Lighthouse Assembly of God
Mt. Juliet, Tennessee 37122
615-758-9627

• Education: I have a B.A. from Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. CBC is an Assembly of God Bible College nestled in the town that hosts the A/G’s national headquarters.
• Experience: Senior Pastor at Lighthouse A/G in Mt. Juliet, TN since May 29th, 2005. Interim Pastor at Ridgeway A/G in Memphis, TN - January 2005 - May 2005. Associate Pastor at Ridgeway A/G in Memphis, TN - October 1999 - January 2005. Youth Pastor at First A/G in Dyersburg, TN - June 1996 - March 1999
• Comment to those looking at my sermons: I know my notes would be horribly disgusting to a homiletics professor. (Don’t tell anyone, but I skipped a bunch of my homiletics classes in college!). However, I am in the midst of trying to become more of an outline sermonator rather than writing a manuscript. Despite the fact that my notes may not be the most beautiful things in the world, I hope the information you get from them is helpful. Blessings to you!
• Sermon or series that made a difference: A series that made a difference in my life that I got to sit in on was by Tom Clegg at the Assembly of God’s Church Planter’s Bootcamp we attended in Carlinville, Illinois in October of 1998. He was a tremendous speaker and the illustrations that made his points has stuck with me all these years. I’d love to get to hear him again.
• One of my favorite illustrations: The snake handler who trains a boa constrictor from a baby snake to a gigantic snake. He teaches him a trick that makes the crowds cheer. That trick is to have the snake wrap completely around the trainer until the trainer is not seen at all. They do this dozens of times at shows. However, one night the trainer commands the snake to do this as a grand finale. The crowd gasps as they hear the cries of the snake handler as every bone of his body is crushed in an instant. The master became mastered. He toyed one time to often with the snake thinking he was in control. We do the same with sin to our detriment. I got this illustration out of an old illustration book I believe my great uncle, a pioneer preacher with the A/G, gave me.
• Family: As you can see in our picture I’ve got a beautiful wife and two gorgeous kids. Most importantly I’ve got a family that loves Jesus! Thanks be to God for His wonderful blessings.
• What my parents think of my sermons: Parents are extremely biased about how good you preach. On the other hand, parents can be your biggest critics. My mom used to really get on to me about my grammar. But that was a good thing. Right now I have the privilege of having mine sit in the congregation I currently serve in.
• What my spouse (really) thinks of my sermons: My spouse proof reads my sermons before I preach. She’s a great help and my biggest fan. She gives me great constructive criticism. She is normally very complimentary about my sermons but does not hesitate to point out things that seem a little foggy in my notes.
• Books that have had an impact: I’m going to list more than just books. I’d like to list Bible studies and articles as well. Beth Moore’s Bible study "Believing God"; Beth Moore’s book "When Godly People Do Ungodly Things"; Gordon L. Anderson’s article "Baptism in the Holy Spirit,Initial Physical Evidence, and a New Model"; Elisabeth Eliot’s book "Through Gates of Splendor"; Richard Baxter’s book "The Reformed Pastor" (I’ve only read parts of it, but what I have read was powerful); "Days of Glory, Seasons of Night" - book about Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision. Every preacher should check into this because it is prophetic in its warning that we’d best not neglect our families. And "Choosing to Cheat" by Andy Stanley
• If I could Preach one more time, I would say...: "And in closing," which means absolutely nothing at all. Just kidding. Actually if I had one more shot I would preach on the importance of repentance and the wonderful promise of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. I believe we need to hear more sermons about repentance because Christianity is supposed to constitute making a break with the world. Christians also need to hear that God’s Spirit can empower them to be witnesses to their world. These are two biggees I’d preach on if I had only one more shot in the pulpit.
• What I want on my tombstone: He believed God.