About Pastor Mark
Obviously, this is not my entire story. Hopefully, it is enough to help gain an understanding of who I am, and why I do this.
My Story
My story begins where I think a lot of stories do. I was raised a “church kid.” What I mean by that is we attended a small country church (Whittier Missionary Baptist) and more often than not we were in attendance if the church was open.
I came to know Christ as Savior in June of 1992 through a small county revival at a church in Bryson City, North Carolina. My baptism was on Father’s Day of that year. At only fourteen years old, I was given the opportunity to preach my first sermon.
After graduating high school, I attended Carson-Newman College (now University), where I met my wife, Cristy. While at Carson-Newman, I majored in Religion, minored in Psychology, and was involved in the preaching outreach ministry through the college.
Cristy and I have been fortunate to serve churches in North Carolina, Ohio, Louisiana, and Tennessee. We’ve attended and led mission trips, student trips, retreats, events, and many other opportunities.
A few years ago, I was blessed with the opportunity to return to complete graduate work. I completed both a Master of Arts in Ministry and a Master of Divinity.
Practical Leadership so Others See Him
Practical Leadership is a term that I landed on a few years ago. With a lot of leadership in the church and through Christianity, people need to determine what ultimately drives their preaching, teaching, and problem-solving style. The process that guided me to a focus on practical leadership fell on three primary fronts.
1. Teaching/Preaching
Many wonderful people (men and women) can wax eloquently about theology and the human need of our Savior Jesus Christ. Many of those same people have mastered speaking and writing about the topic. (I know because my library contains quite a few of them.) However, the question that bothers me is, “How do we get the person in the pew to care?” What does that congregant need to make it today? Maybe to be encouraged, challenged to grow spiritually, or understand a complicated scripture. As a result, my teaching and preaching style continues to ask the question, “So what?” The answer that I often reach is a practical one.
2. Writing
Writing is a practical way is another opportunity to lead. I have often found that if I can write out something, it typically lends itself to me understanding a subject better than just talking.
3. Leadership
It may sound redundant, but Practical Leadership has to make its way into the actual leadership of the church. We cannot only talk about discipleship, evangelism, or church growth. We must step up and do it. Sometimes it becomes a challenge because of the problems with trying to accomplish that task. I hope that through this website and the articles, this can be a resource for accomplishing those tasks.
Some Great Places Along the Way
Scotts Creek
Mt Carmel
Tri-County
