Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Mabel says, you are not garbage. You are a child
of God, which got me thinking yesterday early voting in
Texas through Friday, you left to check outside of Texas
where you are. But today and tomorrow the last days
in Texas, this being Thursday, October thirty. First, for those
of you listening live, which means by tomorrow you have
(00:25):
to vote early or you have to wait until Tuesday.
And God help you if you do, because that's the
day when all the shenanigans. That's the day of the
big crowd. If you put it off till then and
you have a problem, that's your business. Just don't email
me about it. I begged you to vote early. I
begged you to vote early. Deer hunters, you're going to
leave on Saturday and be gone on your hunt and
(00:47):
forget to vote. Vote early. I talked about the fact
that this Sunday will be the last chance for the church,
for the pastors to talk to their flock about the importance.
And I talked about the fact that black churches have
as souls to the polls. Used to be a pastor
named Manson Johnson in Houston, and he would do what
(01:09):
they call the roll to the polls. He would preach
his sermon. Finish early you would go out to the
bus buses that were waiting. They would roll you to
the polls early voting, last Sunday of early voting, they
rolled you to the pole. You would cast your vote
and come back and there was a big meal that
the church provided for you afterwards. Everybody in the church voted.
(01:33):
And oh, by the way, what Pastor Manson Johnson would do,
which I don't think violates the law, by the way,
is he had what was known as a pony that
is a list that tells you how to vote, and
they he would walk down the down the list. He'd
walk down the road and give people that was the
these are your recommended candidates. I know this because I
(01:55):
was a candidate, and I know this because he had
endorsed my opponent. So we would walk behind him and
pick those up and give them my note. And he
didn't feel comfortable taking away what I gave him. But
I know what happens, and I said, white pastors won't
do that. White pastors are scared so demand of your
(02:19):
pastor that they speak on the issues of the day.
So I received from you a number of Folcus one
called Cornerstone Chapel. But one of the guys I heard about,
or one of the sermons that was sent to me,
was by a pastor at First Odessa in Odessa, Texas.
And here's just a little clip of that.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
If we want to stand for morality, we want to
stand for godliness, and we want to see some good
things happen in America. If Christians do not vote, you
can hang it up because it ain't going to happen.
It happens because people will go to that election box.
So we have two people to choose from. And I
want to say this, there should be no confusion.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Whatsoever really about who to vote for.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
And in fact, I will tell you, and by the
time I finished this message, I think you will understand
it very clearly that this should be the easiest, most
clear cut decision on who to vote for that we've
been handed down to us in a generation. In fact,
I call it a no brainer because these two parties
who I've mentioned a moment ago, are not morally equal.
(03:22):
They are not morally equal. What we have witness come
forth from the Democrat Party is far more than changing morals.
It is demonic. It is anti God through and through,
and thus evil and demonic.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
They promote everything that God hates. If you do not.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Believe in child sacrifice, then this election is a no brainer.
If you do not believe in the undermining of the family,
the election is a no brainer. If you believe that
the Bible teaches that there are only two genders, male
and female, it's a no brainer. If you believe that
the brainwashing, sexualization, and mutilation of our children is wrong,
(04:04):
it's a no brainer. The Democrat Party is anti God
and stands for all that God hates, and it's a
no brainer.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
You say, pastor prove that.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
I can prove that, because Kamala Harris proved that had
her own rally. When someone shouted Jesus's Lord at her
own rally, she stopped intentionally and said, you're at the
wrong rally with a laugh. There's no joke in that.
You don't laugh when somebody says Jesus's Lord, and you
(04:36):
don't scorn when somebody says Jesus's Lord. That fact alone
should make the skin crawl on every Bible believing Christian
in America.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Right there, it's a no brainer. So a listener sent
me that and said, you need to listen to this
guy didn't give me the name. I clicked on it.
Last night. I went home and I start listening his sermon.
It's an hour and forty minutes, I say, so I
skipped ahead, and I said, let me just let me
(05:07):
just to the meat of this. So let's say forty
five minutes in. I start listening, and there's something about
this guy's delivery. It feels like mother's milk to me.
It's very comfortable to me. And then he said, growing
up in Woodville, Texas, in Southeast Texas, deep East Texas. Man,
did I light up? Because there's only three reasons that Woodville,
(05:30):
Texas exists. These are my people. Number one is to
send Kim Cruise to the voice, a little girl that
could sing her heart out ar at Seeburger's Niece. Number
two is to provide delicious food at the Picket House,
and number three is to get their assess whipped by
Orangefield High School. These are my people. Woodville is my people.
(05:51):
So interesting thing when you go to the website for
the church, when you go on the YouTube page. Unlike
some folks that you know in public, this wasn't the
Byron McWilliams show. In fact, I had to wait. I
had to search to find out the pastor's name. There's
a church in town at the motto used to friends.
(06:12):
Pastor's friend of mine. But we used to kid with
him because the motto was where Christ is the main attraction.
And I used to say, yeah, but pastor, your name's
bigger than his. On the program, this guy's not about
Byron McWilliams. This guy's about the word. And I can
guarantee you he loses some members out of saying that.
But he's not looking at him as consumers. He's actually
(06:32):
ministering the pastoring to his flock, and I love it.
He's our guest coming up. What ye allow me to
introduce myself?
Speaker 3 (06:43):
My name is Mittor Michael.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Arry Genius Well. Pastor Byron McWilliams is my kind of guy.
A listener was kind enough to say, hey, here's a
pastor who will speak out, and here's a sermon where
he does it much in the vein of my dear friend,
Pastor Ed Young, who recently retired from Second Baptist Church
(07:07):
where he helmed the ship for many, many years. Byron McWilliams.
In my opinion, is living up to God's commandment to
priests the Word. And you know, I've heard churches refer
to congregants as customers. I find that very disturbing. I
think they've lost the plot. So I love the fact
(07:30):
that I had to go looking for who he is,
which means that his name's not the biggest one on
the marquee. It's almost as if the Bible and the
Word and salvation and the sinners seeking salvation are the
primary objective. But let's welcome him to the show. Pastor
Byron McWilliams.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Welcome, Hey, Michael Barry. How are you doing, sir?
Speaker 1 (07:53):
I'm good. So I know you're from Woodville. Let's talk
about that for a moment. Were you you? You pastored
two churches in Southeast Texas. One was first Baptist Church
of Buna. We'll get to that in a moment, but
it was the first one in Woodville.
Speaker 4 (08:11):
No, the first one in Sperger.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Okay, where that is? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Now, so take me I grew up Woodville, and I agree.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Take me through high school and then and and how
you end up in your first job in the ministry.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Okay, all right, that's a good idea. I did not
actually graduate from Woodville. I moved away to the middle
of my junior year in high school. Unfortunately, we had
a tragedy in our family and so that's why we
moved to Houston. And Uh, but I grew up in Woodville.
All of my greatest growing up memories are in Woodville.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
But in middle of my junior we left. I went
to Spring High School. Uh. The best thing about Spring
High School was the end of my senior year I
met my what who would be my one day wife
and uh, absolutely the best thing uh graduate, she was her.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
No, I'm glad you clarified that, pastor, because I was
a little confused.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Yeah, I want to do that's right. That's right. Graduated.
Man work my way through college at the University of
Houston and got a degree in accounting. I was in sales,
and then after that I went to work for a
large old company, Sholl Oil Company in Houston, and I
worked there for a number of years. Felt a call
to ministry. I was going to Champion Forest Baptist Church
(09:25):
in Houston at the time, and man felt a call
to ministry and it was undeniable, and so slowly began
to pursue that as God led and one thing led
to another, I had to do all the education thing
and all that went with that. And then one thing
led to another and we go to our first church
in April nineteen ninety seven, and that would be first
Baptist Church in Spurger, which nobody in West Texas, no
(09:47):
where Spurger is so and that one.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Year did you feel your call to the ministry?
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Oh? I was thirty one years old, so that would
have been nineteen ninety four.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Okay, Now did you not seminary from there? Or what
did you begin to do at that point?
Speaker 3 (10:06):
I did? I did. I began at the Houston campus
of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and uh and it did
all of my Masters of Divinity work there and UH
then from there after I after I came to Odessa.
Actually I had to sit because of accreditation and whatnot.
You have to wait three years before you in our
doctoral program. And I did that and then UH started
(10:29):
my doctoral work when I got to Odessa and was
able to knock that out.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
So how long were you in Sperger.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Three years and nine months?
Speaker 1 (10:40):
And then First Baptist Church of Buna. So you're getting
back closer to Woodville at that point.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Yeah, and then it was actually closer to Woodville.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Oh is it really okay? But yeah, I've never been
to Spergersberger. We played Spurger much like what though we
whipped Spurger in pretty much everything we ever competed against them.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
And then I had no doubt.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
And then Buna And how long were you at first
Baptist Church of Bunah Just.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
A little over three years and wonderful ministry. Loved those
people over in Southeast Texas. Man, but God was very
clear when he called us out to West Texas. And
it was a major transition. I mean, moving from Southeast
Texas where all of my roots are there, all my
family are there, and packing my wife and I kind
of felt like, man, we're headed to the mission field.
(11:28):
We're moving that far away. But Mann a lot of great,
great people in West Texas.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
And I got to tell you, I didn't have almost
two hours because it was when I got home last
night to listen to the whole sermon. But I wanted
to see what it was about, because this listener was
so keen of this is a guy doing what you
claim you want people to do. And I said, all right,
I'm gonna fast forward on this and where I landed.
It's almost as if God intended this where I landed.
(11:55):
You were you Within three seconds you mentioned Woodville and
you talked about your mother wearing gloves up to her
elbows and that that was church. And you start talking
about your church experience was very similar to mine at
Old First Orange in Orange off of Iten just before
you get to sixty two on your way to Louisiana,
if you headed as, it's still there, just off the highway,
(12:17):
and it Boy, your storytelling I was going to listen
to about three minutes and I ended up listening for
about twenty and your storytelling, it just felt very comforting
to me. You know, this was a similar shared experience.
And I loved the sense of conviction and fearlessness, fearlessness
(12:38):
with which you delivered God's word. And I thought, man,
that is a man. That wow, that is a servant's heart.
That level of fearlessness really, and that's when I reached
out to you. How big is that church? First, Odessa,
it looked like a big church.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Yeah, we are a large church. We've got you know,
a couple thousand members. But I mean, you know, of
course you know how that works. Everybody doesn't come to church,
you know what I'm saying. But it's still a good
sized church, I mean, you know, and uh uh oh,
we have a television ministry and everything like that in
the area that's been here for a long time, and
so God is blessed from that.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
All right, hold with me for just a moment. I
want to talk about, Okay, why you do what you do.
Why you particularly took that on. Because you can preach
health and wellness and prosperity, health and wealth every Sunday
and never upset anybody. But that's not. Your job is
to discomfort the comfortable and disrupt the bad habits we
(13:43):
get into. And the fact that you do that is
very interesting to me, Pastor Byron Williams of First Odessa,
but more importantly from Woodville, Texas. From moment make normalcy.
You and I need to take a trip over the
picket house. That just needs to happen. Pastor Byron McWilliams
(14:06):
of First Odessa is our guest pastor. Why, knowing that
it will probably offend some people, maybe cost you some members,
why do you speak out on why people should vote
and how they should vote and what the issues are
facing Christians in America today.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Why do that, man, Michael, That's the question right there. Ultimately,
I would say that it goes back to the time
that Donald Trump ran for the first time and Hillary
Clinton was the opponent, and at the last debate they had,
Hillary Clinton stood flat footed and said she's going to
(14:45):
aboord a baby all the way up to the end
of nine months, and I set there praying and I think, God,
how do you want me to address this as a pastor?
Because my people need to hear from their pastor. And
I took both platforms at that time looked at him.
The Democratic platform look like it had been written kind
of by the Antichrist, and the Republican platform looked like
it had been almost a Sunday School lesson because it
(15:07):
referenced God so much. I brought those into the pulpit
with me, and I preached a message using those the
dichotomy of those, and looking at that, I prayed about
what do I need to do here, because I don't
want to offend unnecessarily. But what I have found is
that if you preach the word of God, you're going
to offend people. That's just the bottom line. And so
I prayed about when God, if he wanted me to
(15:29):
preach a message like that, this go around and this
last Sunday is when he gave me the message to preach,
and man, God calls the shots. I can't do anything
other than what I believe He desires me to do.
Nobody else tells me what to preach. It's just I
go to him, I pray, I seek God's leadership, and
then I step in and hopefully can deliver exactly the
(15:51):
message that He desires me to preach. So that's really
how it came about. I've never really shied away from
tough subjects. You said something earlier about being fearless. No,
there is fear involved, but the fear cannot be allowed
to stop me from speaking and saying what God wants
me to say.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Do you get complaints?
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Yeah, yeah I do. It is at We live in
West Texas, and I will tell you that West Texas
is probably one of the reddest places in Texas, and
I love that, But I don't think it would matter
where I live. I'm going to preach the word, and
if I was in Southeast Texas still I would preach there.
I preach the same way when I live there. People
(16:33):
do complain at times, but people who know me, they
know my heart, and they know that my desires to
lift up and exalt the Lord Jesus above everything else.
And I just feel strongly that if the church is
silent during these perilous times, if the church is silent
when we see all of the evil that is going on,
I'll stand before God and I will I will have
(16:54):
to give an account of why I did not speak
up and why I did not warn the sheep whom
are under my responsibility as their shepherd. That's so, Yeah,
I get complaints, but the complaints are not going to
stop me from doing what God wants me to do.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
I note your involvement and leadership, rather impressive resume of
service and leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention and International
Baptist Church. It's it's obviously you are well respected among
(17:30):
among ministers. When you when you look at that service
and you look at churches across the country, obviously a
lot of pastors are not willing to do what you're
willing to do.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Why do you think that is?
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Mm, that's a great question. Uh, I thought about that.
I think fear is certainly the biggest issue for most
and and I struggle with that, okay, because I'll tell
you why. I think if I'm going to let fear
stop me from speaking the Word of God, that's not
really fear, it's cowardice. And I can't stand that. I
(18:11):
think there's a fear that some pastors have have of
losing members. And let's just call it what it is.
They don't want to lose somebody that tithes and gives
to the church because there's budgetary issues. But again, my
God does not just own a cattle on a thousand hills.
He owns a cattle on every hill, and he can provide,
and he does provide. And then I think there is
the fear in the mind of some that they're dishonoring
(18:33):
the Lord by standing up and speaking, you know, in
what they call politics. I think it's dishonoring to the
Lord to not stand up and not speak truth regardless.
And that's our calling. And you know, for the first
time in American history, you have the pulpits in America
that are practically silent, and world history has an American
(18:53):
history has never had silent pastors out there, you know,
just just sitting and watching that which is devastating to
our culture, devastating to the generations that are coming behind us,
and they're going to sit by quietly and watch this
take place and not stand up and speak out against
it and seek to lead God's people to deeper, to
deeper holiness toward in honor of Him. I just can't
(19:16):
abide by that. So I think it's fear. I think
it's fear of losing members. I think it's that big word, fear,
you know.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
I genuinely believe, not just a political comment, genuinely believe
it is much deeper than that, that there is a
move by the devil to silence the church. And I
think that a number of people have succumbed to that.
And I'll tell you, I don't know your finances. I
don't know your church is financing. I will tell you
when I see these churches constantly in the middle of
(19:46):
a building fund, constantly in the middle of some fund
to enrich the pastor constantly trying to do something bigger.
You know, there was a prayer of job as Era
where everybody wanted to expand their lands, and I found
that to be very, very unbiblical. But just like at
the individual level, just like with the United States Treasury.
(20:08):
When you take on all these debts, you put yourself
in a situation. I tell young people this today, when
they get their first job, do not go lease a
BMW or a Mercedes and take out a loan on
a big house you've just started your job, because then
you can't leave when you're compromised. And I think that
that has affected a lot of the church. Pastor Byron McWilliams,
can you hold with us for just a moment, the
(20:28):
First Odessa. Yes, and by the way, you can find
him on YouTube or any other site if you want
to see his sermons. And from what I've seen, yes,
they are wonderful, we think, sweet tee, we don't you think.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
So.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
You can find Pastor Byron McWilliams on YouTube, not by
his name, by the name of the church, because he
doesn't puff his own name up. It's First Odessa. They
they seem to post most everything they do in their
service for people to enjoy, learn from, grow from. I'm
(21:08):
guessing they have a department that handles that. But you
can get a lot of his sermons if you subscribe
to our blast. Jim Mudd our creative director will put
a link to the sermon, in particular that I was
sent by a listener, which is why I read my
emails for things like that. I would have never known
of this fella or this church. You'll get the sermon
(21:31):
about why it is important for Christians to participate. Civic
engagement is very, very important, Pastor. I do want to
take a moment and step back. I know you left
Woodville in your junior year of high school.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Yeah, it was my junior year.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Okay, how many times would you guess you've eaten at
the Picket House?
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Oh, buddy, the Ticket House is wonderful ruppet in it's
picket House. Man. My wife is listening and she she
texted me a minute ago and she said, oh, man,
I want some Picket House fried chicken. Yeah, so because
it is good stuff.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
This is I love their website because they don't screw around.
I've read their entire website, which doesn't take that long
on the show before, but it goes like this. The
world famous Picket House restaurant serves boarding house style all
you can eat fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, country vegetables, cobbler, biscuits,
and corn bread and all different condiments for you're liking.
(22:30):
Are you a fried chicken man, or are you going
to have the chicken and dumplings.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
No, I'm gonna have both, man. Why not have both
of you?
Speaker 2 (22:36):
There?
Speaker 1 (22:36):
I need you to prioritize. We prioritize on this show, pastor.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
Then I'm going to prioritize fried chicken.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Are you going darker or white?
Speaker 3 (22:44):
Me? I'm a both. If I have to prioritize.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
What's that.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
I said, I'm going to prioritize white meat. If I
have to prioritize there.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Okay, that's a terrible choice. But okay, let's see country vegetables.
What is your favorite country vegetables?
Speaker 3 (23:03):
There turn the greens man cobbler.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
What's your favorite? What's your favorite flavor of cobbler?
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Peach?
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Are you gonna are you gonna go biscuits or corn bread?
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (23:17):
I'm doing corn bread all the way.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
This is my favorite. At the end, they've got guidelines.
It says number one, there are no individual menus. They're
not even playing like you want to come here and
play by the rules. You're gonna have a great meal,
but don't start all this separate tabs and all that.
Number two, pick up your own silver wearing drinks as
well as refills of drinks. Number three ask for condiments,
extra towels, or whatever you need. We're not wasting a
(23:40):
bunch of stuff around here. Number four return your dishes
to the kitchen window. That's not asking too much. Number five,
A plate launch is available upon request. See, these are
people that were raised right in my household, and I
guarantee you were raised the same way. My parents set
out very strict rules. And guess what we didn't get.
We didn't need to be We didn't need to fight.
(24:02):
My parents set out strict rules, and you understood the rules.
And I think those rules give you comfort and security.
You don't have to keep testing them. I see these
parents raising children where they're begging the child, can we
please please go? We got to get home. Can we
please please go and get nah? Please, little billy please?
I can't stand that. Okay, So let me ask you
a question. You probably can't answer this, but a friend
(24:23):
of mine who lives in the Woodville says, Picket House
was great. Now it's only good the Blacks sold to
the Pentecostals, and the Pentecostals are doing the best they can,
but the quality of food went down when the Black's left.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Okay, So here's what I can tell you. When I
was growing up, there a woman by the name of
missus Bean, and she was a black lady. I went
to school with her with her son.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Please tell me her son's name was Butter.
Speaker 3 (24:51):
No, it wasn't Butter. I can't help you there, buddy,
you know, but that's good. And she cooked fried chicken
and it was the best fried chicken in person to
ever on the face of the earth. It's hard for
me to compare between the two now because they still
cook great fried chicken. So I'm not gonna say that
it's just good. I'm gonna probably say it's still great.
We still go there every time we come home.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
And how often is that?
Speaker 3 (25:18):
Oh not enough?
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Man?
Speaker 3 (25:19):
A couple times a year. We make it back over
to East Texas.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
You still have relatives there.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
My mom still lives outside of Woodville.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Yeah, oh really, what's her name?
Speaker 3 (25:28):
Yeah? Her name is Earlene.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Oh my goodness, I love her already. I love her already.
So I got a message from one of our county commissioners.
Are our best county commissioner here in the Greater Houston
Ry Harris County, and he said, my mom is from Woodville.
My grandfather, Stanley, who I was named for, was a
deacon at First Baptist Woodville. I love Woodville. And I said, well,
(25:52):
what's your mother's full name? And he said ethel Lee
Stanley and her dad is George Thomas Stanley. And my
name is Thomas Stanley STA N D. L. E. Y. Ramsey,
and he's Tom Ramsey. He grew up in Crockett, but
his family. I love all that East Texas stuff. All right.
I got a little trivia for you, hotshot, because I
suspect you might know this, okay, growing up in Woodville
(26:15):
as you. Did you know that it is in Tyler County?
Speaker 3 (26:21):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Woodville is the county seat of Tyler County and was
named for whom.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
Ah, that's a great question. I was gonna. I would
love to say John Henry Kirby, because Kirby Lumber Company
and everything had such an impact there. But it had
to be somebody related to the Wood family. And uh,
I don't really know the ultimate.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
It was named after the second Governor of Texas, George
Tyler Wood.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
He was good, he was just he was.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Defeated for No, I had to look it up. He
was defeated for reelection. Okay, okay, And it turns out,
you know, I thought, well, who was the first governor?
And I would have thought, well, maybe it was Sam Houston.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
No.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
Sam Houston's not elected governor until twenty three years after
the Alamo. He was the seventh governor. Our boy, George
Tyler wood was the second governor. Did you happen to
know a lawyer from Woodville with the last name Kenny
because I had a law school classic named Robert Kenny
and his dad was a big deal in Woodville.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
I did, yes, sir, So he would have been family
were there.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
Yeah, he would have been a little younger than you.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
What's the hardest part about being a pastor?
Speaker 3 (27:41):
Oh? Man, the demands just from it's the hardest part.
But it's the best part. The demands and loving your
people and shepherding your people. You know, that's that's the
hardest part, right there, I would say, But it's the
best part, you know, standing up and preaching, that's wonderful.
I love to do that and I thank God for
the privilege of getting to do that. But you know,
(28:03):
I'm going to preach regardless. If I don't have a church,
probably I'm find I'm will find somewhere to preach and
somehow to spread the Word of God. But loving the
people and loving my people here. We've been here twenty years, man,
And when I first got here, I was like, seriously,
we're moving to West Texas, away from everything I know.
And but my family fell in love out here with
the people and with the area, and so you know,
(28:26):
it's just good people and they love the word of God.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Is the most political thing you have to go through
every week deciding which family you'll have dinner at. There,
There'll have Sunday lunch at their house.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
No, I don't have to do that that much now.
That was more in my other two churches, but not
now I am. You know. I try to love them all,
and there's some you know, obviously in every church there's
people that are easier to love than others. But my
goal was to love them all. God's called me to
shepherd them all, so that's what I desire to do.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
You will appreciate this. With the challenges and demands on
your time and energy. When I got elected to city
council in two thousand and one, I went to ed
Young because I couldn't keep up. People wanted me to
go to their kids' bar mitzvah. They wanted me to
go to their kids wedding. And I'd been elected citywide.
It's a big city and a lot of people had
invested in me. They put a lot of time and energy.
And my wife said, why don't you go talk to
(29:19):
Pastor Young. He'll be able to handle this. He's got
thirty thousand members and they expect a lot more out
of a pastor and a city councilor. And I did,
and he gave me the book Good to Great by
Jim Collins and told me to read that. And he
told me that when somebody wants to have a meeting,
don't have it. Say what let's talk about what you
need to talk about right now. And he gave me
about three or four bits of advice that have stuck
with me to this very day. So I have, from
(29:41):
a distance an appreciation for what you do and how
you do it. But I will tell you that the
highest compliment I can give you is that you I
don't like the whole televangelist preacher, rock Star megalomaniac megachurch.
Thing from when we talked last night. You talk about
shepherding your and and tending your flock, and I love
(30:03):
that about you. Pastor Byron McWilliams, First Odessa, that you
might be a shining example of what the church should be.
Afford a nice.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Meal, Michael Barry. That's gotten harder because of Kamala Harris's
policies
Mabel says, you are not garbage. You are a child
of God, which got me thinking yesterday early voting in
Texas through Friday, you left to check outside of Texas
where you are. But today and tomorrow the last days
in Texas, this being Thursday, October thirty. First, for those
of you listening live, which means by tomorrow you have
(00:25):
to vote early or you have to wait until Tuesday.
And God help you if you do, because that's the
day when all the shenanigans. That's the day of the
big crowd. If you put it off till then and
you have a problem, that's your business. Just don't email
me about it. I begged you to vote early. I
begged you to vote early. Deer hunters, you're going to
leave on Saturday and be gone on your hunt and
(00:47):
forget to vote. Vote early. I talked about the fact
that this Sunday will be the last chance for the church,
for the pastors to talk to their flock about the importance.
And I talked about the fact that black churches have
as souls to the polls. Used to be a pastor
named Manson Johnson in Houston, and he would do what
(01:09):
they call the roll to the polls. He would preach
his sermon. Finish early you would go out to the
bus buses that were waiting. They would roll you to
the polls early voting, last Sunday of early voting, they
rolled you to the pole. You would cast your vote
and come back and there was a big meal that
the church provided for you afterwards. Everybody in the church voted.
(01:33):
And oh, by the way, what Pastor Manson Johnson would do,
which I don't think violates the law, by the way,
is he had what was known as a pony that
is a list that tells you how to vote, and
they he would walk down the down the list. He'd
walk down the road and give people that was the
these are your recommended candidates. I know this because I
(01:55):
was a candidate, and I know this because he had
endorsed my opponent. So we would walk behind him and
pick those up and give them my note. And he
didn't feel comfortable taking away what I gave him. But
I know what happens, and I said, white pastors won't
do that. White pastors are scared so demand of your
(02:19):
pastor that they speak on the issues of the day.
So I received from you a number of Folcus one
called Cornerstone Chapel. But one of the guys I heard about,
or one of the sermons that was sent to me,
was by a pastor at First Odessa in Odessa, Texas.
And here's just a little clip of that.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
If we want to stand for morality, we want to
stand for godliness, and we want to see some good
things happen in America. If Christians do not vote, you
can hang it up because it ain't going to happen.
It happens because people will go to that election box.
So we have two people to choose from. And I
want to say this, there should be no confusion.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Whatsoever really about who to vote for.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
And in fact, I will tell you, and by the
time I finished this message, I think you will understand
it very clearly that this should be the easiest, most
clear cut decision on who to vote for that we've
been handed down to us in a generation. In fact,
I call it a no brainer because these two parties
who I've mentioned a moment ago, are not morally equal.
(03:22):
They are not morally equal. What we have witness come
forth from the Democrat Party is far more than changing morals.
It is demonic. It is anti God through and through,
and thus evil and demonic.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
They promote everything that God hates. If you do not.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Believe in child sacrifice, then this election is a no brainer.
If you do not believe in the undermining of the family,
the election is a no brainer. If you believe that
the Bible teaches that there are only two genders, male
and female, it's a no brainer. If you believe that
the brainwashing, sexualization, and mutilation of our children is wrong,
(04:04):
it's a no brainer. The Democrat Party is anti God
and stands for all that God hates, and it's a
no brainer.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
You say, pastor prove that.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
I can prove that, because Kamala Harris proved that had
her own rally. When someone shouted Jesus's Lord at her
own rally, she stopped intentionally and said, you're at the
wrong rally with a laugh. There's no joke in that.
You don't laugh when somebody says Jesus's Lord, and you
(04:36):
don't scorn when somebody says Jesus's Lord. That fact alone
should make the skin crawl on every Bible believing Christian
in America.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Right there, it's a no brainer. So a listener sent
me that and said, you need to listen to this
guy didn't give me the name. I clicked on it.
Last night. I went home and I start listening his sermon.
It's an hour and forty minutes, I say, so I
skipped ahead, and I said, let me just let me
(05:07):
just to the meat of this. So let's say forty
five minutes in. I start listening, and there's something about
this guy's delivery. It feels like mother's milk to me.
It's very comfortable to me. And then he said, growing
up in Woodville, Texas, in Southeast Texas, deep East Texas. Man,
did I light up? Because there's only three reasons that Woodville,
(05:30):
Texas exists. These are my people. Number one is to
send Kim Cruise to the voice, a little girl that
could sing her heart out ar at Seeburger's Niece. Number
two is to provide delicious food at the Picket House,
and number three is to get their assess whipped by
Orangefield High School. These are my people. Woodville is my people.
(05:51):
So interesting thing when you go to the website for
the church, when you go on the YouTube page. Unlike
some folks that you know in public, this wasn't the
Byron McWilliams show. In fact, I had to wait. I
had to search to find out the pastor's name. There's
a church in town at the motto used to friends.
(06:12):
Pastor's friend of mine. But we used to kid with
him because the motto was where Christ is the main attraction.
And I used to say, yeah, but pastor, your name's
bigger than his. On the program, this guy's not about
Byron McWilliams. This guy's about the word. And I can
guarantee you he loses some members out of saying that.
But he's not looking at him as consumers. He's actually
(06:32):
ministering the pastoring to his flock, and I love it.
He's our guest coming up. What ye allow me to
introduce myself?
Speaker 3 (06:43):
My name is Mittor Michael.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Arry Genius Well. Pastor Byron McWilliams is my kind of guy.
A listener was kind enough to say, hey, here's a
pastor who will speak out, and here's a sermon where
he does it much in the vein of my dear friend,
Pastor Ed Young, who recently retired from Second Baptist Church
(07:07):
where he helmed the ship for many, many years. Byron McWilliams.
In my opinion, is living up to God's commandment to
priests the Word. And you know, I've heard churches refer
to congregants as customers. I find that very disturbing. I
think they've lost the plot. So I love the fact
(07:30):
that I had to go looking for who he is,
which means that his name's not the biggest one on
the marquee. It's almost as if the Bible and the
Word and salvation and the sinners seeking salvation are the
primary objective. But let's welcome him to the show. Pastor
Byron McWilliams.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Welcome, Hey, Michael Barry. How are you doing, sir?
Speaker 1 (07:53):
I'm good. So I know you're from Woodville. Let's talk
about that for a moment. Were you you? You pastored
two churches in Southeast Texas. One was first Baptist Church
of Buna. We'll get to that in a moment, but
it was the first one in Woodville.
Speaker 4 (08:11):
No, the first one in Sperger.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Okay, where that is? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Now, so take me I grew up Woodville, and I agree.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Take me through high school and then and and how
you end up in your first job in the ministry.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Okay, all right, that's a good idea. I did not
actually graduate from Woodville. I moved away to the middle
of my junior year in high school. Unfortunately, we had
a tragedy in our family and so that's why we
moved to Houston. And Uh, but I grew up in Woodville.
All of my greatest growing up memories are in Woodville.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
But in middle of my junior we left. I went
to Spring High School. Uh. The best thing about Spring
High School was the end of my senior year I
met my what who would be my one day wife
and uh, absolutely the best thing uh graduate, she was her.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
No, I'm glad you clarified that, pastor, because I was
a little confused.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Yeah, I want to do that's right. That's right. Graduated.
Man work my way through college at the University of
Houston and got a degree in accounting. I was in sales,
and then after that I went to work for a
large old company, Sholl Oil Company in Houston, and I
worked there for a number of years. Felt a call
to ministry. I was going to Champion Forest Baptist Church
(09:25):
in Houston at the time, and man felt a call
to ministry and it was undeniable, and so slowly began
to pursue that as God led and one thing led
to another, I had to do all the education thing
and all that went with that. And then one thing
led to another and we go to our first church
in April nineteen ninety seven, and that would be first
Baptist Church in Spurger, which nobody in West Texas, no
(09:47):
where Spurger is so and that one.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Year did you feel your call to the ministry?
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Oh? I was thirty one years old, so that would
have been nineteen ninety four.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Okay, Now did you not seminary from there? Or what
did you begin to do at that point?
Speaker 3 (10:06):
I did? I did. I began at the Houston campus
of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and uh and it did
all of my Masters of Divinity work there and UH
then from there after I after I came to Odessa.
Actually I had to sit because of accreditation and whatnot.
You have to wait three years before you in our
doctoral program. And I did that and then UH started
(10:29):
my doctoral work when I got to Odessa and was
able to knock that out.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
So how long were you in Sperger.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Three years and nine months?
Speaker 1 (10:40):
And then First Baptist Church of Buna. So you're getting
back closer to Woodville at that point.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Yeah, and then it was actually closer to Woodville.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Oh is it really okay? But yeah, I've never been
to Spergersberger. We played Spurger much like what though we
whipped Spurger in pretty much everything we ever competed against them.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
And then I had no doubt.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
And then Buna And how long were you at first
Baptist Church of Bunah Just.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
A little over three years and wonderful ministry. Loved those
people over in Southeast Texas. Man, but God was very
clear when he called us out to West Texas. And
it was a major transition. I mean, moving from Southeast
Texas where all of my roots are there, all my
family are there, and packing my wife and I kind
of felt like, man, we're headed to the mission field.
(11:28):
We're moving that far away. But Mann a lot of great,
great people in West Texas.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
And I got to tell you, I didn't have almost
two hours because it was when I got home last
night to listen to the whole sermon. But I wanted
to see what it was about, because this listener was
so keen of this is a guy doing what you
claim you want people to do. And I said, all right,
I'm gonna fast forward on this and where I landed.
It's almost as if God intended this where I landed.
(11:55):
You were you Within three seconds you mentioned Woodville and
you talked about your mother wearing gloves up to her
elbows and that that was church. And you start talking
about your church experience was very similar to mine at
Old First Orange in Orange off of Iten just before
you get to sixty two on your way to Louisiana,
if you headed as, it's still there, just off the highway,
(12:17):
and it Boy, your storytelling I was going to listen
to about three minutes and I ended up listening for
about twenty and your storytelling, it just felt very comforting
to me. You know, this was a similar shared experience.
And I loved the sense of conviction and fearlessness, fearlessness
(12:38):
with which you delivered God's word. And I thought, man,
that is a man. That wow, that is a servant's heart.
That level of fearlessness really, and that's when I reached
out to you. How big is that church? First, Odessa,
it looked like a big church.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Yeah, we are a large church. We've got you know,
a couple thousand members. But I mean, you know, of
course you know how that works. Everybody doesn't come to church,
you know what I'm saying. But it's still a good
sized church, I mean, you know, and uh uh oh,
we have a television ministry and everything like that in
the area that's been here for a long time, and
so God is blessed from that.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
All right, hold with me for just a moment. I
want to talk about, Okay, why you do what you do.
Why you particularly took that on. Because you can preach
health and wellness and prosperity, health and wealth every Sunday
and never upset anybody. But that's not. Your job is
to discomfort the comfortable and disrupt the bad habits we
(13:43):
get into. And the fact that you do that is
very interesting to me, Pastor Byron Williams of First Odessa,
but more importantly from Woodville, Texas. From moment make normalcy.
You and I need to take a trip over the
picket house. That just needs to happen. Pastor Byron McWilliams
(14:06):
of First Odessa is our guest pastor. Why, knowing that
it will probably offend some people, maybe cost you some members,
why do you speak out on why people should vote
and how they should vote and what the issues are
facing Christians in America today.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Why do that, man, Michael, That's the question right there. Ultimately,
I would say that it goes back to the time
that Donald Trump ran for the first time and Hillary
Clinton was the opponent, and at the last debate they had,
Hillary Clinton stood flat footed and said she's going to
(14:45):
aboord a baby all the way up to the end
of nine months, and I set there praying and I think, God,
how do you want me to address this as a pastor?
Because my people need to hear from their pastor. And
I took both platforms at that time looked at him.
The Democratic platform look like it had been written kind
of by the Antichrist, and the Republican platform looked like
it had been almost a Sunday School lesson because it
(15:07):
referenced God so much. I brought those into the pulpit
with me, and I preached a message using those the
dichotomy of those, and looking at that, I prayed about
what do I need to do here, because I don't
want to offend unnecessarily. But what I have found is
that if you preach the word of God, you're going
to offend people. That's just the bottom line. And so
I prayed about when God, if he wanted me to
(15:29):
preach a message like that, this go around and this
last Sunday is when he gave me the message to preach,
and man, God calls the shots. I can't do anything
other than what I believe He desires me to do.
Nobody else tells me what to preach. It's just I
go to him, I pray, I seek God's leadership, and
then I step in and hopefully can deliver exactly the
(15:51):
message that He desires me to preach. So that's really
how it came about. I've never really shied away from
tough subjects. You said something earlier about being fearless. No,
there is fear involved, but the fear cannot be allowed
to stop me from speaking and saying what God wants
me to say.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Do you get complaints?
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Yeah, yeah I do. It is at We live in
West Texas, and I will tell you that West Texas
is probably one of the reddest places in Texas, and
I love that, But I don't think it would matter
where I live. I'm going to preach the word, and
if I was in Southeast Texas still I would preach there.
I preach the same way when I live there. People
(16:33):
do complain at times, but people who know me, they
know my heart, and they know that my desires to
lift up and exalt the Lord Jesus above everything else.
And I just feel strongly that if the church is
silent during these perilous times, if the church is silent
when we see all of the evil that is going on,
I'll stand before God and I will I will have
(16:54):
to give an account of why I did not speak
up and why I did not warn the sheep whom
are under my responsibility as their shepherd. That's so, Yeah,
I get complaints, but the complaints are not going to
stop me from doing what God wants me to do.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
I note your involvement and leadership, rather impressive resume of
service and leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention and International
Baptist Church. It's it's obviously you are well respected among
(17:30):
among ministers. When you when you look at that service
and you look at churches across the country, obviously a
lot of pastors are not willing to do what you're
willing to do.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Why do you think that is?
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Mm, that's a great question. Uh, I thought about that.
I think fear is certainly the biggest issue for most
and and I struggle with that, okay, because I'll tell
you why. I think if I'm going to let fear
stop me from speaking the Word of God, that's not
really fear, it's cowardice. And I can't stand that. I
(18:11):
think there's a fear that some pastors have have of
losing members. And let's just call it what it is.
They don't want to lose somebody that tithes and gives
to the church because there's budgetary issues. But again, my
God does not just own a cattle on a thousand hills.
He owns a cattle on every hill, and he can provide,
and he does provide. And then I think there is
the fear in the mind of some that they're dishonoring
(18:33):
the Lord by standing up and speaking, you know, in
what they call politics. I think it's dishonoring to the
Lord to not stand up and not speak truth regardless.
And that's our calling. And you know, for the first
time in American history, you have the pulpits in America
that are practically silent, and world history has an American
(18:53):
history has never had silent pastors out there, you know,
just just sitting and watching that which is devastating to
our culture, devastating to the generations that are coming behind us,
and they're going to sit by quietly and watch this
take place and not stand up and speak out against
it and seek to lead God's people to deeper, to
deeper holiness toward in honor of Him. I just can't
(19:16):
abide by that. So I think it's fear. I think
it's fear of losing members. I think it's that big word, fear,
you know.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
I genuinely believe, not just a political comment, genuinely believe
it is much deeper than that, that there is a
move by the devil to silence the church. And I
think that a number of people have succumbed to that.
And I'll tell you, I don't know your finances. I
don't know your church is financing. I will tell you
when I see these churches constantly in the middle of
(19:46):
a building fund, constantly in the middle of some fund
to enrich the pastor constantly trying to do something bigger.
You know, there was a prayer of job as Era
where everybody wanted to expand their lands, and I found
that to be very, very unbiblical. But just like at
the individual level, just like with the United States Treasury.
(20:08):
When you take on all these debts, you put yourself
in a situation. I tell young people this today, when
they get their first job, do not go lease a
BMW or a Mercedes and take out a loan on
a big house you've just started your job, because then
you can't leave when you're compromised. And I think that
that has affected a lot of the church. Pastor Byron McWilliams,
can you hold with us for just a moment, the
(20:28):
First Odessa. Yes, and by the way, you can find
him on YouTube or any other site if you want
to see his sermons. And from what I've seen, yes,
they are wonderful, we think, sweet tee, we don't you think.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
So.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
You can find Pastor Byron McWilliams on YouTube, not by
his name, by the name of the church, because he
doesn't puff his own name up. It's First Odessa. They
they seem to post most everything they do in their
service for people to enjoy, learn from, grow from. I'm
(21:08):
guessing they have a department that handles that. But you
can get a lot of his sermons if you subscribe
to our blast. Jim Mudd our creative director will put
a link to the sermon, in particular that I was
sent by a listener, which is why I read my
emails for things like that. I would have never known
of this fella or this church. You'll get the sermon
(21:31):
about why it is important for Christians to participate. Civic
engagement is very, very important, Pastor. I do want to
take a moment and step back. I know you left
Woodville in your junior year of high school.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Yeah, it was my junior year.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Okay, how many times would you guess you've eaten at
the Picket House?
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Oh, buddy, the Ticket House is wonderful ruppet in it's
picket House. Man. My wife is listening and she she
texted me a minute ago and she said, oh, man,
I want some Picket House fried chicken. Yeah, so because
it is good stuff.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
This is I love their website because they don't screw around.
I've read their entire website, which doesn't take that long
on the show before, but it goes like this. The
world famous Picket House restaurant serves boarding house style all
you can eat fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, country vegetables, cobbler, biscuits,
and corn bread and all different condiments for you're liking.
(22:30):
Are you a fried chicken man, or are you going
to have the chicken and dumplings.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
No, I'm gonna have both, man. Why not have both
of you?
Speaker 2 (22:36):
There?
Speaker 1 (22:36):
I need you to prioritize. We prioritize on this show, pastor.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
Then I'm going to prioritize fried chicken.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Are you going darker or white?
Speaker 3 (22:44):
Me? I'm a both. If I have to prioritize.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
What's that.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
I said, I'm going to prioritize white meat. If I
have to prioritize there.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Okay, that's a terrible choice. But okay, let's see country vegetables.
What is your favorite country vegetables?
Speaker 3 (23:03):
There turn the greens man cobbler.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
What's your favorite? What's your favorite flavor of cobbler?
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Peach?
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Are you gonna are you gonna go biscuits or corn bread?
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (23:17):
I'm doing corn bread all the way.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
This is my favorite. At the end, they've got guidelines.
It says number one, there are no individual menus. They're
not even playing like you want to come here and
play by the rules. You're gonna have a great meal,
but don't start all this separate tabs and all that.
Number two, pick up your own silver wearing drinks as
well as refills of drinks. Number three ask for condiments,
extra towels, or whatever you need. We're not wasting a
(23:40):
bunch of stuff around here. Number four return your dishes
to the kitchen window. That's not asking too much. Number five,
A plate launch is available upon request. See, these are
people that were raised right in my household, and I
guarantee you were raised the same way. My parents set
out very strict rules. And guess what we didn't get.
We didn't need to be We didn't need to fight.
(24:02):
My parents set out strict rules, and you understood the rules.
And I think those rules give you comfort and security.
You don't have to keep testing them. I see these
parents raising children where they're begging the child, can we
please please go? We got to get home. Can we
please please go and get nah? Please, little billy please?
I can't stand that. Okay, So let me ask you
a question. You probably can't answer this, but a friend
(24:23):
of mine who lives in the Woodville says, Picket House
was great. Now it's only good the Blacks sold to
the Pentecostals, and the Pentecostals are doing the best they can,
but the quality of food went down when the Black's left.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Okay, So here's what I can tell you. When I
was growing up, there a woman by the name of
missus Bean, and she was a black lady. I went
to school with her with her son.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Please tell me her son's name was Butter.
Speaker 3 (24:51):
No, it wasn't Butter. I can't help you there, buddy,
you know, but that's good. And she cooked fried chicken
and it was the best fried chicken in person to
ever on the face of the earth. It's hard for
me to compare between the two now because they still
cook great fried chicken. So I'm not gonna say that
it's just good. I'm gonna probably say it's still great.
We still go there every time we come home.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
And how often is that?
Speaker 3 (25:18):
Oh not enough?
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Man?
Speaker 3 (25:19):
A couple times a year. We make it back over
to East Texas.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
You still have relatives there.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
My mom still lives outside of Woodville.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Yeah, oh really, what's her name?
Speaker 3 (25:28):
Yeah? Her name is Earlene.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Oh my goodness, I love her already. I love her already.
So I got a message from one of our county commissioners.
Are our best county commissioner here in the Greater Houston
Ry Harris County, and he said, my mom is from Woodville.
My grandfather, Stanley, who I was named for, was a
deacon at First Baptist Woodville. I love Woodville. And I said, well,
(25:52):
what's your mother's full name? And he said ethel Lee
Stanley and her dad is George Thomas Stanley. And my
name is Thomas Stanley STA N D. L. E. Y. Ramsey,
and he's Tom Ramsey. He grew up in Crockett, but
his family. I love all that East Texas stuff. All right.
I got a little trivia for you, hotshot, because I
suspect you might know this, okay, growing up in Woodville
(26:15):
as you. Did you know that it is in Tyler County?
Speaker 3 (26:21):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Woodville is the county seat of Tyler County and was
named for whom.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
Ah, that's a great question. I was gonna. I would
love to say John Henry Kirby, because Kirby Lumber Company
and everything had such an impact there. But it had
to be somebody related to the Wood family. And uh,
I don't really know the ultimate.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
It was named after the second Governor of Texas, George
Tyler Wood.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
He was good, he was just he was.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Defeated for No, I had to look it up. He
was defeated for reelection. Okay, okay, And it turns out,
you know, I thought, well, who was the first governor?
And I would have thought, well, maybe it was Sam Houston.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
No.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
Sam Houston's not elected governor until twenty three years after
the Alamo. He was the seventh governor. Our boy, George
Tyler wood was the second governor. Did you happen to
know a lawyer from Woodville with the last name Kenny
because I had a law school classic named Robert Kenny
and his dad was a big deal in Woodville.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
I did, yes, sir, So he would have been family
were there.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
Yeah, he would have been a little younger than you.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
What's the hardest part about being a pastor?
Speaker 3 (27:41):
Oh? Man, the demands just from it's the hardest part.
But it's the best part. The demands and loving your
people and shepherding your people. You know, that's that's the
hardest part, right there, I would say, But it's the
best part, you know, standing up and preaching, that's wonderful.
I love to do that and I thank God for
the privilege of getting to do that. But you know,
(28:03):
I'm going to preach regardless. If I don't have a church,
probably I'm find I'm will find somewhere to preach and
somehow to spread the Word of God. But loving the
people and loving my people here. We've been here twenty years, man,
And when I first got here, I was like, seriously,
we're moving to West Texas, away from everything I know.
And but my family fell in love out here with
the people and with the area, and so you know,
(28:26):
it's just good people and they love the word of God.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Is the most political thing you have to go through
every week deciding which family you'll have dinner at. There,
There'll have Sunday lunch at their house.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
No, I don't have to do that that much now.
That was more in my other two churches, but not
now I am. You know. I try to love them all,
and there's some you know, obviously in every church there's
people that are easier to love than others. But my
goal was to love them all. God's called me to
shepherd them all, so that's what I desire to do.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
You will appreciate this. With the challenges and demands on
your time and energy. When I got elected to city
council in two thousand and one, I went to ed
Young because I couldn't keep up. People wanted me to
go to their kids' bar mitzvah. They wanted me to
go to their kids wedding. And I'd been elected citywide.
It's a big city and a lot of people had
invested in me. They put a lot of time and energy.
And my wife said, why don't you go talk to
(29:19):
Pastor Young. He'll be able to handle this. He's got
thirty thousand members and they expect a lot more out
of a pastor and a city councilor. And I did,
and he gave me the book Good to Great by
Jim Collins and told me to read that. And he
told me that when somebody wants to have a meeting,
don't have it. Say what let's talk about what you
need to talk about right now. And he gave me
about three or four bits of advice that have stuck
with me to this very day. So I have, from
(29:41):
a distance an appreciation for what you do and how
you do it. But I will tell you that the
highest compliment I can give you is that you I
don't like the whole televangelist preacher, rock Star megalomaniac megachurch.
Thing from when we talked last night. You talk about
shepherding your and and tending your flock, and I love
(30:03):
that about you. Pastor Byron McWilliams, First Odessa, that you
might be a shining example of what the church should be.
Afford a nice.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Meal, Michael Barry. That's gotten harder because of Kamala Harris's
policies
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