Tag Biography

There’s a Baby on the Way

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Back in May 2020, Kahlie and I began the process of embryo adoption through the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) in Knoxville, Tennessee. For those of you who are unfamiliar with embryo adoption or the NEDC, you can find out more by reading two other blogs I’ve written—click here and here. Essentially, embryo adoption is the process of adopting other people’s frozen embryos, and the NEDC is a faith based non-profit fertility clinic that does incredible work. 

Eliza, A Sweet Gift From The Lord

In July 2021, I announced through a blog that Kahlie was twenty-one weeks pregnant with our first child, Elizabeth Jane McDuffie, through embryo adoption. And in the sweet providence of God, Kahlie gave birth to Eliza Jane in November 2022—it’s hard to believe Eliza is inching closer to her second birthday!

Let us from the beginning mingle the name of Jesus with their A B C. Let them read their first lessons from the Bible.

Charles Spurgeon

We Prayed For God To Grow Our Family

As the days and months rolled on by, we began to think about having more children. And while we thanked God for Eliza every night, we actively prayed that God would continue to grow our family. But if you know us, you know it hasn’t been very easy to grow our family due to unexplained infertility.

Children are not the fruit of chance, but God, as it seems good to him, distributes to every man his share of them.

John Calvin

Because of this, Kahlie approached me one day and asked if we should begin the process of embryo adoption again. Her reasons were solid: embryo adoption is a God-honoring way to grow our family, the NEDC is a great organization and made the process of embryo adoption very enjoyable, and we aren’t getting younger.

We Began The Process Of Embryo Adoption

She convinced me, so we began the process of embryo adoption again. NEDC approved our application and God graciously provided the finances to make it happen (we received a $5,000 grant from a non-profit out of Ohio and tons of support from our friends and church family). Our mock transfer was in January. Our actual transfer day was in May. So, in May 2023, we had two embryos transferred into Kahlie’s womb. By the grace of God, one of the embryos survived the transfer.

Kahlie Is Pregnant!

Kahlie is now twenty-one weeks pregnant with our second child, Owen James McDuffie—that’s right, we’re having a boy! And we sure are looking forward to his arrival in January. Pray for us as we prepare to welcome Owen into our little but growing family.

An Untimely Use of a Spurgeon Story

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If you know me, then you know that I can weave C.H. Spurgeon quotes or stories into just about any conversation I’m in—yes, this may be why it’s hard for me to make friends! And my goal in this blog is to amuse you with a story of how I used an account from Spurgeon’s life at the end of an interview I had at First Baptist Church Durham in Durham, North Carolina. So, this is basically a biographical blurb I wanted to put into a brief blog for the entertainment of those bored enough to read it.

A Phone Call from Andy Davis

On Monday, July 18, 2016, I received a phone call from Andy Davis, the Senior Pastor of FBC Durham. I had been attending FBC Durham for about eighteen months, and even though I had been sitting under Andy Davis’ preaching and teaching during this time, I was not accustomed to receiving phone calls from him. At this point in my life, I viewed Andy as an incredibly gifted preacher, a great author, a church historian, a seminary professor, and one of the last Puritans,[1] not someone that typically showed up in my recent calls list.

A Ministry Opportunity

As I talked to Andy on the phone, he began to inform me of a ministry opportunity. The former College Director of FBC Durham left to plant a church in Winston Salem, North Carolina. For months, the elders of FBC Durham sought to replace this guy—you can’t replace this guy; he was, and still is, an incredibly gifted servant of the Lord. The elders interviewed numerous candidates that had turned in their resumes. For various reasons, none of these candidates worked out.

Me? You’re Kidding, Right?

Before long, some of the lay-elders and staff members at FBC Durham began to mention my name as a potential candidate for the position.[2] And let me just make this clear; this was not because I put a resume in. I wrote in my journal: “I would never have put my resume in for this position because I know how unqualified I am for such a service.” At this point in my life, I was twenty-four years old, I hadn’t finished my Master of Divinity degree, and I had no college ministry experience. I practically had no ministry experience outside of teaching Sunday School classes and occasionally preaching for small, rural Southern Baptist churches. 

Seriously, from the time I was eighteen to the time I was twenty-four, I spent way more time operating a weed-eater than doing ministry. I even mentioned this in my journal: “I know that I am terribly insufficient for a role such as this. It is hard for me to see myself doing anything other than weed-eating and preaching a few times a year.”[3] In other words, I was completely unprepared for Andy’s phone call. This ministry position wasn’t even on my radar.

Apparently, though, my lack of knowledge and experience didn’t mean much to Andy and the staff. They saw certain aspects of my life that gave them sufficient reasons to interview me for the College Director position. And even though I was slightly baffled by the phone call, I agreed to come in for the interview.

An Interview with an Awkward Ending

Later that night, I found myself in Andy’s study being interviewed by a few of the staff elders.[4] A few of the elders asked me numerous questions related to doctrine, personal holiness, and college ministry. I was intimidated and nervous, but the Lord graciously allowed me to answer the questions honestly and adequately. Then Andy Davis asked me, “Well, what do you think about all this? What’s going on in your mind?” To which I responded, “I feel like a young Charles Spurgeon.”

Everyone, especially Andy Davis, looked puzzled. You see, what Babe Ruth is to the history of baseball, Charles Spurgeon is to Baptist history. Babe Ruth is the “Sultan of Swat” and C.H. Spurgeon is the “Prince of Preachers.” Babe Ruth is the “Behemoth of Bust” and C.H. Spurgeon is the Baptist Behemoth. Spurgeon is regarded as one of the most gifted preachers in all of church history. Even the greatest preachers of our day regard Spurgeon as a preaching prodigy. If there was a Mount Rushmore for preachers, Spurgeon would, by overwhelming agreement, be found on it. 

So, why in the world was I, at twenty-four years old with practically no ministry experience or extraordinary gifting, feeling like a young Charles Spurgeon? The fact that I put my name alongside Spurgeon’s name seemed like the height of arrogance. If there was such a thing as Baptist blasphemy, I had committed it. Everybody that heard it grimaced.

Well, what happened? Andy Davis did what he always does, he asked a question to give me the opportunity to clarify myself. He asked, “What do you mean?”

An Account of the Young Charles Spurgeon

As a young Spurgeon enthusiast, I knew this was my chance to salvage my job opportunity, so I quickly began to explain myself. You see, Charles Spurgeon came to faith in Christ on January 6, 1850. He was only fifteen years old when the Lord saved him. A little over a year later, Spurgeon was called to fill the pulpit of a small Baptist Church in Waterbeach. Though Spurgeon was only sixteen years old, he was already a preaching prodigy. When the good Christian folks of Waterbeach recognized this, they quickly called him to be their pastor–the Church had forty members when Spurgeon became their minister at the age of seventeen.

Spurgeon was such a phenomenon that the church at Waterbeach began to grow exponentially. And because of his consistent emphasis on the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God brought about a miraculous change to the entire village. By 1852, the Baptist Church “at Waterbeach was not only full, but crowded with outside listeners at the open windows.” Due to Spurgeon’s giftedness and the Baptist Church’s quick growth, the people of Waterbeach began to fear the very thing that most small Baptist Church’s fear; they feared a larger church was going to take away their beloved pastor.[5]

Sadly, for the faithful sheep of Waterbeach, this fear became a reality. “On the last Sabbath morning in November, 1853, I walked,” Spurgeon said, “according to my wont, from Cambridge to the village of Waterbeach, in order to occupy the pulpit of the little Baptist Chapel.” He was overwhelmed and excited about his “pulpit exercises.” In other words, he was extremely excited to herald the gospel all Sabbath Day long.

Just as he sat down, though, “a letter bearing the postmark of London” was passed to him. “It contained an invitation to preach at New Park Street Chapel, Southward, the pulpit of which had formerly been occupied by Dr. Rippon.” With that, one of the most prominent and reputable Baptist Churches in one of the most well-known cities in all of England asked him to come fill their pulpit—Spurgeon was nineteen when he received this invitation. So, what was Spurgeon’s response? What went through his mind when he read this letter?

Well, Spurgeon recounts: “I quietly passed the letter across the table to the deacon. . . , observing that there was some mistake, and that the letter must have been intended for a Mr. Spurgeon who preached somewhere down in Norfolk.”[6] To put it another way, Spurgeon responded saying, “You have the wrong Spurgeon!” He was in disbelief that the New Park Street Chapel would extend an invitation for him to fill the pulpit. He thought they sent this invitation to the wrong guy.

Back to My Interview

So, when I told Andy and the rest of the staff that I felt like a young Charles Spurgeon, I wasn’t implying that I was extraordinarily gifted. Nor was I saying that, like the young Charles Spurgeon, my ministerial future was incredibly bright, that future fame awaited me.

Rather, I was trying to tell FBC Durham: “I think you guys have made a mistake. You have the wrong guy! You have the wrong Philip McDuffie.” I wanted them to know that, just as the young Spurgeon was in disbelief that the New Park Street Chapel would reach out to him to fill their pulpit, I was in disbelief that FBC Durham would interview me for the College Director position—a full-time ministry position alongside an incredibly gifted staff in a very healthy church.[7]

At this, they no longer grimaced uncomfortably in my presence. Sure, they probably thought it was an odd time to weave a Spurgeon story into the conversation. It was perhaps the strangest way someone has ever ended an interview. But I can tell you this, shortly after the interview, they graciously offered me the position. Perhaps the unexpected Spurgeon story got me the position. Probably not. . . but maybe!

[1] I’m joking about Andy Davis being “one of the last Puritans.” But I did, and still do, have a ton of respect for Andy Davis. If you’re unfamiliar with who Andy Davis is, then you should check out TwoJourneys.org. His teaching and preaching ministry will bless you tremendously.

[2] This is a shout out to Kevin Schaub. Unbeknownst to me, Kevin was recommending me to the other elders.

[3] This comment sounds kind of sad now that I’m thinking about it. I guess you could have regarded me as a young man with relatively modest ambitions!

[4] Yes, they made me interview the same day I received the phone call. 

[5] C.H. Spurgeon, The Early Years (London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1962), 245-246.

[6] C.H. Spurgeon, The Early Years, 246.

[7] I know a College Director position doesn’t seem like a huge deal, but it was a big deal to me at this point in my life. This was my first-time interviewing for a ministerial position within a local church. I was nervous, felt woefully inadequate, and lost sleep thinking about this position.

Red, White, & Due

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Before Kahlie and I got married, we did what any smitten couple aspiring to have a godly marriage would do — we both printed and filled out John Piper’s Questions to Ask When Preparing for Marriage. As we worked our way through Piper’s questions, we came to the one about adoption that asked, “Would we consider adoption?”

At twenty-one years old and lacking wisdom I answered, “I desire to have biological kids first, but then, once financially stable, I wouldn’t mind pursuing adoption.” Kahlie’s answer was similar, but much shorter — I have always been the long-winded one! She wrote, “I would love to adopt one day.” We knew that, through faith in Christ, God had adopted us into His family, and we were eager to imitate our heavenly Father by adopting children into our family.

Trying to Grow Our Family

After filling out the questionnaire, we discussed these things, continued pursuing one another, and then tied the knot on November 23, 2013. By February of 2015, we were living in Wake Forest, North Carolina, I was attending Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and we were actively trying to grow our family. This proved to be much more difficult than we’d originally thought it’d be.

Not as Easy as we Thought

At twenty-one years old (when we filled out the questionnaire), we assumed having biological children and then adopting would be pretty easy. Sure, we knew our Bible clearly taught that the Lord is the one that opens the womb, creates and fashions babies within the womb of their mothers, and fills people’s quivers with children. And we knew that our Bible also taught that the Lord closes the womb. We were well aware of all the times the Lord plunged certain women through the trial of infertility in the Bible. What we didn’t really consider, though, is that the Lord would thrust the trial of infertility upon us. This is the nature of trials, isn’t it? Even though we know certain trials are possible, even likely, they still seem to come upon us unexpectedly.

“But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her” (1 Samuel 1:5-6).

Some Fertility Treatments

By 2017, Kahlie started going to a Duke fertility clinic. Since Kahlie has a hard time regularly ovulating, they prescribed her with certain medicines that would help her. Even though the medicines helped, our gracious God was still closing the womb. 

Shortly after this, in 2018, we found out that Kahlie had a minor case of endometriosis. Even though it was minor, our fertility doctor said that it could be contributing to our infertility. So Kahlie scheduled an appointment, went under the knife, and had the cysts removed. With the cysts gone, we were hopeful that we’d be able to get pregnant. Our infinitely wise God, however, continued to keep us in the furnace of infertility. 

With this, our hope began to fade. The feeling of discouragement kept welling up inside of us. Would we ever be able to have children? Would Kahlie ever experience the joy of holding our newborn baby? Would I ever feel the happiness of cradling my child?

And at times there was a feeling of bitterness. Pregnant women were frequenting the Planned Parenthood in Durham, NC, to have the life of their babies snuffed out every single day. People that were having pre-marital sex were frequently getting pregnant. And here Kahlie and I were, following Christ, serving the church, evangelizing unbelievers, and we couldn’t achieve pregnancy (terribly unbiblical thinking . . . WE KNOW)!

“But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (Psalm 73:2-3).

As we continued to consult with our doctor, he informed us that the next step would be intrauterine insemination (IUI). An IUI is a medical procedure that basically takes the healthiest of my sperm and places it directly into Kahlie’s uterus around the time that she is ovulating and releasing eggs. The hope is that the healthy sperm will swim into the fallopian tube and fertilize an egg. In 2019, we had three IUIs done. None of these, however, enabled us to get pregnant. Our great God kept this trial on our shoulders, and He faithfully enabled us to have the strength to bear up under it.

“He will put his silver into the fire to purify it; but He sits by the furnace as a refiner, to direct the process, and to secure the end he has in view.” John Newton

We Didn’t Pursue IVF

Shortly after our last IUI, Kahlie and I moved to Longville, Louisiana, for an associate pastor position at First Baptist Church of Longville. As we moved to Longville, growing our family unit was still on our mind. If we wanted to have biological children, our next step would be in vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF is when they take mature eggs from the woman, healthy sperm from the man, and then seek to fertilize as many eggs as possible in a test tube.

There are a couple ethical reasons Kahlie and I didn’t want to do IVF. In a typical IVF cycle, they seek to fertilize as many eggs as possible so that they have the greatest chance of getting the most viable embryos (sometimes they end up with twelve to fifteen viable embryos). They then transfer one or two embryos into the uterus. The remaining embryos are then frozen until the couple decides they want to transfer one or two more.

The problem with fertilizing as many eggs as possible, though, is that human life begins at the moment of conception. Those embryos are babies at their earliest stage of development. Therefore, those frozen embryos that may never be transferred to the uterus, and most of them will never be transferred, are babies. And if those embryos are never transferred, they will remain frozen until they are discarded. To discard embryos is abortion. 

Because of this, Kahlie and I had an ethical problem with IVF. The only way we could do IVF in a way that would honor the Lord is if we only sought to have a couple eggs fertilized. Though this was doable, it doesn’t have near the success, and it’s very expensive.

Looking at Adoption

With this in mind, we put a hold on trying to grow our family through fertility treatments (Kahlie did make me use essential oils at one point………I know I know)! Instead, in the tumultuous and chaotic year of 2020, we started looking at adoption. As I noted at the beginning, this is something we had the desire to do ever since our engagement. Now, in 2020, we were finally going to pursue it.

“Adoption is the highest privilege that the gospel offers: higher even than justification. . . To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater.” J.I. Packer

Domestic Adoption

One of the first options we looked at was domestic adoption. Kahlie and I had two good friends that had just gone down the domestic adoption route, were placed with a beautiful baby girl, and were enjoying the sweet snuggles of a newly born baby! This was enticing, though we knew that it didn’t always work out like this. But as we considered the price of domestic adoption, we decided to look at other options.

Foster to Adopt

The second option we looked at was foster to adopt. Some couples in our church had fostered to adopt, and informed us that it was basically free. With this in mind, Kahlie and I signed up for a foster to adopt class. At this class, the social worker informed us that the primary goal of the foster system was reconciliation with the family. As Kahlie and I reflected on her statement, we began thinking that this may not be the best route for us since our main goal wouldn’t align with their main goal (though the reconciliation and restoration of broken families is a good thing).

Embryo Adoption

At this point, we didn’t really know what to do. However, in God’s mysterious providence, I was scrolling through Facebook one night in March 2020 and saw where some friends of ours from North Carolina were four months pregnant. As I read their announcement, they mentioned an adoption process that I had never heard of —embryo adoption. So, embryo adoption was the third option we began to look at.

Embryo adoption is the process of adopting other people’s embryos. Earlier, I mentioned the ethical problem that comes with IVF. Well, just as domestic adoption is one of the God ordained solutions to abortion, so embryo adoption is one of the God ordained solutions to all these frozen and leftover embryos being discarded (aborted). 

After a couple decides that they are not going to use their remaining viable embryos, they can donate them to fertility clinics. At these fertility clinics, couples like Kahlie and I can adopt them. And what makes embryo adoption unique from other forms of adoption is this: you get to give birth to your adopted baby!

We Pursued Embryo Adoption

As we studied up on embryo adoption, we began to get excited. With God’s guidance, around May 2020, we began the process of embryo adoption with the National Embryo Donation Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. NEDC is a faith based non-profit embryo donation center that came highly recommended.

So we began the process, had home studies done with an awesome social worker that we grew to love, made our first visit to NEDC for consultation, selected embryos, and selected a date to go back to NEDC for transfer day. For us, transfer day was scheduled for December 2020.

Transfer day is the day you go in to have your selected embryos transferred. If the embryos implant in the uterus, then you are pregnant. If the embryos don’t implant in the uterus, then you are not pregnant. However, you don’t really know if the transfer is successful until 10-12 days after your transfer. So we went in on transfer day, had two embryos transferred, and then drove back to Louisiana and waited to see if the transfer was successful.

Our First Attempt Didn’t Work

Sadly, right after News Years Eve, we found out that the transfer wasn’t successful. We lost our two adopted babies. This was grueling. Nevertheless, even in the midst of the loss, Christ was faithful. He drew near to us, comforted us, and reminded us of all His promises. 

On to Our Second Attempt

For couples that didn’t have a successful transfer, NEDC allows them to schedule another transfer day at basically half the price. So Kahlie and I scheduled another transfer day for February 2021. The deacons of our church were led by the Lord to give us three thousand dollars. A friend in our community was led by the Lord to give us a thousand dollars. With this, we had the transfer day scheduled and we had the money we needed to make it happen. GOD IS SO GOOD!

So in early February, Kahlie and I hopped in my truck and made the long drive to Knoxville, Tennessee, again. NEDC transferred three embryos, we got back in the truck, and headed back to Louisiana…and waited, again. After ten days we found out that the transfer was successful. We were pregnant! PRAISE THE LORD!

We are Pregnant!

At our first ultrasound (they do these regularly after you find out that you’re pregnant so that they can monitor everything), they found out that two of the embryos had successfully implanted in the uterus. It was a twin pregnancy. As we continued to get ultrasounds, though, it became increasingly clear that one of the embryos was not developing or growing. It was a non-viable pregnancy. Though this was tough, we were thankful to God that one of the babies was doing really well!

And as I write this, Kahlie is now twenty-one weeks pregnant with our adopted baby girl. We have decided to name this little girl Elizabeth (Eliza) Jane McDuffie. Our hearts are full!

Things We Learned

Our heavenly Father has taught us a lot through all this. He has taught us about His faithfulness, goodness, grace, and mercy in the midst of trials. He has shown us that He is all-sufficient and all-satisfying. He has taught us how to mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice regardless of our own life circumstances. He has taught us even more about the value and dignity of human life — even a little frozen embryo! He has revealed to us the importance of being persistent in prayer. And most of all, He has given us a little better knowledge of the great sacrifice He made when He willingly gave His only Son up to death on a cross so that, through faith in Christ, we might become adopted children of God. 

A Blessed Memory

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“The memory of the righteous is a blessing, 

but the name of the wicked will rot.”

Proverbs 10:7

The righteous are those who belong to God, have godly wisdom, and live in accordance with God’s ways. Throughout Proverbs, the righteous are those who fear God (1:7), carry out justice (8:20), increase in learning (9:9), speak profitable things (10:11, 21), remain steadfast (10:30), bear fruit like a tree (11:30), care for their neighbor (12:26), hate falsehood (13:50), and walk in integrity (20:7). 

The righteous live eminently godly lives filled with acts of service to King Jesus. They offer up their bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord (Romans 12:1). Their lives are filled with such godly virtues that they become paradigms of some of the virtues that God works in us by the Spirit. In essence, the righteous are those who truly live in this life.

Nonetheless, though the righteous truly live in this life, they still end up dying. Once they are gone, all we have are memories of them. These memories become blessings to the people of God. This is one of the ways that God honors those who honor him (Psalm 112:6). God sees to it that blessed men and women leave behind blessed memories; memories that are so profitable to the people of God that they are regarded as blessings from God.

We are blessed when we remember how Abraham was willing to offer up Isaac because he was confident that God would raise his son from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-20). Our spirits are encouraged when we think about how Moses chose to be mistreated with the people of God rather than enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin in Egypt (Hebrews 11:24-25). Our souls are renewed with zeal when we remember the steadfastness of Job in the midst of an onslaught of fiery trials (James 5:11).

Sweet Memories of William Tyndale

This is also one of the chief reasons so many Christians have benefited from reading biographies of righteous men and women throughout history. Just the other day I was reading about William Tyndale. Throughout the 1520s and 1530s, Tyndale’s main ambition was to translate both the Old and New Testament into English. Though this was illegal and punishable by death during his time, he was filled with a godly resolve to get the Bible into the language of the common man. Before he began this extraordinarily difficult task, Tyndale famously said to a very learned man, “If God spare my life, in a few years I will cause a boy that drives the plough to know more of the Scripture than you do.”

To enable the plough boy to know more Scripture than the learned man proved to be an audacious endeavor. Tyndale had to live as a fugitive on the run, he had to master the Greek and Hebrew language, and he had to find men that would print his translations even though it could cost them their lives. In all of this, Tyndale did not waver. Before long, his English Bible was circulating throughout England. As the Bible was placed into the plough boy’s hands, the plough boy began to know more Scripture than the Pope!

Although this was a remarkable feat, it proved to cost Tyndale his life. Because of his translation work, in 1536 he was tied to a stake, strangled to death by an iron chain, and then burned. William Tyndale gave up his life for the cause of Christ, the Word of God, and the building up of the church. Even though he is gone, we still hear his voice every time we read our English Bible. As you can see, “The memory of the righteous is a blessing” (Proverbs 10:7).

Not so With the Wicked

This is not so with the wicked. For those who do not belong to God, lack godly wisdom, and rebel against God’s good design, their names will rot. When they die, both their body and their names will decay. God will see to it that the wicked are either forgotten (2 Kings 9:30-37; Job 18:5-17; Psalm 9:5), or that they will be remembered with shame and detestation (Romans 9:13; 2 Timothy 3:8-9; Revelation 2:20).

The Stench of Henry Phillips

Take Henry Phillips for example. This is the wicked man who was hired to befriend William Tyndale for the express purpose of betraying him. The same money loving spirit that drove Judas to betray the Son of God fueled Henry Phillips to betray Tyndale, a translator of the Word of God. After Phillips gambled away a large sum of money that his father had entrusted to him, he was willing to do anything to pay off his debt. Knowing this, a wealthy man that abhorred the reformers offered Phillips a sizable amount of money to spy on, befriend, and betray Tyndale. In love with money, Phillips agreed. 

He proved to be remarkably successful in this endeavor. Before long, he lured Tyndale into a trap. Tyndale was then arrested and jailed. As we mentioned earlier, he was then tied to a stake, strangled to death, and then set ablaze. For the church, the memory of Tyndale is a blessing. The memory of Henry Phillips, however, has faded into oblivion. Even when Henry Phillips’ name is mentioned, it is remembered with sense of disgrace.

From North Carolina to Louisiana

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In January of 2015, Kahlie and I moved from Satsuma, Alabama, to Wake Forest, North Carolina. We had been married for about 13 months, and were desiring to go to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary so that I could get an Master of Divinity. The purpose of the M.Div. was so that I could become better equipped to serve Christ by serving the local church for the rest of my life. And when we moved, we only took what we could pack into our two vehicles. It was an exciting time for us and we were thrilled about how the Lord might use us in North Carolina!

SEBTS Chapel
Eating on a cardboard box in our SEBTS housing

Shortly after this, the Lord provided Kahlie with a job in Occupational Therapy (so she was paying the bills) and me with a job on the SEBTS grounds crew (and I was paying for Chick Fil A)! But, though we had jobs, we were still looking for a healthy church. We went to few a different churches, but we weren’t dead set on any of them.

Now, in the midst of searching for a healthy church that Kahlie and I could join and begin serving, a guy informed me of First Baptist Church of Durham in Durham, North Carolina. Upon attending, Kahlie and I were hooked. We loved everything about the church. The preaching ministry was phenomenal. The multigenerational aspect was appealing. The small group ministry was intentional. And the pastors took a genuine interest in the congregation. Soon after visiting, we decided to join in May of 2015.

After we joined, Kahlie and I got involved in the youth ministry. She was teaching middle school girls and I was teaching high school guys. We also got involved in the children’s ministry (churches are always looking for more volunteers here)! And lastly, we just sought to be healthy church members. Kahlie and I knew that, if we wanted to serve the local church for the rest of our lives, we didn’t need to wait until after seminary to do it. We needed to do it all throughout seminary as well. So that is what we sought to do. And as we did this, I continued pursuing my M.Div, and Kahlie continued helping and aiding me in anyway she could (praise God for a godly wife)!

We did this for about fourteen months, and then something completely unexpected happened. In July of 2016, I received a phone call from Andy Davis (The Senior Pastor at FBC). And when I answered the phone call, Andy asked me if I would be interested in interviewing for the Director of College Ministry position. This was unexpected because I was only twenty-four, I didn’t have a ton of ministry experience, I wasn’t done with my M.Div., and I hadn’t even put in a resume. Needless to say, I was shocked.

Andy Davis had become one of my role models in the faith and he was asking me to serve along side of him in ministry. FBC Durham was the healthiest church I had ever been a part of and it was asking me to come on staff. So I told Andy that he had the wrong number and that he must have meant to call someone else! Just kidding! I told him I would talk to Kahlie about it and then get back to him. When I talked to Kahlie about it she was more shocked than I was (to which I was mildly offended by)!!!!! But we both decided that I should go through the interview process to better understand as to whether this was something God would have me do. Here is the journal I wrote after Andy called me:

Monday afternoon I received a phone call from Andy Davis. He told me that their desire has always been to hire a College Director from within FBC Durham. They have had numerous resumes turned in, and a couple of interviews with men outside of FBC. None of these had worked out. He then told me that they have had their eye on me for a while now. He said that many people have mentioned my name and have said that I may be a good fit for the position. He also told me that the christian growth he has seen in me over the past year has been encouraging. I would never have put a resume in for this position because I know how unqualified I am for such a service. But they have asked me to come in today to speak with them about this position to see if I could possibly fill it. I have no idea what to expect, but I am very thankful to God for such an opportunity. May the Lord’s will be done.

Shortly after the interview process, they offered me the position. Kahlie and I talked about it and we went on to accept the position. It was exciting and overwhelming. Thinking through this, I wrote:

This presents an incredible opportunity for serving the Lord Jesus Christ and also the local church. These are honestly my life long ambitions. However, I did not think that I would be thrust into ministry this quickly. This was not even a thought a couple weeks ago. Now, I officially start August 16th.

As you can tell, this was a big deal in my life. Now, some of you may be reading this and saying, “Good golly, Philip! It was just an opportunity to do college ministry.” But for me, it was so much more. It was the opportunity to labor full time in gospel ministry. It was an opportunity to teach, disciple, and evangelize within the context of the healthiest church I had ever been a part of. It was an opportunity to be under Andy Davis and to watch his way of life, to ask him questions, and to drink in his wisdom. It was my first paid ministry position ever, and I could not believe that God was giving it to me!

Well, after all the interviewing stuff, I started the College Director position on August 16, 2016. Kahlie immediately started serving with me. We moved to Durham, I started taking online classes at SEBTS, and we started learning what it was like to do ministry in a greater capacity than we had ever done ministry. I was leading guys Bible studies, discipling students, evangelizing, leading retreats, and heading up mission trips. Kahlie was discipling ladies, leading Bible studies, helping me lead retreats, and going on mission trips with me. Though some of this was overwhelming, we both loved it! And we have now been serving this way for over 3 years. Kahlie and I can honestly say that it has been one of the greatest joys of our lives.

Now, after doing this for three years, I have received another unexpected phone call. In mid June, I received a phone call from Corey Townsley (a good friend of mine…..he is actually the guy that invited Kahlie and I to attend FBC Durham when we first moved to North Carolina). Corey is now serving as the senior pastor of FBC Longville in Longville, Louisiana. He called me to see if I would be interested in coming down to Louisiana to serve alongside of him as an associate pastor of youth. He told me that my primary responsibility would shepherding middle schoolers and high schoolers, but that he also wanted me to help shepherd the church body as a whole

The more Kahlie and I looked at this opportunity, sought counsel from the pastors that we are under now, and spent time in prayer, the more convinced we became that this was a position that we ought to pursue. Now, after five months, three interviews, and two trips to Louisiana, on November 3, 2019, FBC Longville unanimously voted to have me come be the Associate Pastor of Youth. Upon hearing the vote, Kahlie and I joyfully accepted this opportunity, and are preparing to head down there in December.

This is bittersweet for us. It pains us to leave FBC Durham, all the college students in the ministry, the many friends that we have made, and the city of Durham. But we are excited about serving Christ Jesus by serving the local church in Longville, Louisiana.

Here are ways that you can pray for Kahlie and I as we transition to Longville, LA.

  1. Pray that we would seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness even in the midst of a busy transition.
  2. Pray that we would have good, fruitful good-byes here in Durham!
  3. Pray that we would find housing in Longville that we can leverage for ministry purposes.
  4. Pray that we would make it down there safely.
  5. And pray that the Lord would begin preparing us for the good works that he will have us do at FBC Longville.