Family Friends, Spiritual Leaders, and Christ Life Mentors

In preparation for a celebration of our pastors 25th year of service with our church and his 60th birthday I was asked this question.

"What do Jimmy and Catherine mean to you?"

Wow!  Where do I start? I guess the best way to answer that question is to start from the beginning. 

Many years ago when I had first found Christ, I had a need to understand Him as many new Christians do.  For me that began in knee buckling prayer about understanding The Word.  God point blank told me "READ IT".  So I did.  4 times in that year.  Each time I understood more and more.  It wasn't long before I began to realize that God was saying "Be My Evangelist".  My response was God I want to go to Seminary.   Time went by and God never gave us the money to go.  That nagged at me for years.  I shared my faith constantly and consistently.   I studied The Word ruthlessly.   I still didn't feel it was enough.  Over the year's I learned a lot, sat under some great pastors, and made many great Godly friends.  In a desperate plea to God I asked why I had never gotten to go to Seminary.   That's when God brought it all together for me.  He simply said "I brought Seminary too you."  I hadn't realized what God had been doing over all those years. He was putting me through school.  

I was able to make friends, learn from, and be mentored by a list of men and women that some would say is remarkable.   Here are a few

Gary few - Pastor, Friend 

Jeremiah Russell - Associate Pastor, Friend 

Jason and Bethany Sawlyer - Associate Pastor and his Wife,  Friends 

Tommy and Eve Hullette - Pastor and his Wife, Friends 

John Piper - Aquaintance, Mentor.

CJ Mahaney - Acquaintance, Mentor 

Russell Moore - Acquaintance, Mentor 

Albert Mohler - Acquaintance, Mentor 

Steve Faith - Mentor

Bob Bailey - Mentor 

I spent considerable time with all of these people and learned an inconceivable amount about God and the Gospel. 

So what do Jimmy and Catherine Walls mean to me?

Jimmy and Catherine Walls - Pastor and his wife, Family Friends, Spiritual Leaders, and Christ Life Mentors

They get top billing.  I am proud to add them to my resume.  To be honest, I am not sure the resume had any value without them.  I consider my time here to be irreplaceable.   I would never be complete without that which they have taught me.  In thier ministry, and in thier lives, they live Christ.  Its a beautiful thing.  I wanted to put scripture verses in here that Jimmy and Catherine bring to mind but to be honest I can't narrow it down enough to do it.  

Jimmy, Catherine,  you have made me a better Christian, a better man, demonstrated the family skills from the Bible that we are called to live, and have given me invaluable scriptural knowledge that I could not have gotten elsewhere.   You are my friends and my family.  May God bless you and yours forever.  

In Christ

Colby