Blog

For Wilshire Baptist Church

The announcement of George Mason’s retirement after 33 years as our pastor at Wilshire Baptist Church has me reflecting on two parts of my own life: the pastors I’ve had and the jobs I’ve held.

I’ve really had just four pastors in my 63 years of living. I had three growing up at First Baptist Church in Richardson. I don’t count the two before that who I can’t even name because I was an infant and the family was in transition from Montana back to North Texas. But the three I had in Richardson — Cloud, Landes and Fant — showed me what church looked and sounded like, baptized and nurtured me, and taught me how to listen and pay attention and absorb as much as I could. A great youth minister and the watch-care of my friends’ parents played a huge role in my spiritual growth as well. I also learned the importance of Christian fellowship and “church family” during those years as our family traveled though the sunshine and storms of life.

Continue reading “Pastors and Paychecks”

For Wilshire Baptist Church

I didn’t know what the priest was saying in Spanish, but I knew where he was in the funeral mass. When he got to the homily I heard the words “adios” and “Jesus” several times, and I guessed he was offering the universal truth that we usually hear at memorial services: With Jesus, goodbye is not really goodbye at all.

Continue reading “Universal”

For Wilshire Baptist Church

Driving to an appointment on Tuesday morning, I saw a crew from Garland Power & Light setting up a temporary electrical service pole at the back of two vacant lots down the street from us. It’s a sure sign that construction will begin soon on two new homes. Just three miles and a few minutes later, I came upon a City of Dallas crew dismantling a homeless camp beside the railroad tracks on Garland Road just south of LBJ Freeway. Within a short span, it’s two very different stories about the same topic: home.

Continue reading “Now is the Time”