This Month From the Pastor

Hey. This is new. I’ll be writing some thoughts about the life of the church each month that will appear in the bulletin and here on the website. So for this one let me tell you about something called Acts 16:5 (“So the churches were strengthened in faith and grew in numbers.”). Acts 16:5 is a ministry designed to help churches grow in faith and in reaching out. Stan Ott, a Presbyterian pastor for many years is the spear head of Acts 16:5 and our church, along with several others in our Presbytery, are trying to apply the principles of Acts 16:5. There are three main components to Acts 16:5 which you are already getting to know: Defining Vision, Defining Practices, Defining Strategy. Our defining vision is: “We exist to glorify God, to make disciples, and to meet human needs.” I’m currently preaching on our defining practices: Witness, Prayer, Care, Word (Bible), With/Me, Send. And the defining strategy is: Reach, Grow, & Send. I believe this will become more and more clear to us as we really try to live out of our vision, into our practices and apply the ministry strategy. I have great hope that clarifying our vision, practices, and strategy will move us forward as a church. The gospel of grace is so good, the church has so much potential, and the needs are so great. Clint

Clint's Statement of Faith

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, I believe in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, and I believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe that God is Trinity. I believe the affirmation that God is Trinity is the most exciting good news in the world. The Trinity affirms something central about who God is and who we are as image bearers of the Triune God. Augustine tried to illustrate the Trinity as the Lover (Father), the Beloved (Son), and the Love (Holy Spirit) between the Father and the Son. It is an approximation at best, but it gets to a central point and that is that God is and has always been and forever will be God in relationship.

Out of the abundance of love and relationship God created human beings in God’s image. We are image bearers of the Triune God and are created to exist in relationship.

First and foremost we are created for relationship with God. God has opened the door for relationship through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Salvation is God’s gift of relationship, reconciliation, renewal, purpose, and community. It is a work of God that requires only a response of faith.

Secondly, we are created for relationship with others. The Trinity meets the deepest spiritual yearnings of the human heart and spirit, and the Trinity calls us to live in relationship with God and with others. Individualism is not an option for Christians. We deny our status as image bearers of God when we try to live as autonomous individuals.

Fearfully and wonderfully, God has called the Church into being to reflect and to embody the presence of the Trinity on the earth. I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord of the Church. It is our privilege and responsibility to live out the purposes and priorities of the Kingdom of God in a manner worthy of the calling we have received.

I believe that the Holy Spirit recreates us and enables us to live a life that pleases the Father and reproduces the life of Jesus in us. I believe that life in the Spirit is the key to experiencing the fruit of the Spirit.

I believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the Word of God, the only infallible and authoritative rule of our faith and life. In the Word we discover that God reveals Himself as Trinity, and we discover the priorities, purposes, and joys of the Kingdom of God and the shape of our faithful responses.

Clint's Story

I was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, the fifth child of six born to a hard-living contractor and sweet Baptist woman. We were raised in the United Methodist church in which I was baptized and confirmed. Growing up I found happiness in sports, school, family and friends. None of those things particularly involved church. We attended church regularly, but our conversations and any emphasis on matters of faith were confined to those two hours on Sunday morning.

So when I went away to college (Louisiana State University) I stopped attending church and thought very little about God. That changed when a fraternity brother and friend became a "born again" Christian and we engaged in some heated discussions about matters of faith. It made me uncomfortable, but spurred by that conversation I began to read through the New Testament.

As I read, I became even more uncomfortable and intrigued by the person and claims of Jesus Christ. In summary, in my junior year at LSU, I gave my life to Christ and became involved with the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ and joined their staff in the fall of 1981.

My wife and I served on the CCC staff at the University of Mississippi from 1981-84. I learned a great deal from my experience and gained valuable appreciation and perspectives for personal evangelism, strategic ministry planning, small group ministry, and biblical application in discipleship.

I left the staff of CCC and moved to Baton Rouge, and I took a job as a business manager for a Christian school. During my years with CCC I developed a restlessness and sense of frustration with the singular focus of their ministry and sought to find broader expression of faith in the church.

I joined First Presbyterian Church, Baton Rouge, and after a couple of years there was asked to join the staff working in the area of outreach, worship, and teaching. I remained on the staff there for eleven years before going to seminary at Austin Presbyterian in 1997. Through my experience at First Pres. God had expanded my sense of calling beyond just First Pres. to a broader sense of calling to the ministry of Word and Sacrament.

After graduating from APTS, I was called to the staff of Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas. Sadly, shortly after that, my marriage of twenty years disintegrated. The church was gracious to me, and I was able to continue in ministry and over time expand the range and depth of my responsibilities.

My initial responsibilities at WHPC focused on worship leading and adult ministries. I developed and led a contemporary worship service, led men's ministry, singles ministry, supervised the director of women's ministry, and coordinated special needs groups within the church.

After the departure of our senior associate two years ago, I picked up stewardship and evangelism as part of my job description.

In 2004, I met an amazing woman who is now my wife. Catherine and I married in 2005, and in 2006, our daughter, Caroline Grace, was born. Our son, Joel Henry followed in 2008. I have a 23 year old daughter, Renee, a recent graduate of LSU, who is a joy and delight.

I was not looking for a position when I was contacted by the this church, but I had become increasingly drawn to the preaching and teaching aspects of my ministry and believed that a senior pastorate could well be in God' plan for me.

I am excited about the opportunity to serve the Lord at First Pres in Pascagoula. It is a wonderful group of faithful people. I look forward to what God has in store for the church and the community.

I continue to find happiness in sports, studies, family and friends, those same pursuits and relationships I cherished as a child. Now, more than ever, I am aware that God is the source of this joy. I am a grateful recipient of God's goodness and grace, and pray always to be so.