Biography

Education

M.A.
D.Min.
Th.D.

Experience:

Fifty-four years in the ministry
Pastored four churches, starting two of them
Started two Christian academies for grades 1-12
Served as dean and faculty member of a Bible college for eight years
Wrote several New Testament commentaries
Sent dozens of church members into Christian service
President and founder of a correspondence Bible college
Former President of a Baptist Bible college in Salt Lake City
Former Pastor of Central Baptist Church in Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Currently residing in North Carolina and continuing in his writing ministry

Statement of Faith

The Bible
We believe that the Bible, the sixty-six books in the Old and New Testaments is the verbal-plenary Word of God, that it was given by inspiration of God, that it is, therefore, inerrant and infallible in the original writings, and that it is the sole authority in all matters of faith and practice. We believe that the Traditional Masoretic Hebrew Text for the Old Testament and the Traditional Received Greek Text for the New Testament are the closest to the original manuscripts.
The Trinity
We believe in the one and only true and living God, eternally existing in three eternal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
God the Father
God the Father is the first Person of the Trinity. He is personal and sovereign. He is perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, and measureless in power. He is merciful as well as just. He concerns Himself in the affairs of men. He hears and answers prayer, and He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
God the Son
God the Son, Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, is God's only begotten Son, existing in heaven from eternity past, virgin born, and sinless in His life. He made atonement for the sins of the whole world (i.e. all humanity) by shedding His blood in His death upon the cross at Calvary. He arose from the grave bodily, and ascended into Heaven where He is at the right hand of the Father and where He makes intercession for believers. We believe in the personal, imminent, pretribulational, premillennial rapture of believers.
God the Holy Spirit
God the Holy Spirit came forth from God to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He is true God, equal with the Father and with the Son and of the same substance. He regenerates, sanctifies, seals, indwells, and comforts those who are saved. He empowers for Christian service. He bears witness to the truth. He testifies concerning Jesus Christ, and He never leads anyone at any time contrary to the teaching of the Bible.
Satan
We believe in the reality of Satan as a distinct personality, who, having been perfectly created, fell from his exalted state through pride which prompted his rebellion against God, leading a multitude of the angelic host in his revolt; that he is the arch-enemy of God, having purpose to thwart the divine counsels, that he is the prince of this world, and the god of this age; that he is the king over the realm of demons as indicated by the name Beelzebub; that he is the adversary of believers and the accuser of the brethren; that he shall be barred from all access to heaven during the great tribulation, at the end of which he is to be bound in the abyss for a thousand years; that he shall be loosed for a little season at the close of the millennium to provoke the final rebellion of mankind against God, after which he is to be cast forever into the lake of fire as the execution of his sentence of judgment from Calvary.
Man
We believe that all men are sinners, both by nature and by choice; but that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. We believe, therefore, that all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will rejoice forever in God's presence, and those who refuse to accept Christ as Lord and Savior will be forever separated from God in Hell. Man was created in the image of God, but he sinned and thereby incurred not only spiritual death, which is separation from God, but also physical death. We believe that all human beings are born with a depraved sinful nature, and in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, become sinners in thought, word, and deed.
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to men by grace and received by repentance toward God and by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of sins. Salvation is solely through faith in that shed blood and is not earned by any good works. All those who receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are regenerated and become Sons of God.
The Security of the Believer
We believe in the eternal security of the true believer and that it is the privilege of the believer to rejoice in the assurance of his salvation.
The Church
We believe that the local church is God's program for this present age. It is composed of saved people who have been scripturally baptized (immersed) as a testimony of their salvation. There were two ordinances instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ to be carried on only by the local churches -- Believer's Baptism and the Lord's Supper. The local church is organized for worship, evangelism, indoctrination, the observance of the ordinances, and fellowship. We believe that the local church is autonomous, that it is the only agency which properly carries out the great commission, and that its only officers are bishops (or pastors or elders) and deacons. We believe that the heavenly church of the New Testament is in prospect and shall, in the fullness of time, assemble the called, the justified, and the glorified without spot or wrinkle, "a glorious church."
Spiritual Gifts
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts, that the gifts of evangelists and pastor-teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints for today, and that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established.