In Costa Rica
Each church has a story and an impact on my life. I hope to tell each story here eventually. The header photo above is Vacation Bible School Immanuel Baptist Church, El Dorado, AR 1953. I’m near top center, head of table holding Bible, age 12 soon to be 13.
My simple start here is to list churches from current back to the earliest known. I hope to add the details later:
2015 to present – When I attend church it is usually Iglesia Biblica, a semi-charismatic Evangelical Church within walking distance in Atenas. I have also attended the main Catholic Church and like their worship service much better but that is all. I do not yet feel at home in any church here, and thus do not usually attend. Too many of the Americans here in the English-speaking Wednesday night Fellowship are right-wing Republicans who voted for Trump and send their kids to Liberty University which I consider a fake representative of Christianity. See the separate page titled My Evangelical/Political Disclaimer. Maybe now for prayer or meditation I prefer to go sit in the Catholic Church or spend more time in the forests of Costa Rica. And see my 2021 update after this photo of the Catholic Church I sit in alone for prayer and meditation.
2021 UPDATE NOTE: I am reading about and corresponding with one person in a “Friends Group” or Quakers (in San Jose) as possibly the better match for my faith and for literally “Following Christ” but the more I read in books and online the more “mixed emotions” I have, plus the closest group to Atenas is in San Jose which would be very inconvenient to get to and from on Sunday morning, taking most of the day with bus or expensive with a taxi, but I may try it once at least. The biggest group of Friends or Quakers in Costa Rica are in Monteverde (link to YouTube video) which was I think founded two generations ago, but that is an impossible distance from Atenas and I’m not ready to move there yet! 🙂
Pages Related to My Church Experiences
- His Spirit
- A Lifetime of Mission Trips
- Nashville First Baptist (Photo Galleries 1990-2014)
- My “Pre-Nashville” Galleries relate to some of these churches
Pre-Costa Rica Churches
1990 to 2014 – First Baptist Church Nashville – Website (At this time I remain a member there though living in Costa Rica. I have not found a church that I am ready to join here. More on that in another article.) And my memories are summed up in photos:
- Nashville First Baptist (Photo Galleries 1990-2014)
In 2020 the church marks its 200th anniversary with a new building and activities described in this Baptist Press Article.
2000-2002 – As a member FBC Nashville I attended Glory Baptist, The Gambia – My Photos, 2000-2002 – 2013 School Article – 2011 AllAfrica.com Article – 09 The Point Article – 08 The Point Article – Facebook Page (Must Friend to read)
1981 – 1990 – Judson Baptist Church, Nashville – Website
1979 – 1981 – Belmont Heights Baptist Church, Nashville – Youth Minister – Website
1978 – 1979 – Harpeth Heights Baptist Church, Nashville – Min. of Education – Website
1977 – 1978 – First Baptist Donelson, Nashville, TN – Website
1975 – 1977 – Bethany Baptist Church, Dallas, TX – Min. of Education & Administration – Website
See my Scrapbook, Photos & Letters
1969 – 1975 – Second Baptist Church, Memphis, TN – Volunteer Youth Worker – Website
See my Scrapbooks, Photos & Letters
1967 – 1969 – Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dallas, TX – Youth Minister – Website
My Scrapbook, Photos & Letters
1965 – 1967 – Miami Springs Baptist Church, Miami, FL – Jr. & Youth Minister – Website
See My Scrapbooks, Photos & Letters
1962 – 1965 – Beverly Hills Baptist Church, Dallas, TX – Jr. & Youth Minister —Church Burns Down in 2016: Oak Cliff Advocate Article; Channel 5 NBC News; Book on partial history; NOTE that I was there just before it became a charismatic church with glossolalia and healing. See my story on being healed there and why some say I was the first person healed at Beverly Hills Church.
See also My 1962–1965 Scrapbooks, Photos & Letters.
1961 – 1962 – Chidester Baptist Church, Chidester, AR – Pastor — Ordained to the ministry here.
For a few photos & documents see my 1961-1962 Scrapbook or for fewer just Photos.
1960 – 1961 – Third Street Baptist, Arkadelphia, AR – Volunteer Youth Minister – Website
1960-1961 – First Baptist, Arkadelphia, AR -Volunteer youth work, Website
1958 – 1960 – First Baptist, Norman, OK – Website — Licensed to preach here and active in Baptist Student Union at OU
1955 – 1958 – Calvary Baptist Church, Tulsa, OK -My 3 years in high school, Website
1947 – 1955 – Immanuel Baptist Church, El Dorado, AR – Website — Baptized here.
1946 – 1947 – First Baptist Church, Camden, AR – Website
1940 – 1946 – I don’t remember any church before Camden. As a newborn and one year old I was possibly taken to First Baptist Church of Warren, Arkansas where Mom & Dad first met. 🙂
NOTE: Having gone through the websites of all these churches, not one of them is the same as when I attended except maybe FBC Nashville and even that is changing. I have also changed and in most cases differently than these churches have changed. In their eyes some will say I am more “liberal” which is a label along with “conservative” that I do not like. I consider myself now more “Christ-centered” in my faith and that is what I am still looking for in a church. During my 3 years in The Gambia, a majority Muslim country, I called myself “a follower of Jesus” which is highly respected even among Muslims. The labels of “Baptist,” “Evangelical” or even “Christian” is not respected because of the sometimes ugly behavior of people with those labels. Following Christ is not necessarily easy anywhere in the world today.
See the other menu items under “His Spirit” rather than expect a lot more here under the churches of my past. I am different now!
“The present changes the past. Looking back you do not find what you left behind.”
― Kiran Desai
Back to His Spirit main page.
¡Pura Vida!