Nanette and I were both born in North Carolina.  Nanette was born in Eden, while I was born in the small town of Danbury.  While these towns were only an hour apart, we would not meet until much later in life. My parents were tobacco farmers on a small, self-sufficient farm. The expectations were to pitch in and work hard.  Going to school was a good way to get away from the farm.  My parents were active in the North View Primitive Baptist Church, though they stopped attending when I was in middle school.  After becoming active in the youth group of King Church of Christ, I became a Christian at the age of 16.

Nanette’s father became a minister after he had five daughters.  She spent most of her early life at Johnson Bible College in Knoxville and at a number of churches where her father served as the minister.

Nanette and I met when both of us attended Johnson Bible College in 1981. Though she originally gave me the “cold shoulder” when we met, I was persistent, and by 1983 we were married.  After graduating in 1984, Nanette and I moved to Campbellsville, Kentucky where I served as the minister of Knifley Christian Church.  In 1986, Nanette and I, along with Chantel, headed for the University of Kentucky to engineering school.  Amber was born while we were at the school.  After graduation in 1988, I came to work at Eastman in Kingsport.  Though I later had the opportunity to complete a Master’s degree at the University of Tennessee, giving up my allegiance to the Kentucky Wildcats to become a Volunteer was impossible!

While working at Eastman, I’ve had the opportunity to live in many places.  From 1991 until 2001, we lived in Batesville, AR.  This is where our son Elliot was born in 1996.  There, we attended the North Heights Church of Christ.  As a deacon there, I led the missions committee.  We moved to Antwerp, Belgium in 2002.  There I managed an Eastman site in Kallo, Belgium for two years and one in Middelburg, the Netherlands for 2 ½ years.  We attended the Antwerp Church of Christ for the 4 ½ years we were there.  There, I had the opportunity to teach frequently and chair the men’s committee.  Nanette has actively taught children’s classes wherever we’ve been.

We returned to Kingsport in 2006. I now work with Eastman on coal gasification project development. We settled at the Northeast Church of Christ as our place of worship. We were drawn to the church by the worship experience and welcoming members of the congregation. Since becoming members, we’ve developed some very special friendships for which we’re very thankful.

I feel very privileged to serve as an elder of this congregation. It is a humbling experience. The elders of the past few years, as well as those who’ve served in the roles of deacons, elders, ministers, teachers, and secretaries for the many years this congregation has existed, have forged a congregation that well represents Christ in the Kingsport community.  The Spirit demonstrated by the congregation as it reaches out to those in need has been quite impressive.  The efforts to help the youth mature in Christ through their classes, Lads to Leaders, and youth group activities make this church a wonderful place to be.

As an elder here, I am committed and fully supported by my family to serve this congregation. My family, including John, Chantel, and Violet Vinson, is very happy to be here. My personal objective is to help in whatever way possible to see the many wonderful people of this congregation, for whom I deeply care, achieve the objective for which Christ prayed.

I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so the world may believe that You sent Me. (John 17:20-21)

Along with the other elders, I pray that God will help us achieve this.