Here are a few snapshots that explain what has made me what I am thus far.

Growing Up

I grew up in the family with a dad who wouldn’t let me get away with grammatical errors or logical fallacies, a mother who loves Sci-Fi and late-night talks, a brother who played every sport with me in the back yard, and a sister who came much later and thus was the family darling. It was by no means perfect but growing up in the Davis family was a well-rounded mix of the serious and silly, high culture and low brow, faith and reason, arts and sports. God called Dad to his heavenly home earlier than we expected, and now the Davis kids are learning how to be grown-ups with families of our own.

Broadening Horizons

As it is for many, college was a formative time for me. I fell deeply in love with classical music, especially that of Johannes Brahms. I got the literature bug, diving into anything from Dostoyevsky to Flannery O’Connor. And I became enamored with the preaching of John Piper, which became my gateway both to Reformed theology and expository preaching. I had no idea what I wanted to do with all of these loves. But one fateful day I was asked to preach at a small church outside of Tuscaloosa and my calling to pastoral ministry began to take shape.

The Church

I am surely not alone in being an ambitious young preacher who saw the church as the venue in which I could do what I love–preach. It took me quite some time to realize that preaching is a means to the end of shepherding, not the other way around. After college I served in an economically depressed part of Appalachia where precisely nobody wanted to hear my thoughts on predestination. “Ministry is people” my pastor and mentor would tell me, and he was right. I took lessons from Logan, WV into my seminary training in Minneapolis and my first pastorate in Phoenix. Through trial and error and thanks to the patience of my congregations I learned about both feeding and protecting the flock, about weeping with those who weep, about shepherding like Jesus. In 2016 God moved us to Alexandria, VA to be closer to family, and I have been privileged to serve Groveton Baptist Church as Senior Pastor.

Family

Rachael is, to quote the Proverbs, favor from the Lord. Like a perfect glass of Southern iced tea, she is both sweet and strong. Both of us are compliant first-borns who did well in school and generally had our stuff together. Then God called us into the parenting journey. Adopting three children in 10 months squeezed us and revealed just how much formation we needed. Then, after more than 10 years of infertility, God miraculously brought Samuel into our family. This Davis family, established 2003, has been a place of humbling and growing, sickness and seeking, laughter and learning, with some goats and chickens in the mix. God is good, all the time.