Neal grew up in Little Rock and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a degree in accounting. He knew even before graduating that God was calling him into ministry leadership and began taking classes at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary satellite campus in Little Rock to prepare.
Neal entered vocational ministry as campus minister at a community college in south Arkansas while finishing his master's degree in seminary. After seminary, he served fifteen years at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, AR as a campus minister before coming to Northstar. Neal also co-pastored at Fellowship Church for ten of the fifteen years. During that time he completed a doctorate in ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Neal and his wife Teresa have six children; Emma, Elijah, Ethan, Nora, Eva and Everett. Teresa works from home teaching the kids everything from math to how to defend themselves from one another.
Connect with Neal
In my post entitled The Struggle, I concluded that struggling with sin was a normative part of following Jesus. An implication of this truth was that those who follow him need to become master strugglers, a Jedi Knight of Christianity. A master struggler is a maturing believers who, though not “made perfect” (at least not yet) has learned to to struggle well, to “walk in …
The writer of Hebrews motivated his discouraged audience to faithfulness in the midst of life difficulties (sin, persecution, weak theology ) by comparing following Jesus to running a race (Hebrews 12:1). He reminded them of the importance of focusing on Christ’s winning example(Heb 12:2-3). Then he made his appeal personal. He wrote: “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the …
One of the reoccurring stories in almost 20 years as a campus minister was from unchurched college students who had concluded that Christianity (or at least the church) was not relevant because of the perceived hypocrisy of others. The “others” were sometimes friends, classmates, adults in positions of authority, and frequently their parents. It was this perception that I’ve consistently labored …
BIGsmallGroup Kickoff 2016 was, like last year, a great time of fun and fellowship. Check out the pictures of Northstar folks playing games– from corn hole to kickball to Kan Jam, making new friends, and just hanging out. Don’t miss out future #BIGsmallGroup events we have lined up each Wednesday this summer. Next week (June 16) is bring your favorite …
This post is really not about turkey hunting but about how helping others become maturing followers of Jesus (discipleship) began to look like for me. However, I really do think God used being mentored in turkey hunting to give me a picture and a peace about the discipling process. If you are interested in reading the back story the click …
Everyone loves Spring – warmer weather, blooming flowers, and most of all gobbling turkeys. I need to confess that I begin thinking about (and looking forward to) turkey hunting in January. I get excited about the thought of standing on an oak-covered ridge listening to gobbling below me. It begins to reoccour more than is spiritually healthy toward the end of February. And …
It was a surreal experience! A group of young men from the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas arrived in the NRV Saturday, March 19. Their goal was to learn and serve. It was surreal because I served as the BCM Director of this campus for 14 years. What an encouragement to see their heart for service …
Read Matthew 26-27 slowly. “What is good about Good Friday?” is an easy question to ponder after reading Matthew 26 and 27. Betrayal, denial, injustice, political pandering, beatings, mockery, and a slow cruel death end Jesus’ last few days of life. What is good about Good Friday? Nothing, unless all the bad accomplished something really good. This truth about Good Friday reminds …
I always enjoy Member Meetings. I like the laid-back, informative, prayerful, and fun atmosphere where I get to talk with members and be reminded what has been going on and what is coming up in the life of my church. But I really enjoyed the member meeting this past Sunday, February 21. Caitlyn Scaggs used her business skills to serve …
