John was born in Durham, North Carolina and graduated from Durham High School in 1951. He graduated from Duke University in
1955 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. After experiencing a call to ministry during his senior year at Duke, he
attended Southeastern Baptist Seminary where he received a B.A. degree in 1959, and a Th.M. degree in 1961.
John married his high school sweetheart, Catherine
Styron in 1955, and they have four children: Kelly, Mary, John, and Jason. As of this year 2001, they have seven
grandchildren.
John served as Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in
Raleigh from 1960-64. In 1964 he became Pastor of First Baptist of Southern Pines, remaining as Pastor until his
retirement in 1998. He also served on the General Board of the N.C. Baptist State Convention and its Executive
Committee for two terms: 1966-1970 and 1994-1998. In 2000, our church designated John as Pastor Emeritus.
John loves preaching and teaching the Bible, worship
design, and writing responsive prayers for worship. He loves people of all ages, and he has a God-given gift as a
loving Pastor. He and Catherine continue their happy membership in our church family. |
