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God has allowed me to serve in full-time ministry since June of 2005 as the assistant pastor of Bible Way Fellowship Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, under the leadership of Pastor Ivory L. Varner (MA[BS] 95). Two years after finishing Bible college, I had the unique ministry preparation of matriculating into DTS and full-time ministry at the same time. I have learned over the years both the theory and practice of ministering the word of God through preaching, teaching Bible studies, counseling, and training other leaders. Additionally, as a pastor I not only teach truth but demonstrate it to my members by meeting them at the hospital for prayer before their surgeries, by making myself available 24 hours a day to meet their spiritual and emotional needs, by providing a listening ear and encouraging words during life’s victories and pains, and by lovingly holding them accountable to being the Christian God wants them to be. Therefore, I not only teach them through my sermons and Bible studies, but also through my service.
One of my fondest memories of my DTS days was the privilege of learning from Dr. Robert P. Lightner as I chauffeured him from the airport in Houston to the DTS Houston campus every Monday during the spring semester of 2011. (He taught my ST104 Soteriology class). Those trips back and forth from the airport to the school provided me time to explore Dr. Lightner’s ministry experiences. I am a better preacher and pastor because of the wisdom he provided me by sharing his victories as well as his scars regarding church, loving people, and ministry. I am eternally grateful for those Paul and Timothy interactions between us because they were real conversations dealing with real ministry issues that are not always conveyed in a classroom.
Over the six years that I was a part-time student at DTS, I took classes at both the Houston extension and the main campus in Dallas. Both campuses, with their unique professors, invested in me and my ministry by preparing me to accurately handle the word of truth. My biblical and theological training from DTS has prepared me to shepherd the people of God, through the word of God, with clarity and confidence while still having a great dependence upon the Holy Spirit to lead and guide me. One of the greatest contributions that I acquired from the seminary was a knowledge of all 66 books of the Bible. I shared with our associate ministers and others that DTS is the institution where you will be stretched academically and spiritually to become a true servant of God.