A pastor of a large church shares his testimony and his faith.
My name is Bruce A. Bilkey, and I am a pastor by trade. I have been a pastor at Christ Community Assembly of God Church in Nashville, Tennessee, for nearly ten years now, and these years have been so full of blessings and joy.
I came to Tennessee from Louisiana, to start a new church; God was leading me to a new place and to a fresh new start; and after much praying and fasting, this vision became reality; and I haven't looked back. Our church started with just over 100 members; now, nearly ten years later, our congregation has blossomed into several hundred. In fact, our congregation numbers 600+ people.
I am a Pentecostal style preacher; I don't hold back when I preach, and in our church you will definitely see the evidence of the Holy Spirit in action. We have had people healed in our services, and it is not uncommon to see people "fall out" in the Spirit, speak in tongues, cry or laugh or shake uncontrollably, or dance or shout as they are in worship. I was raised Pentecostal/Assembly of God, so this is the only way I have ever known.
I was saved and baptized when I was a small boy in backwoods Louisiana, deep in the bayou country; and I was raised by a God-fearing Cajun mother and a fire-and-brimstone Pentecostal (non-Cajun) father who both taught us kids (me and my brothers Wilf, Hughie, and Ronnie) right from wrong and taught us the value and importance of reading the Bible and knowing firsthand about God and His Gospel. But that didn't stop me from getting into some sort of mischief; I was quite the handful!
As we grew, we traveled across south Louisiana, preachin' and singin', and this became my Calling. I knew in my bones that I wanted to become a "preacher-man", too, just like my pop. So I went into Bible college after I got out of high school, and I became an ordained minister.
I have been preachin' ever since.
I am fairly short, but round (people often refer me as "The Round Mound of Sound"), and I have greying hair that still holds a lot of red in it, brown eyes, and a round body; and I am married to my high-school sweetheart. We have several children, two, of which, are adopted, and they have brought us much in the way of hope, blessings, and joy. Our youngest, B.J., and our second youngest, Tirpe',
have especially done so. Both are from Africa, and we adopted them a year ago from Ethiopia. They are also physically challenged, but their spirit and drive remains incredibly strong. They are acheivers, and they have surpassed all expectations pinned on them by their doctors. We have six children total, five boys and the one girl, Tirpe'. (Besides Tirpe' and B.J., there are also our four "home-grown Cajun spices", Andrew, Corey, Mike, and "T-Bruce". The boys are all teenagers while Tirpe' and B.J. are just little-bitty squirts.)
Besides preachin' and living for the Lord, we love to travel as a family, go to "camp meetings" or "singin's",
go out to eat, read, and just spend time together. We also enjoy our churchwork, and we wouldn't have it any other way. As long as we preach the Gospel and bring people to the Lord, that is probably what is most important in our life.
As for ME, I love to watch the football games on tv (Monday night only; NEVER on Sunday!), EAT, read the Bible or any other Christian doctrine,
work on my sermons during the week, and be with my family and friends. I also love visiting the sick or aged in the hospitals or nursing homes and bring them something in the way of hope and joy. I am a pastor, and it is my duty to do God's work, even when I am NOT in the church; and I strive to live as "holy" of a life here on Earth as I possibly can. I want God to be proud of what I do, and this is why I live the way I do.
"the round mound of sound" LOL that is a terrific description of someone if i have ever heard one! love this very much, karen...you get into character when you write...and like an actor or actress, convince us that the character is real...GENIUS!! *applause* and *STANDING OVATION* and *BRAVO!!!!!!!* ((((((HUGS))))))) and love, karla. :)
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