The following interview was conducted with Larry McPherson. Larry serves at Grace as Elder and Life Group leader as well as EFC Church Multiplication Team Leader for Dallas, Tarrant and Collin counties. Larry is a committed believer who is married to LaWanna and they have three daughters, two sons-in-law and one grandbaby on the way.
What has God been teaching you lately?
God is showing me that there is more of the Kingdom of God available to me than I really know and when I seek His kingdom there is incredible joy to be found. Jesus said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. But I try to make things incredibly difficult. Jesus says "If you love me, you will obey what I command." Then when I look in the Word for His commands I find that all He ask of me is to love God with all of my heart, mind and soul, love my neighbors as myself and to make disciples of all men. If I spend my effort on these three things most everything else takes care of itself.
What is the most important thing you've learned about walking with God?
The most important thing that I have learned is that building a discipline of regular time with Christ is essential. It isn't just a Sunday morning activity or at the dinner table with the family. When I forego my regular times with the Lord I have increasing difficulty being obedient to Him and become increasingly frustrated with the grind of life. I need to persist even though there may times when I feel that God is not listening, or when I feel that there is not sufficient time to get everything done. I must spend time each day seeking God's presence. I need to provide time for God's word to sink into me and to spend time listening to God and allowing the Holy Spirit to have more control over me.
How do you keep your time with God fresh?
I am a person that requires a degree of routine in my day to day life. If I do not have routine I find that I do not accomplish as much in the areas that need action and I waste my time. So for me, I have to set aside specific times for meditation, reading the Word and prayer. I find that I do this best in the morning and try to get up early enough, before the busyness of the day begins, so that I can focus and concentrate on listening. In this way I am able to ensure I spend time seeking Christ and His direction for my life.
Who was influential in your spiritual growth?
Paul Ehmer, a pastor, mentor and friend from the early days of my walk with Jesus. Paul spend countless hours with me discussing the ways of God and Christ. For eight years he spent a couple of hours each Wednesday evening teaching me the marvelous things that God has done and is going to do and the wonders to be found in God's word.
If you could experience an event in the Bible, which one would you choose?
Creation! I am fascinated by the universe that God has created with all of its unique and diverse structures. I wonder about the joy God experiences as He watches it in action. I marvel when I see pictures from the deep space telescope showing the details of the distant universe or hear about the amazing intricacy of our DNA and how it functions. I hope I can watch when He recreates the universe and see all the details and handiwork we puts into it.
How has being in a Life Group at Grace impacted your life and the life of your family?
Life groups are one of the things in my life that I truly miss when we fail to meet. There are many evenings when after a long day at work or dealing with the issues of life I think that I just don't feel I have the energy. But after we have met I am so refreshed from the fellowship, praying for each other and the study of God's word that I can't imagine why I would have wanted to miss it. It is truly one of the high points of my week and really helps to get me through the grind. We have an exceptional group of people we meet with each week that are incredibly supportive. I know their prayers help and protect me.
What is something the people of Grace would be surprised to know about you?
Most probably know that I have just retired from my life in the telecom industry to spend more time in ministry. As a result I have been looking for opportunities to serve inside the church in more direct ways. One of the initiatives that I have begun is as the EFC Church Multiplication Team Leader for Dallas, Tarrant and Collin counties. This is really stretching me as I am really stepping into something completely new. I would really appreciate everyone keeping this in prayer.
Some Day I'd like to...
Wow, it is hard to limit this to one thing. I have so many things I would like to do. I cannot wait to meet our first granddaughter at the end of July. That is really going to open a complete new chapter in LaWanna and my life. I am also really excited to see how God will use us as we make more and more of our time available for ministry.
5-Day Clubs are the Summer Outreach of Grace Church.
