I entered the first grade in 1946.  

Our class would go to the auditorium every Wednesday to say our Bible verses from memory, period. We were called up by rows, and each child would say a verse.  Yes, this was a public elementary school in the Dallas Public School System.

In 1947, the Supreme Court tried the case of Everson v. Board of Education.  This was the first time the court talked about separation of church and state. This had a chilling effect on free speech in public schools, and we never said a Bible verse on stage again.

I was raised in a Highland Baptist Church in Dallas with some strong influence from the Love Field Assembly of God Church. At age 15, I asked Jesus to come into my life and I was baptized.

After college, I joined the Army, and upon finishing basic training at Fort Chaffee, I was assigned to the Niki Hercules Missile Battery at Fort Leavenworth. One night, when we were "Hot Battery" and only getting short moments of sleep, Jesus baptized me in the Holy Spirit during my sleep--a most profound experience unlike anything that I had happened to me before.

After getting out of the Army in 1965, I applied to take courses at the Fort Worth Baptist Theological Seminary. After an analysis of my college transcript, they informed me that I would have to take 60 hours, or two years full-time, of liberal arts courses before I would be considered to attend their seminary. This was out of the question since I had a wife and small child to support.

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Hence, after some years I became a lay preacher, while in West Texas I preached regularly at the Open-Door Homeless Mission in Odessa and often filled in for local churches.

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After moving to Whitney, I preached at my brother's keeper in Waco.

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It was a great day when I met Don Reed. He allowed me to preach at the Abbott Methodist Church on a regular basis. I am also a member of the Church of the Nazarene in Whitney, Texas. Greg Johnson is my pastor, and he and Tim Abney were instrumental in getting me on the roster to preach at the Hill County Jail.

I have had some up times and down times in my life, both spiritually and physically, but through it all, as Jesus said, quote, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, close quote. He has been true to his word.