What brought you to Wilshire and when?
Lunch. I moved to Dallas in September 1959 to work for Texas Instruments after finishing graduate school at the University of Oklahoma. I joined the large Baptist church downtown. At lunch someone asked, “Why aren’t you going to Wilshire?” He said Wilshire had the largest young people’s group in Dallas. I visited the next Sunday and joined the following week, in December 1959.
Who was pastor when you joined?
Bruce McIver. He impressed me as a “country preacher,” the kind I had heard in rural Oklahoma, and he remembered my name.
What was the building like back then?
We met in the Chapel. The first day I visited, I had to sit in the balcony as there was no seating downstairs. Folding chairs were placed in the aisles.
What ministries or staff members have impacted your life?
Bill O’Brien was minister of music and persuaded me to join the choir. I had never been in a choir and wasn’t sure I could sing. I met my future wife, Candy Walling, and that blessing changed my life.
What are some favorite memories?
Jim McCray and I helped Bruce with computer problems while he worked on his book. After I retired, Jim suggested we start a computer class for seniors. Dot Laux and Fred Herold were our first students. We set up a computer lab and taught classes for 23 years. It gave me purpose and was a learning experience in helping seniors.
What’s one thing you’d like newer members to know about the early days?
The church valued participation on committees to allow the membership to express options to help guide the church.
What’s something from the early days that might be surprising today?
The church didn’t let what they didn’t have get in the way of what they wanted. Without a building, money or even a staff at first, they prayed, believed and found a way to grow, with God’s help.
What things are different, and what has stayed the same?
Wilshire was open to change. Fifty years ago, they set up an experimental Sunday School class. In those days, men and women could not sit in same classes. The class, Open Bible, is still meeting today.
Why have you stayed so long?
I owe so much to Wilshire: for my wife, for help raising our three children, for giving me a chance to participate on committees and for being with me in difficult times. Wilshire is family.