Giving Honor - Gary Willmon

Today's Giving Honor is different from previous ones. In the past, I have honored men that were pastors in my life. Today, I choose to honor a friend. Gary Willmon died yesterday after a long battle with Crohn's disease. I met Gary when I arrived in Nacogdoches as Youth Pastor. For the next 4 and a half years, he was faithfully at the piano for services. Gary and I both had a love for sports, but what I loved most about Gary was his heart of worship.

Gary loved to worship God. He was a talented piano player and easy to work with. Gary was always on time. He always followed me when I would switch songs in the middle of a set as the Holy Spirit would lead. He was awesome to work with.

Gary and I took a road trip to Pensacola for a worship conference. It was an awesome trip. We made other road trips together to go watch Baseball games.

Although, life's journey has taken me to different places and we've lost touch, I have often thought about Gary and his struggle with Crohn's. Crohn's is a disease that eats away at your digestive system. Gary had lost part of his intestines and there were many foods that he was unable to eat. If I were Gary, I would probably be trying to find my seat at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. However, knowing Gary, he's at the feet of Jesus worshipping. I can't wait to join him.

Please pray for his wife Pattie.

Giving Honor - Dennis Land

This is the third installment of Giving Honor. The first two guys were Brent Williams, my Youth Pastor in High School, and Scott Wilson, my mentor during College.

Shortly before graduating from Southwestern, I walked into Scott's office and he asked me if I had my resume together. Honestly, I didn't have it. So, he told me to get it together and that he was sending it to three different churches.

One of those churches was First Assembly of God in Nacogdoches. The church now goes by the title of ICON - International Church of Nacogdoches. Shortly after sending out the resumes, I received a call from Dennis Land. After an interview process, he extended an invitation for me to be the Youth Pastor at First Assembly. So, in May of 1995, I loaded up a U-haul and headed to Nacogdoches.

Today, I'm giving honor to Pastor Dennis Land. I want to say a big thanks for giving a young, single Youth Pastor with no full-time experience a chance to minister. It especially means a lot because I was able to be 3 of his 4 boys Youth Pastor. Brad, Nathan and Blake were all in Youth Aflame (that's what we called the Youth Ministry) while I was there. I had great times with this family.

Things I learned from Bro. Land:

1. Having a heart for missions!

2. The importance of spending time in Word and prayer. - Some of my favorite times were the morning staff prayer times. I also remember coming into the sanctuary many times to see Dennis with his Bible open and reading the Word.

3. Seeking a move of God! - Bro. Land was constantly seeking God to move in our church. While I was there, we had multiple revivals with salvations, healings and people filled with the Spirit. Sometimes, they would extend and go over. It was powerful.

4. I also learned a lot about the way the Assemblies of God structure works. He is the Presbyter for the Section. He used many occassions to show me how things worked and how some church difficulties could be prevented. It is the valuable lessons that I'm still drawing from today.

I have great memories from my 4 and 1/2 years on staff with Pastor Land. He invested in me by sharing books with me, taking me to conferences and speaking into my life. I'll always think fondly of my time there.

Thanks Pastor Land for believing in me! I love you!

Giving Honor - Scott Wilson

In the original Giving Honor Blog, I honored my High School Youth Pastor Brent Williams. Today, I want to honor Scott Wilson. Scott is co-Senior Pastor of the Oaks Fellowship in Red Oak, Texas. Scott was the Rec. Director at camp the summer before I went to Southwestern. It was there that I met several of his interns. One of them, Jason Alexander, invited me to come to what was then called Oak Cliff Assembly of God. A guy on my hall, Ron Rhoads, also invited me to go to Oak Cliff. It was there that I met Scott. I was blown away the first time I attended SOL'R (Sharing Our Lord's Radiance) Youth Ministries. It wasn't long after that I found myself in Scott's Sky Blue SUV driving down I-20 with Brian Dollar. He invited us to be a part of their intern program. I accepted and worked for Scott throughout the 4 years that I was at SAGU.

This was a defining moment in my life. I learned so much from my mentor and friend.

Five Key Lessons I learned while interning at Oak Cliff.

1. It is important to continue growing and being a life long learner.

2. Everyone has something that you can learn from them. I witnessed Scott on more than one occasion learning from someone who had a smaller ministry than what he did.

3. Dream a Big Dream! Scott is a dreamer and he taught me the importance of dreaming big.

4. The attitude of Gratitude.

5. The importance of being loyal to those who you follow.

Thank you, Scott, for believing in me, for not giving up on me, for allowing me to make mistakes, for being my mentor, for investing in me and for giving me the practical training that has allowed me to do what I'm doing today. I love you and Jenni!

Giving Honor

Today, I want to honor someone who has been influential in my life. From time to time, I will use this blog to thank those who have impacted my life and made me the person that I am today.

The person that I'm honoring today is Brent Williams. Brent was my youth pastor at Victorious Life Church in Waco, TX. He came to our church the summer before my freshman year in high school. Brent was a fantastic youth pastor. I knew that he geniunely cared about me. It was not just a job to him. He really loved us. He encouraged us to live on the Frontline for God!

If it were not for Brent, I do not think that I would be where I am today. He stayed after me and believed in me. Thank you Brent for taking me to camp! Thank you for taking me to convention! Thank you for introducing me to Speed The Light! Thank you for encouraging me to live for Christ! Thank you for being there for me during the tough times in my life!

I will never forget the day that I graduated SAGU! Brent was there. He walked up to me with tears in his eyes and encouraged me to "love the teens that I would be pastoring." I tried to do that as a Youth Pastor. Now as a Lead Pastor, I am trying with God's help to be a loving and caring Pastor.

Thanks, Brent! I love you!