November 25, 2002
Coach scores a success as bivocational minister
___By George Henson
___Staff Writer
___JONESBORO--Darrell Wallace didn't have to wander for quite 40 years, but he does believe he may have found the Promised Land.
___And his route to becoming defensive coordinator of the Jonesboro Eagles and pastor of Turnersville Baptist Church in Turnersville may have been as circuitous as that of the children of Israel.
___Most of the places he believes God has led him, Wallace has found opportunities to serve a church as well as a team. While coaching in Milford, he was also an interim pastor for about six weeks.
___While the head coach at Rochelle, he also was youth pastor of Rochelle Baptist Church.
DARRELL WALLACE is a_bivocational pastor who combines a passion for football and faith in Jonesboro, where he coaches, and in Turnersville, where is_pastor.
___He moved from there and was strictly a coach at Temple Christian School for two years. But that doesn't mean God wasn't working in his life.
___"That was a real God-send," Wallace said. "That's where I got a lot of my spiritual growth."
___Then he moved again, back to a six-man football team, where his passion lies.
___He landed in Coolidge for two years, where he was defensive coordinator at the high school and youth pastor at First Baptist Church.
___A chance meeting with an old acquaintance led to his first full-time ministry position at Calvary Baptist Church in Mexia.
___"I loved it, but sitting behind a desk all day long was too much for me," Wallace said. "I had to get back to coaching."
___The problem was Wallace's children were getting older, and the constant changing of schools and friends was becoming harder. Chelsea is 11, Owen, 10, and Jonathan, 8.
___Making the decision even tougher was Calvary Baptist Church in Mexia; Wallace's whole family loved it there.
___"We were very happy with our church in Mexia. The people there were very happy with us and made us happy to be there. We were just a bunch of happy people. But for me, something was missing," Wallace explained.
___So he and his wife, Suzie, sat down and made a list of things they had to have if they were going to move--because they wanted it to be for the last time. Mrs. Wallace, a second grade teacher, wanted to teach on the same campus with her husband. He wanted to teach in his field, and he wanted to coach six-man football.
___In the past, he said, the moves were a way of proving to himself that he was successful. But he finally came to the conclusion that "as a father and husband, you sometimes have to put yourself behind and others first--especially your family."
___That decision was pivotal, Wallace believes.
___"I honestly believe that when I came to that conclusion, that was God's confirmation that I could make this one more move. He said: 'I'm going to give you the desires of your heart. I'm going to let you coach, but where I put you, you're going to stay.'"
___That's when Wallace and his tribe entered the Promised Land of Jonesboro.
___"It was definitely a great situation," he said. "The team had a lot of community support. The team was pretty good, and the school administration really supports the team. It just goes to prove that when God gives you the desire of your heart you are extremely blessed."
___But he did not yet know how blessed.
___"We weren't here a week when the pastor of the Jonesboro Baptist Church came by to see if I would preach for him while he took a little vacation," Wallace recalled. That went well, and Wallace was asked about doing youth ministry at the church. Being new to the community, he wasn't sure about jumping into a new ministry too.
___However, the telephone rang one evening soon after, and Wallace answered. It was an invitation to preach at Turnersville Baptist Church, which he accepted.
___"I remember I got off the phone and Suzie asked who it was. I told her it was the chairman of the pulpit committee at Turnersville Baptist Church, and her jaw just dropped. That was the first time it occurred to me what had just happened," he said with a grin.
___After three weeks, he was asked to preach in view of a call. He told the committee that he was afraid his teaching and coaching responsibilities would interfere. The church decided that if Wallace would preach on Sunday mornings and evenings, they would take care of Wednesdays. Wallace has now been pastor of the Turnersville Baptist Church almost three months.
___He recently baptized one of his football players, but said he is careful not to steal members from the Jonesboro congregation.
___While comfortable on the sidelines, he sweats a little more in the pulpit, he confessed.
___"It's something that I'm learning. I didn't come to Jonesboro to be a pastor; I came to coach. But you can accept part of God's blessing or you can accept the whole thing. Turnersville Baptist Church is part of the blessing God had waiting for us here, and we are blessed to have that group of people who are willing to listen to this pastor who's a coach and accept his shortcomings," Wallace said.
___He admits that he's more the church's preacher than pastor, but things are going well. When he came the church was running about 18 people and now averages closer to 40.
___"It's a journey that everyday gets a little better," he said.
___
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