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 Dr. Daniel Bagby
Having grown up in Brazil as an MK, my first language was portuguese, and my journey through a Master's in Psychology was an attempt to follow my only vocational "clue," since friends told me that I was a "calm presence and sometimes a good listener." Trying to wed theology and psychology, I discovered Wayne Oates, who by then had written 36 books in the area, teaching at the Louisville seminary. When I told him that I had no idea if I should be in a seminary, he invited me "up" from Texas, and placed me in a juvenile detention center, where I lived and ate with the 17 year olds, acting as chaplain and counselor to them. Clinical pastoral education prepared me for hospital chaplaincy at General Hospital (Louisville's "MCV"), Central State (Mental institution), and Baptist Hospital. By the time I was asked to join the Personal Counseling Ctr. in the area, I felt committed to teaching, and started my Ph.D. in Psychology of Religion. Tired of writing papers after three degrees(BA, MS, and MDiv), I took an interrupted status and went to Annandale, Virginia, where I discovered that healthy people would let me be their fallible pastor--and not ask me to pretend to be something I wasn't. Oates called me back to finish my doctorate ( I spent time studying alienated church members, and serving as chaplain and treatment coordinator for a Women's prison), and, when he "retired" from Southern, asked me to teach there for a couple of years--about the time I had strong promptings to pastor. I made a two year commitment to the seminary, left to pastor six years off Purdue's campus (West Lafayette, Indiana), and from there to Waco, Texas, as pastor to Seventh & James Baptist Church, off Baylor's campus, for fifteen years. I had told Oates that I was a "teacher-pastor," and that after twenty years in the pastorate I might have earned the experience to teach as a practitioner in the classroom. He did not forget that comment, and recommended me, with a friend, to start up the pastoral care area at BTSR. Each experience has been a music note in the melody of my call. I love the song.
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