After interviewing with a couple of churches, I was not satisfied with what I was coming across and thought God was reinforcing that I was to stay in Fort Worth. Then my father-in-law asked if he could send my resume to a church. The representative of that church called and was very excited at the possibility of me coming as pastor. I had an interview with another church near Kansas City already scheduled, but went ahead and scheduled one with this church.

After preaching at the church, I had an interview with the committee. Yet I already knew that was where God was calling me to go. The committee agreed, extending the opportunity to come in view of a call. I and my family are excited about this opportunity and believe God has led us to Chandler Southern. We ask for your prayers as we begin the moving process.

Oh come, let us sing for joy to Yahweh, Let us make a loud shout to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us make a loud shout to Him with songs of praise. For Yahweh is a great God And a great King above all gods, In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before Yahweh our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

Psalm 95:1-7 (Legacy Standard Bible)

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving. Enjoy spending time with your family and friends, but most importantly, remember what God has done in your life and express your gratitude for it!