Being Baptist

[Jon Estes]

Being Baptist can mean so many things and our faith and practice will differ from church to church. I personally would love to know more about you and your church (even those of you who have strayed from Baptist life).

Some things you may not know about this person in your cyber life.

1 - I have been married 38 years
2 - I have 2 sons - 2 wonderful daughters-in-law - 6 grandchildren (my sons have told us to stop counting - no more)
3 - I have lived overseas on two different occasions (now in Dubai and in 1997 in Nigeria)
4 - I have a blog which every so often (rarely) I post a well written piece of something that makes sense.
--
-- Check out the most recent one. If I had been Simon
5 - A man in my church made me a custom header for my church emails. I think it's cool.
6 - Living internationally with an on mission mindset is something I wish all Christians would do.
7 - I have now been in 14 (that's the number I counted off the top of my head) different countries. Should be in Switzerland in January.
8 - My wife and I have emotionally adopted around 20 young Filipin ladies who live here to work.
-- A picture below of four sisters who are a part of that group. Their dad is a pastor in the Philippines. I may share more each week as we are so proud of our girls.

Enough for now.

[Dave Roberts]

Jon, thanks for the glimpse into more of your life. You lead quite an interesting life from my perspective. Here are a few tidbits of my journey.

1. Ordained to ministry in 1968
2. Now married over half a century, thankfully.
3. We have one son who is an associate pastor in NC and our first grandchild is due in February.
4. I was in full-time ministry from 1972 to 2009.
5. Certified as an Intentional Interim Minister in 2009.
6. Have served in five different interim positions, currently serving as Intentional Interim for a church in Franklin, VA
7. Serving as a representative on the CBF Ministries Council.
8. Trained in pastoral care and counseling, though I don't do much of that anymore.
9. Have lived in four states, served churches in three of them, and have visited in four foreign countries.

Hope that gives some glimpse.

[Tim Bonney]

Jon, this is a very nice idea! I appreciate making space for an ex-Baptist in your post.

1. My wife Michelle and I have been married for 31 years.
2. I was ordained in an SBC congregation in 1989, recognized as an American Baptist minister in 1993 and then starting serving in United Methodist churches in 2010 becoming an "Elder in Full Connection" in 2013.
3. My current appointment is at First UMC in Indianola, Iowa a bedroom community 10 miles south of Des Moines. I am now serving in my third UM congregation.
4. We have one daughter, Katie, who is the Office Manager of Ames United Church of Christ and a graduate of Iowa State University. She got married a little over a year ago. She loves the UCC's emphasis on social justice and makes her old man look conservative.
5. I currently serve as the chair of the District Committee on Ordained Ministry and on the Iowa Conference Board of Ordained Ministry.
6. By virtue of being the Lead Pastor of Indianola First UMC, I'm a member of the Board of Trustees at Simpson College here in Indianola.
7. Something you may not not about me, though I've mentioned my membership occasionally, is that I'm very involved in the Masonic fraternity and currently serve as Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Iowa and the Grand Chaplain of a side order called the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons.
8. My wife and I love to kayak on a couple of local lakes in the area.
9. I've done short term mission work in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Guatemala.
10. I have a tattoo of the Chi-Rho symbol on my left forearm. (Down to the trivia.)

The photos below are the installation of officers for the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons and my daughter's wedding.

[Jon Estes]

Thanks Brothers,

I am glad to see how much we have in common instead of how much we disagree.

For the others. Share something and try to bring a positive posting of God at work where you are.

[Jon Estes]

Here is one of my mission highlights...

Kolkata
Standing in William Carey’s pulpit at the church he planted.

[Dave Roberts]

One thing I did not add about myself is that I have been an active amateur radio operator since being licensed at age 12 in 1959.

[Tim Bonney]

[Sandy]

Well, let's see...

1. Been married for 31 years this December to my best friend whom I met while serving as a summer missionary in her church in St. Louis
2. I've been primarily in Christian school education since 1983, with a couple of diversions into full time church staff. Ordained in 1992. Still serve in interim positions and as a pulpit substitute preacher.
3. Born and educated in the west, I've lived in Arizona, Missouri, Kentucky, Texas, Pennsylvania and now Illinois.
4. Currently live in Chicago where I am administrator of a school, my second as head administrator, third as a principal.
5. Member of a Baptist church until 2010 when we joined a small Christian and Missionary Alliance church.
6. Was active in a Friends congregation for the past two and a half years, quite an interesting experience.
7. Active as a member of a legal/legislative addvocacy committee in both Pennsylvania and in Washington, DC. Hope to be involved in Illinois.
8. I also have a blog, http://cacoethisscribendiblog.wordpress.com. I occasionally am invited to write for The Kingdom Educator, a Christian education journal.
9. My high school job, and for two years during college, was as a DJ at a country music station. For six years, I was the late afternoon host on a Southern Gospel radio station in Texas.
10. My international mission trips have been limited to just one in Guatemala, but I was involved with a church plant across the border in Mexico. I coordinated more than 30 short term summer construction ministry projects through an SBC ministry connected to NAMB and Lifeway over a 20 year period in four different states.

[Jon Estes]

[Rvaughn]

Neat idea, Jon.

1 - I have been married 40 years (all to the same person).
2 - I have 2 children, 1 daughter-in-law, and 2 grandchildren.
3 - I have resided in one county in Texas all my life, and in the same house for the last 35 years.
4 - I have traveled pretty widely across the U.S., but to only one foreign country (Hope to add another within the next year, as I have a daughter who is teaching abroad).
5 - I pastor an independent Baptist Church not far from where I live. I was ordained in 1983.
6 - My trade is carpentry, though I haven't been employed in that trade for about 20 years.
7 - My primary "hobby" is Sacred Harp singing (after this, church history and genealogy).
8 - My favorite past-time is grandchildren!
9 - I have a blog to which I try to post daily.
--

[Jon Estes]

[Dave Roberts]

I never doubted that we are all "real people." We just don't always agree, but we reflect the words of an aunt of mine who said, "Whenever you have two Baptist together, you have at least three opinions on any subject."

[Joseph Patrick]

Jon, this is a very nice idea!


1. - My wife of 54 years and I were ordained/commissioned as medical missionaries by Baker Cauthen of the FMB (now IMB) in 1976 and served 32 years.
2. - We served in Gaza, Jordan, Romania, Egypt and he UAE.
3. - I have attended Northeastern State (Okla) College (now university) University of Tulsa, Stephen F. Austin State Univ., Tyler Junior College, Texas Christian University
and SWBTS. Graduating from some and now have a Master's of Nursing.
4. - We have three children who were raised and graduated from high school in Amman, Jordan. All are at holders of a bachelors degree and one has his doctorate.
5. - We have seven living grandchildren who we do not see as much as we like.
6. - Following retirement from the IMB I was an associate professor at Oklahoma Baptist University.
7. - After too many thunder storms and several tornadoes and replacing our roof once, we moved to the Pacific Northwest where it rains a lot but after 32 years in the
desert, rain is welcome.
8. - One year, because of the first gulf war, we circumnavigated Earth.

[Jon Estes]

[Haruo]

[Tim Bonney]

[Joseph Patrick]

[John Sneed]

I am not sure how this will turn out, but I like the idea of it and want to join in …

1. I have been married 33 years, yes, to the same woman.
2. I have three adult children, and six grandchildren.
3. I was born in Washington DC, raised in the Maryland suburbs, and left right out of high school for the US Air Force.
4. I served 20 years and retired. My AF job was to be a draftsman, surveyor, and construction inspector. When I retired I was the Non-commissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) of the construction management section at Offutt Air Force Base (AFB), Nebraska. During my AF years, I was stationed in Texas, Florida, Utah (twice), and Nebraska, as well as Germany (twice) and Okinawa.
5. When I retired I became a pastor. I pastored a GARBC church in Omaha, where I was ordained. Then took an SBC church in Fremont, Nebraska. I also served in North Dakota, Iowa, and Missouri. I have been an associational director of evangelism, and director of church planting. I was the Vice-Moderator for the Dakota Convention and president of the Dakota Convention Pastor's Conference.
6. My mission trips took me north into Canada. I once presented a paper on Baptist education to the Saskatchewan Baptist Association, and helped a church plant develop a Sunday School program on a Lakota Sioux reservation in South Dakota.
7. I have attended Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, the Community College of the Air Force (AAS), Liberty Univerty (BSc), American Military University (MA), Minot State University (MEd) and now Trident University International (PhD).
8. My hobbies include playing chess (I played competitively in Germany), I am a 6th degree black belt in taekwondo and teach privately a few devoted students, I write poetry (twice published), and have dabbled with children's stories. My PhD studies now consume almost all my reading and writing time now. When I do get alone time, I prefer classical music and 80s rock, and to read non-fiction and fantasy novels.
9. I keep thinking there is something else, but it eludes me now. So, this is it for me. I hope I didn't bore anyone.


John

[Tim Bonney]

[John Sneed]

Tim,

The older I have gotten, I am 61 right now, the more I have come to realize just how very small the world can be. I may not have know you very well then, but we have travelled some of the same ground.

John

[Dave Roberts]

I like to get the perspective of these varied life-experience pieces.

[Tim Bonney]

[Stephen Fox]

My Baptist soul was tested in an hour conversation among 15 Furman folks this morning including a contemporary of mine now Trustee chair and another trustee Baxter Wynn of FBC Greenville, a nephew of Lester Maddox.

In depth year long report in which penultimate if not ultimate Baptist historian Bill Leonard participated.

A strong look at the slaveholding, theology and some outright racist statements of Richard Furman and his son James Clement Furman the Institutions first President.

I will blog soon