The Churches I’ve Attended

I was born in San Diego, California in 1954. Mother and Dad attended Johnson Street Church of Christ. We moved away when I was in the First grade. Of course I was just a kid but I remember all my parents friends were Christians. They were always in the homes of their friends and we had a lot of company as well. They would always be some of the last people to leave because they would stay so long visiting.

Next we lived in Brigham City, Utah and attended a church of Christ. It was pretty small as most of the people who lived there were Mormons. We met in some kind of school house. We would get there early and set out chairs and put them up after services. The classes were in the basement that was accessed by a trap door. When we would get out of class we would climb the stairs and lift the door up with our heads while the adults were still having their class. I remember we went on something called an encampment with the other members and we camped and cooked outside. Dad said this church was a “liberal” church but was too poor to spend their money in a “liberal” way.

When I was in the fourth grade we moved to Athens, Alabama. It seemed like there were Churches of Christ on every street corner and we went to a big one. We only lived there for a year (1965) and I don’t remember much about it. I do remember that the members would stop by and visit occasionally and I attended Athens Bible School.

Then we moved to Annandale, Virginia to another small church that met in a school house. I threw a snowball and broke out a window at the school. I don’t remember getting in trouble for it. Very friendly people there and I was baptized when I was in the 8th grade. Of course mother and dad were some of the most active members in whatever church we attended and in most of them they were always the youngest couple.

Round about 1968 we moved to Houston, Texas and attended at Spring Branch Church of Christ. It seemed huge… maybe about 300 members. The church had Elders and Deacons and was a fantastic church. I was 6’-1” in the eighth grade and we first attended on a Wednesday night. A lot of the girls were interested in me until they found out how young I was. Houston at the time was the longest we had lived anywhere. I had plenty of friends my age at church and we ran around together. Mother had company every Sunday for lunch. Dad became a Deacon there and they let me lead songs on Sunday morning. Men like Roy Cogdill, Herbert Thornton, Kent Ellis, Maurice Jackson and Robert Harkrider preached while we were there.

I met Julie there one Sunday morning in Bible class and made many life-long friends. The church split after I went to college and there was a lot of heartache over that.

Julie and I married and moved to College Station, Texas to attend school. We attended Twin City Church of Christ for the eight years we were up there. We attended on a regular basis and I led songs, etc. David Smitherman and Joe Fitch preached while we were there and we became life-long friends.

After graduation (1981) our young family… Julie, Walker and I moved to Mexia, Texas where we attended Shiloh Church of Christ… another small church. We had some friends up there and that’s part of the reason we moved there. Almost the minute we stepped in the door they asked me if I would teach the auditorium class. We were and still are close to the Lucas family who live there. Joe Lucas was my dad’s best friend.

In 1982 we moved to Corpus Christi (Julie was pregnant with Lauren) and placed membership at Parkway Church of Christ where we remain to this date (2020). This congregation owns my heart and is my life’s work. I became a Deacon and Elder here. When we moved here Elmer Moore was preaching followed by Charles Boshart, Sakkie Pretorius, David Smitherman, Jeff Carr, and now Marc Hinds. I have served as an Elder with David, Gus Cargile, Bill Chambers and Ricardo Baca. We raised our kids in this congregation and now all six of our grandkids are here as well.

If you think I don’t know I’ve been blessed… well… your wrong about that. Sometimes it’s good to look back at where you’ve been and the people and experiences that have shaped you and I thank God… and you for that.