LIFE COMMUNITY CHURCH | email: info@LIFE-Community.com | phone: 336.854.5433 | Copyright © 2004 - 2012
church
A CONVERSATION WITH
on staff since 1995
If you’ve spent much time at all at Life Community Church, you realize that Pastor Barry is, well, a bit different. From his jewelry to his evolving hairstyles, he doesn’t “look” like the traditional pastor. Nor does he speak and preach as most traditional pastors. In fact, when someone comments about how different he is, he takes it as affirmation.
“I love it. It’s my favorite thing,” Barry says. “People have a box that they put everyone in, and unfortunately, a lot of people’s perspective of pastors is no longer positive. This is who I am, and it’s a little weird, but it makes people evaluate me based on who I am, not on their preconceived ideas of a pastor.”
Pastor Barry also acknowledges that his preaching style is a bit unorthodox, something he traces back to one of his professors, the late Dr. Wayne Fulton, whose approach was very contextual, connecting scriptures together to set scenes.
“That’s why when I speak, I tend to have 25 minutes of introduction, and then the talk is only 15 minutes,” he says.
The son of a pastor and missionary, Pastor Barry first felt pulled toward the ministry when he was 16 or 17, but fought it.
“The way I determined I was going to keep that from happening was to ‘Jonah’ it. For a year and half to two years, I ran as hard as I could from God. If God wanted ‘A’, I did ‘Z.’”
A collegiate athlete, Barry had dropped out of school after soccer season, but his parents – as missionaries in Germany -- convinced him to come to N.C. to be nearer his younger sister. He began taking some courses at the Christian college where she was and soon got involved with sports there. It was then that God got his attention, via a blown out Achilles tendon.
“I was in a leg cast for 10 ½ months. During that time, God absolutely turned my life around -- the humbled perspective of a guy, flat on my back, who could do nothing on his own.”
Of course, if you’ve been at LCC long, you realize he’s never lost his love of sports, from his West Virginia Mountaineers and multiple fantasy league teams to his volunteer leadership with Upward.
Barry want to live his life with "unction" - a holy urgency to fulfill God's purpose and plan for him.
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT BEST DESCRIBE YOU?
PASSIONATE - STRAIGHTFORWARD - FOCUSED
FAVORITE SCRIPTURE Colossians 1:10
“I cannot imagine a more powerful thought – ‘Walk worthy of the gospel.’”
FAMILY - Wife - Renee
children - Noah, Leah Emily “Frimpy
HOBBIES
Hanging out with family; watersports, lake; college sports
SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU
“I love Old English Bulldogs.”
HOW CAN WE SUPPORT YOU WITH PRAYER?
“Pray for discernment to know God’s will and boldness to do it no matter the cost.”
TO THE CONGREGATION - “I love serving here at Life; the spirit of the church is great and I think we are a strong congregation. However, I wish we were even more focused on the lost in our community. I wish that those we work with, those we live beside, those we love, knew Life as passionate ‘fan’atics for Christ. I wish everyone that I talked to said ’Yeah, I have had three other friends invite me to that church -- they just never quit inviting me to church, their small group, or their house.’ I wish that we all saw Life Community Church as “essential.” Not just a nice place with friendly people, or even a good place with good Bible lessons, but a place that is essential. ‘I must be involved weekly to be effective and encouraged as salt and light everyday.’ I wish we were on mission as God followers & nothing else was as critical to us.”
Pastor Barry Darnell
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I HAVE COME THAT YOU MAY HAVE LIFE ... JOHN 10:10
