Interview with Pastor Bill Purvis
In an interview with Lead Pastor, Bill Purvis, we addressed some questions; issues and thoughts to help you become better acquainted with the pastor. We hope you find this beneficial.
I believe the best in people, so I get used by people I let get close to me. She reads people well, so I rely on her these days. I’m an idea-guy and I’m a generous giver to a fault. She’s observant and discerning. Like any marriage it takes constant work on both our parts to make progress. Sometimes, we bat 1000 and sometimes we can’t get on the same page. That’s life for us.
What are they like?
BJ lives in Southern California with his wife Loryn and their 2 children, Kellan Christian and Allie Paige. He graduated from Auburn University with a B.A. in Criminology. He’s a writer. His hobbies are surfing, traveling and anything to do with the water. He’s gifted with creativity, intelligence and a GREAT sense of humor. His wife Loryn is both beautiful and intelligent. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Columbus State University with a degree in Communication, and went on to graduate from San Diego Culinary Institute as a professional chef. She was a Young Life leader here in Columbus for many years.
Brent, our second son, is a gifted leader. He went to Columbus State and Troy State Universities. He’s now taking seminary classes for personal, in-depth Bible knowledge. His strength is financial administration. His hobbies are: triathlons, biking, running, swimming, & big game hunting. He’s married to a beautiful, smart girl named Carrie. She has her Master’s degree in education from Troy State University and taught school for many years. Brent and Carrie have 2 children, Emme Reese and Elijah Cruz.
Blake is our youngest son. He and his wife Victoria have 2 boys, Beau Hudson and Jack Ryan. Blake is a full time pilot. After completing his aviation education and all ratings in South Florida, he gained sufficient hours to fly various aircraft for several different companies. One of the highlights of his calling was delivering medical supplies to Haiti the Dominican Republic several times weekly to the most needy of mankind. He later would enjoy transporting doctors and transplant organs to various regions in life and death emergencies on a daily basis for a few years. His hobby is golf. He too has been blessed with a beautiful wife who is continuing to pursue her education while being an awesome full-time Mom.
There are few cities in America with as many churches per capita as this area. Churches are everywhere you look in this region. In homes, offices, schools, restaurants, empty buildings, church houses and new ones are beginning every week. People swap churches in this area as much as 3 times in their lifetime. It’s a religious atmosphere and Cascade Hills stepped up and broke from that setting with a mindset for lost people and a cross-centered mission. This church was built from day one on lost people. We never went after a member of another church. We took the high road in gaining members and God honored this with amazing favor. We were a purpose-driven church long before Rick Warren ever wrote his book. I saw those principles in the Bible. We never picked up code words the church uses to be cool or pretend to be relevant, we were just real from the core and you don’t get that mimicking others, it comes from spending time alone with God. I love Cascade Hills. I love these people. The majority of them have stood with me in adversity and faith adventures that only God could bring us through and He always did. We’re a team here. We’re on assignment from God to obey His will and tell the world of Jesus.
Recommended Reading
Researching and reading are a big part of a pastor’s life. We asked the Pastor about some of his favorite books and which ones he would recommend..
Christian Living
- Rumors by Phillip Yancey.
- Rebuilding Your Broken Road by Gordon McDonald
- Spiritual Authority by Watchman Nee (Brilliantly captures the concept of “How” God operates)
- Daws by Betty Lee Skinner (biography of Dawson Trotman)
- A Simple Path, the Life of Mother Teresa
- The Soul-Winners Fire by John R. Rice (Ignited a burden in me)
- How Should We Then Live? by Francis Schaeffer
- What Love is This? by Dave Hunt (Answers Hyper-Calvinism)
- Grace Awakening by Charles Swindoll
- Fasting Can Change Your Life by Elmer Towns
Christian Leadership
Does anyone teach leadership better than John Maxwell?
- The Winning Attitude by John Maxwell.
- Failing Forward by John Maxwell. (I paid my kids to read this)
- Developing the Leader Within You by John Maxwell.
- The 21 Irreufatable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell.
- Developing the Leaders Around You by John Maxwell.
- There’s No Such Thing as “Business” Ethics by John Maxwell
- Thinking for a Change by John Maxwell.
General Leadership.
I enjoy secular sources because they ask the hard questions and refuse to “spiritualize” things.
- Leading Leaders by Jeswald Salacuse
- Center of the Storm by Katherine Harris
- When Character Was King by Peggy Noonan
- Jack: Straight From the Gut by Jack Welch (He’s the man in leadership)
- Winning by Jack Welch
- The Leadership Engine by Noel Tichy (Smartest man in any room)
- Execution by Larry Bossidy
- A Matter of Character by Ronald Kessler
- Lincoln by David Herbert Donald
- The Arrogance of Power by Anthony Summers
- The Smartest Guys in the Room by McLean & Elkin (Decisions that led to the downfall of Enron)
- Character IS the Issue! by Mike Huckabee
- 10-10-10 by Suzy Welch