Tom came to FBC Lindale in 2006. He previously served as the Senior Pastor of Riverside Baptist Fellowship in Florida, a position he held for 12 years. He is a graduate of the Moody Bible Institute (B.A. in Pastoral Ministries and New Testament Greek), Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M. in Bible Exposition), and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (D.Min. in Expository Preaching). Tom and his wife Jennifer met at Moody Bible Institute. Jennifer shares Tom’s passion for the local church and the message of God’s grace, and is a godly mother to their three children: Dallas, Madison, and Jackson. Tom is quite the sports fan, particularly of the Dallas Cowboys.
Tom has a strong passion for the local church and a desire to lead the church to be Word-centered in everything it does. He is committed to the expositional preaching and teaching of God’s Word, and he generally works through a book of the Bible in his preaching series.
Tom says: “Although many churches experiment with countless models of ministry to pursue success, I believe that the Gospel must be what shapes and evaluates everything the church does. Faithfulness to the Gospel is the ultimate measure of success and it alone contains the theology that must drive the ministry of the local church. Therefore, a successful church is one that is Christ-centered to the core and Word-driven in everything it does. This commitment is what enables and informs our participation in God’s redemptive purposes.”