11/23/08

Hello Everyone,

   I'm glad that you dropped by and pray that you enjoy your time here. I also hope that any questions that you may have about Resurrection of Peace will be answered. If you still have something that you would like to ask, just click here. Your email program should open, if not, cut and past this address...bill@resurrectionofpeace.org.

   A few things about me as the Pastor of Resurrection of Peace. I was called to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ when I was 17 (1969). I answered that call immediately but after about a year, I allowed the world and all of its noise to overcome the "still small voice" of our Lord. I kept my foot in church as a Sunday School teacher and Deacon to try to satisfy that burning within but nothing would completely satisfy my calling from God. For many years I was a very miserable individual. In 1982, I stopped trying to avoid God and enrolled at the University of Mobile (then, it was Mobile College). There I studied and received a BA in Theology as well as a BA in Psychology. I followed those studies with a year and a half of Graduate Studies at Beeson Divinity School at Samford University and a year of Graduate Studies in Counseling at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

   During this time I stepped into a position of using the call that God had placed upon me so many years earlier...I accepted my first Pastorate. I was called to Whistler Avenue Baptist Church. That started a ministry that would span several churches in as many cities along with revivals, singings, and other ministry activities in numerous churches. Included in the ministry was a daily radio program and a weekly newspaper column. With rare exception, all this ministry was in denominational churches. Yet there seemed to be a rising flame within me concerning not what I was doing but where I was doing it. It was not that what I was doing, the ministry itself, was wrong but something was just not right. I began to realize that my work within the denominational Churches was the problem. God was urging me to step out of the denominations, which do offer a sense of safety, and start something new. The end result, Resurrection of Peace, is that new work but in all reality the entire concept of the work is not new at all but that is another part of the story. However, God was requiring something of me to start this new work that I was not willing or wanting to do. I argued with God for many years and He is a formidable contestant. However, He does not allow His being God to force the issue. He is very persistent. I will not go into the details of this commitment here but will be more than glad to share all of this with anyone at anytime. I have shared this with the Church and continue to do so as a reminder to those in attendance and those that are new to Resurrection of Peace. In 2006, on a Thursday nite while sitting in my home, I submitted to what God had been requiring of me for those many years. It was as though a huge weight was removed from my shoulders and life. In committing to what God was requiring, I realized a freedom in life that was just the opposite of what I thought that it would be. It was a matter of mere weeks after this Thursday nite that Resurrection of Peace was born.

   As you have noticed in the picture, I wear a clerical collar though I am not Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, or one of the other denominations that traditionally wear the collar. I wear the collar to declare something to myself and to those I meet. As a married person wears a wedding band, I wear the collar. The wedding band is a silent statement to all that the wearer has made a commitment to someone, their spouse, and to something, the marriage. I wear my collar the same way. I have made a commitment to someone, Jesus Christ, and to something, His Church. As the wearer of the band makes this silent statement concerning their marriage, I do the same with my commitment to Jesus and His Church. Also, the times that the wearer touches the golden band or looks at their hand, they are reminded of the commitment they have made. It is the same with me. Each time that I see the collar in the mirror or happen to touch it with my hand, I am softly reminded of my commitment to our Lord. Along with the collar I have taken vows of celibacy so that I may devote my self to the work of the Church without the natural concerns that come from a relationship. I have been married and have grown children. My vows were taken, of course, after those days had pasted.

   There is much more to tell concerning my call and commitment to our Lord but this will give you a synopsis. Should you have any questions, please feel free to attend a service at Resurrection of Peace and ask me anything that you wish or if you prefer, send me an email or letter. I look forward to meeting you at worship or reading your thoughts.

I am sincerely...

Rev Bill Bomar