Thanks for joining me!
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
Welcome to my new blog site, The 23rd Pastor. My name is John McCallum, and I have been a lead pastor since 1982. Since that time I have served only two churches: First Baptist Church of Greenwood, Missouri (now Fellowship Greenwood) and First Baptist Church of Hot Springs, Arkansas. I am just completing my 24th year as pastor of this good congregation.
A little background: I have been married to Dayna for 41 years. We have two grown children and seven grandchildren. In other words, I’m old :). But old is not so bad when you’ve been taking a few notes along life’s journey. At this stage of my ministry, I feel compelled to share out of my decades of experience in the hopes of encouraging other pastors and ministers in the church.
Education: I received a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. And I received both an M.Div. and a D.Min. from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. And having served as a lead pastor for almost four decades, I have also earned my degree from the School of Hard Knocks.
Last October I published the book, The 23rd Pastor. (I’ll post the Amazon link at the bottom of this page, if you’re interested.) The book has been well-received by both pastors and laity. The interest the book has received has inspired me to do a little blogging on the pastoral life: pastoral care, preaching, leadership. Years ago, I began a blog called Life at the Altar in which I address a variety of issues. Some of those posts apply to pastoral life, most are posts addressing a variety of issues. This blog, The 23rd Pastor, will focus on pastoral matters only.
I hope you’ll join me on the journey, interact along the way, and create a little community of brothers and sisters longing to be the shepherds God has called us to be.
