Fisher Street Baptist Church

Upon graduation from seminary I was called as pastor of Fisher Street Baptist Church in Jonesboro, Arkansas. It was an exciting and humbling experience. Over the past fifteen years Fisher Street had been the strong biblical pulpit in my hometown. The time there was significant in so many ways in shaping my philosophy and practice of ministry. It will take several blogs to cover.

The first area is family. My parents and my sister and her family lived in Jonesboro. They all became a part of the church and it was a unique experience to be my family's pastor. Our daughter Micah was born while we were there and I will be ever be grateful that Matt and Micah grew in their formative years in the context of a close extended family. We all ate lunch together at Mom and Dad every Sunday and spent Sunday afternoons together. We interacted daily and it was the happiest of times. My sister and her husband, Ronnie and Linda, were our best friends. Of all the family joys the greatest was witnessing God working in the life of my father.

In additon the move to a full-time pastorate was a time of financial security for Janet and me. The first seven years of our marriage I had been in school and pastoring rural churches. We had simply been poor all our married life. That isn't to complain. We had been happy and thankful to be in be in ministry. But with a growing family it was a great blessing to move from living hand-to-mouth and to have the means to live securely and to provide for our children.

Family at Fisher Street was more than just our immediate family, but also described the church. They were our family in the truest sense of the word. Fisher Street was a close fellowship of people who shared life together. Some of our closest friendships were forged at Fisher Street. After going to teach at the seminary, I returned to Fisher Street (Highland Drive Baptist Church after its relocation) as interim pastor twice, and it was always like going home.