I am a native North Carolinian and proud of it. My people are from “down
east”…..Edgecombe and Greene Counties. This means I have poured peanuts in my Pepsi, scrubbed tobacco gum from my hands with Lava Soap, and often enjoyed the whine of a porch swing.

I am a proud Wolfpacker, a 1978 graduate of NCSU in Economics.

I graduated from Union Seminary in Richmond, VA in 1982 with a Doctor of Ministry Degree.

I “married up” to a saint and soulmate, Sally Blizzard, from Kenansville. We share four children and two grandchildren. My mother, Joyce, was the most influential theologian in my journey. Her life of faith made it easy to believe that perfect Love could be incarnate in a human being.

My first memory of church was singing in the Children’s Choir at Highland Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville. I sang my heart out and felt Jesus’ presence by his Spirit. Then powerful people forced out our minister, a Scotsman, the Reverend Mr. Black, because of his stance on civil rights. This was one of the few times I heard my mother say, “damn.” Julian Powell, who greeted on the porch of the Sunday school building of First Presbyterian Church, Wilson, was more influential for me than any preacher, Sunday school teacher, or
choir leader in my childhood. He called my name each Sunday and tied my often untied tie, spinning me around and working from behind me. Gently knotting it, he tousled my hair and said, “Go get ‘em, Tiger.” To this day his Old Spice aftershave is a harbinger of the holy.

I served as Pastor at Finley Memorial Presbyterian Church in Stuarts Draft, VA; St. Andrews-Covenant Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, NC; Portland Church, Church of Scotland, Troon, Scotland; Chapel on the Hill, Lake Geneva, WI, and First Presbyterian Church, Goldsboro, NC. After retiring in 2020, I returned to ministry in 2022 for a 9-month stint as a Stated Supply Pastor at Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church. Following this, I served as Stated Supply at the Mount Olive Presbyterian Church for 19 months. I returned to Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church as Interim Pastor in September of 2024.
My first sermon, in 1975, was 8 minutes long and my racing, high-pitched voice sounded like Mikey Mouse. I keep the tape of it for humbleness’ sake.
My longest sermon, preached on my first Sunday in Goldsboro, was 53 minutes long. Surprisingly, they didn’t fire me. There really was that much to say.

I may well be the only person in the PCUSA who has been a Candidate for Ministry twice, passed all the Standard Ordination exams twice, and been ordained three times….first as a Pastor, then a Ruling Elder, then as a Pastor again. If you’re wondering why and how this could be, I’ll be more than willing to explain.