Dan R. Crawford's Page

It was several decades ago this month, having sensed the call of God on my life, I was licensed to the Gospel ministry by the West End Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, where my father was Pastor. Shortly thereafter, I enrolled in Howard Payne College, to major in Bible, and prepare for the ministry. In my Senior year, I was called to be Pastor of the Robinson Springs Baptist Church, near DeLeon, Texas and ordained to the ministry by the First Baptist Church in Nacogdoches, Texas, where my…

Some days, it is not so much who you are as it is where you are. Years ago, when I was the Baptist Campus Minister at the University of Texas, I proved this to be true. One of my staff members and I arrived late for the weekly Austin Baptist Association Pastor’s Luncheon. When we entered the room, someone said, “The Liberals are here, we can start now.” Compared to some of the extreme conservatives in the room and given the fact that we served in a rather liberal university environment, we…

Recently I passed through Buffalo, Texas and wondered. Have you ever reflected on an early life decision and wondered how things might have gone had you made a different decision? I was in my final semester of my first seminary degree and serving as pastor of my second church, when two choices presented themselves to me. I could move to a larger, full-time pastorate in Buffalo, Texas or I could begin collegiate ministry at…

A frequent question that follows an unwise action is, “What were you thinking?” It usually implies that had you been thinking properly, you would not have done what you did. An early example for me was watching my buddies smoke grapevine stems. Thinking I might enjoy that also, I lit up and inhaled, only to get a mouth full of ants. “What were you thinking?” Much later in life, I decided I was strong enough to carry heavy luggage all over Germany during a sabbatical leave. That thought…