"My mission in life is to be a ‘Jesus man’, to show Christ in how I live and in what I say and what I do. I want to example Him in my life and in my ministry. I tell everybody I love Jesus. I’m not ashamed to say it to anybody anytime anywhere. I want people to remember that the name of Jesus was lifted up."
    Dr. Frank Page, Pastor of Taylors First Baptist Church in Taylors, South Carolina and President of the Southern Baptist Convention, knew, from the age of four, that he was destined to be a Baptist preacher. "I have no conscious memory of not knowing that God wanted me to be a minister," he said, in an interview with The Christian View. Although he had publicly predicted his future profession at the age of four, he said that he was saved at the age of nine.
    "I grew up as a Christian young man, and tried to live for the Lord," he said. "I was fairly active in the Boy Scouts and in church activities, as well.
    "I would probably have been considered an ‘okay’ kid, although I was mischievous. My first grade report card had said that I was shy, timid, and lacked self-confidence. I think that shyness wore off after a few years. I was good at school, but I was not good at home. I was rather mischievous in the neighborhood and at home, but usually pretty good at school. I was a good student. School came easy to me, and I found success there."
    He was born and spent his early childhood in Robbins, North Carolina, with a brother, Ed, and two sisters, Nancy and Rhonda. "My mother and father are very simple people," he said. "My father, Willie, worked in a foundry, which is kind of like a machine shop, and my mother, Nancy, was a seamstress. They grew up in the Robbins mill village where most of my cousins worked in a textile mill. We moved to Greensboro for my Daddy’s employment, and that’s where I graduated from high school."
    From humble beginnings grew a man who would lead the more than 16 million-member Southern Baptist Convention, elected in 2006 and reelected in 2007 as the first President from South Carolina in more than 70 years.
    "That was an amazing experience to me," he said of his nomination and election, "because I am a very non-political pastor, and to be thrust into the middle of it has been quite an adventure. It’s an awesome opportunity, and the experience has been overwhelmingly positive. I’ve been able to encourage pastors, churches, and missionaries across the world. I’m enjoying that very much." Page has also met with President George W. Bush as well as current Presidential candidates, Senators, and other dignitaries. "I’ve met with a lot of people," he said, "and I thank God for that opportunity.
    "This next year, my focus is going to be to continue the emphasis on seeking revival and renewal, but it’s also going to be far more pointed toward pulling together a true evangelistic strategy for our churches. That will be a multi-faceted, flexible 10-year plan to try to pull our churches together to work with our main evangelism entity to see that accomplished."
    Page attended Gardner-Webb College (now University), where he met his wife, Dayle, and earned his bachelor of science degree, majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology and Greek. He earned his Master of Divinity degree and his doctorate in Christian Ethics from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
    He remembers the first sermon he ever preached, at the age of 15, on a Wednesday night at Southside Baptist Church in Greensboro. "It was on the parable of the soil, where some seed fell on fertile ground and some fell on stony or thorny ground," he said. "God bless those dear people for listening to that." 
    Another early sermon was about the Sermon on the Mount. "I think I preached the whole sermon, on three chapters, in 15 minutes," he said, with a laugh.
    He has about 10 favorite sermons from his years as a pastor. One series that is a favorite was a recent one on the parables of Christ. "When I got to the prodigal son, I realized it really was too much for one Sunday, so I made it into a three-Sunday series," he said. "The parable, first of all, is not just about the prodigal son—that is our familiar one, and I did preach on him. But then I preached also, on the second Sunday, on the other prodigal in the passage, and that was the older son. Although he did not run away, he ran away in his heart. And then, the third Sunday, I entitled the sermon The Parable of the Loving Father, because the central figure in that text is the Lord, the Father, who allows us to sin, allows us to learn lessons, but welcomes us home."
    Page said that several passages in the Bible are among his favorites, although, every Sunday, he teasingly tells his congregation that the particular scripture he is using that day is his favorite. "I love the Word of God so very much," he said. Among the particular passages he loves are:
    * Isaiah 40:8, The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever; 
    * Philippians 1:3-4: I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy; 
    * Hebrews 12:1-2: Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God; 
    * John 14:1-2: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
    His favorite hymns are "It is Well with my Soul" and "Amazing Grace." Among contemporary songs, he names "In Christ Alone" and "No More Night." In Southern Gospel, his favorite is "Beulah Land." "There is a lot of music I love dearly," he said. 
    "An awesome adventure" is how Page describes the ministry of preaching the Gospel. "It’s hard, in some ways," he added, "but it’s got great blessings."
    He advises young men studying for the ministry to seek out mentors to give them good advice and guidance. "Everyone ought to have a Paul, a Timothy, and a Barnabas," he added. "Everybody, at some point in their life, needs a Paul, someone to mentor them and minister to them. And also, later, you need to have a Timothy, someone you are mentoring. And then, everybody needs a friend, a Barnabas, who will be an encourager to you."
    Page has had spiritual role models in his own life and ministry.
    "As a child, I used to watch Billy Graham," he said. "I would say that he probably was the single most influential spiritual influence in my life as a child. Several men have been greatly influential in my life, including Jimmy Draper and Charles Page.
    "I had several pastors growing up. Rev. Edwin Smithwick, who is now retired and living in Florida, was a great impact on my life, and I accepted Christ under his ministry. I remember him praying with me to receive Christ, baptizing me, just being a friend. Even after he left, he still stayed in contact with our family. He was a pastor and a friend, and I do have those sweet memories of him. Later, when I was a pastor in North Carolina, I asked him to come and do a revival for us, which he did. He was a wonderful preacher."
    Page respects several men from scripture. "I admire the Apostle Paul so greatly," he said. "I think he was just a tremendous, tremendous man. I love the Old Testament story of Daniel. I think he was such a stalwart of the Gospel. In the New Testament, I dearly admire deacon Stephen--how his face shown while he was being martyred in Acts chapter 7. In the Old Testament, I deeply admire Nehemiah. I’ve studied his life thoroughly. I find him to be truly one of the great leaders of all time."
    Page is writing a book entitled The Nehemiah Factor: 16 Characteristics of a Missional Leader, scheduled to be released in time for the June, 2008 meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. 
    He has written several books, most of which have been commentaries, including on the book of Mark and the book of Jonah. He also wrote a book examining Calvinism several years ago.
    Page is able to handle all of his responsibilities, as a pastor and as Convention leader, he said, because of his church. "I have a great staff, and the laypeople in our church are just wonderful to step up to the plate and do what needs to be done," he said. "It has given me the opportunity to do both. A church this size has a lot of needs and a lot of demands. I’m glad to serve the best I can and try to do the best I can in every role."
    What he enjoys most about being a pastor, he said, is preaching and also seeing people grow. "I love to see ‘the light’ go on, those moments when you see a connection being made," he said. "And I enjoy seeing qualitative change in people’s lives."
    Among the special memories he has been blessed by over the years are his trips to Israel and his ministering to the people in his church. "Those times when children come up to me and give me a hug, just wanting a touch from their pastor, I love that very much," he said. "There has been a multitude of times where I’ve been able to minister to little children."
    He also remembers witnessing to a young man named Andy in Augusta, Georgia. "His hardness and coldness and stubbornness began to melt through the Holy Spirit of God," said Page. "To see him come to Christ and then to be baptized and then to teach Sunday School now, years later, to continue serving the Lord—I love to see men come to Christ. That has been a great joy of mine over the years."
    Page said that he has been greatly blessed by the Lord. "Certainly, He has been very kind to me," he said. "He took me from a very poor, non-educated, non-spiritual kind of background and enabled me to see a different kind of life. He blessed me with a wonderful church that taught me the precious Word of God, and, later, my family came to Christ, and I am so thankful for that. He helped me to get a good education and gave me wonderful professors and ministers. He gave me a wonderful wife, three precious girls, Melissa, Laura, and Allison, a grandson, Zach, and a step grandson, Thomas, all of whom I love with all of my heart. He has allowed me to serve in churches that are just so wonderful and filled with great people. Now, with the Southern Baptist Convention role added, which, for the most part, has been a great experience, He has enabled me to use the gift He has given me on a world-wide basis, and I’m thankful. He has blessed me in many ways. I’m sure it’s true for every born-again believer."
    His Christian faith has sustained him through difficult times, including through the illness of one of his daughters, when Melissa was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma but is now cancer free. "We saw Romans 8:28 lived out," he said. "God does bring good out of bad. We never doubted the Lord. We never questioned Him, never complained against Him. He has been there to sustain and to teach even through difficult times. 
    "Being President of the Southern Baptist Convention has been difficult, sometimes," he added. "I ascribe to the abilities God has given me the fact that God’s people, probably by the hundreds of thousands, have been praying for me. That gives an ability and a power beyond one’s own self, so that I see that He is faithful and that the faith of other people has sustained me through prayer." 
    Page encourages all Christians to look to the Lord in their difficult times. "Look beyond the horizon of troubles," he said. "Oftentimes, Christians become very short-sighted during difficult and tragic times, thinking that it will never end. One old preacher used to teasingly say that his favorite scripture was And it came to pass. Troubles are not forever. People need to trust in the Lord, and He will get them through it."
    God has so blessed his life that Page urges anyone who does not know the Lord to embrace Him as their Saviour. "It’s a very clear true fact that only Christianity serves a resurrected Saviour," he said. "No other religion even claims that. Christianity is unique in the world’s faiths in that we worship a risen Saviour who lives with us today and guides us every day of our life. It’s a love-based religion based on the love of our Lord proven by the resurrection of Jesus. 
    "I would say to the unsaved that I beg of you to give the Lord an opportunity to speak to your heart. I realize that there are a lot of people who see Christians and think that we’re all hypocrites. I say we are imperfect people serving a perfect God. I beg of you to give God a chance. He loves you. You know it, and you sense His love. Let Him speak to your heart and show you how to be a part of His family.
    "If you read this article and know that you don’t know the Lord, please give me a call. I’d love to talk to you about Jesus."