Meet
our Staff
Eddie
Schafer
Pastor
I
was born in Dallas and raised in Irving. I haven't strayed
very far from home.Being raised in a Christian home it was
easy for me to ask Jesus into my life at the age of 7. At
the age of 15 I felt called into the ministry. I've graduated
from MacArthur High School, Dallas Baptist College (now it's
a big university) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Before attending Southwestern I attended DTS (not to be confused
with Dallas Transit System) and took classes at Bright Divinity
School. While attending graduate school I worked at United
Parcel Service.
Just
before graduating from SWBTS, and accepting my first church,
I married Rochelle. She works at Denton Baptist Association.
We have three boys: Steven, Michael, and Nathan. They are
my delight. In my 20 years as serving as a pastor, I've served
in 5 churches. In May of 2000, I came to Highland. We consider
Denton to be a wonderful place to live and raise a family.
And we consider the folks at Highland to be the best around.
They are a delight to serve.
I
like to play the guitar (self enjoyment), fish (I caught a
9 pounder out of Lake Ray Roberts last year), and golf (I
took it up a few months ago not having played in 25 years).
Well,
enough about me. Why don't you stop by and tell me a little
about yourself!
Jay
Wicker
Minister to Music
I was born and raised in Dallas. I am the youngest of four children, all with "J" names: John, Jim, Judy & Jay. Looking back, I guess you would say my family likes to keep traditions. I was a fourth generation member at First Baptist Church Dallas and a third generation Baylor University graduate. My grandfathers, parents, brothers and sister, and their spouses all graduated from Baylor. After earning a Bachelor of Music Education degree and teaching for two years in Marlin, TX, I attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and received a Master of Music degree.
I met my wife, Jana, in the youth ministry at First Baptist Dallas. The youth minister at that time was Robert Jeffress, now the pastor, so you can imagine that we both have a fond affection for him. Robert was my Sunday School teacher my senior year. The class spent the entire year going over Biblical doctrine, so we would be prepared when we were challenged at college.
Jana and I have four children: Lauren, Justin, Christina (Chrissy), and Anna. Lauren is a Sophomore at Baylor University pursuing a degree in early childhood education. Justin is a Junior at Plano Senior High, and Christina and Anna are in 8th and 6th grades at Schimelpfenig Middle School. Our children have always been heavily involved in sports. Lauren played varsity tennis in high school. Justin plays varsity soccer and is also on the Dallas Texans club soccer team. Chrissy and Anna both participate in competitive cheerleading and play recreational basketball. Basketball is a passion of mine. I am Anna's coach. I also coached Lauren's team for four years and coached Chrissy for several years. All in all, this is my 12th year to coach basketball. I also began refereeing basketball games about a year ago for exercise and enjoyment.
I know there are many who want to know what I do with the rest of my time when I am not at Highland, kids sporting activities, refereeing, or working concessions. My day job is Regional Sales Manager at A&C Green Energy. It's a fancy title that means I sell wind turbines to power small farms, ranches, and homes on property out in the country.
I am very grateful to be called as Music Minister at Highland. I look forward to getting to know you even better as we go forward to grow the ministry and make changes that will allow us to reach more people for Christ. Come say hi. And especially ... come join us in choir on Sundays!
Brandon
McCarroll
Minister to Youth
I
was born in Garland, Texas but raised in Round Rock, Texas.
I grew up in a Christian family; my Grandfather was a Pastor
and my parents had me in Church every Sunday and Wednesday.
I accepted Christ at a young age, but it did not really have
a huge effect on my life until my sophomore year of High School,
when Christ began noticeably transforming my life. During
the next year, God began leading me towards a career in vocational
ministry. This was a calling that would take several years
for me to work out, and God is still guiding and directing
me in that.
I
graduated from Baylor University in December 2008 with a Bachelor
of Arts degree in Film and Digital Media, and a minor in Religion.
I am currently attending George W. Truett Theological Seminary,
where I am pursuing a Master’s of Divinity degree. I
started my work at Highland Baptist Church in June 2009. Through
this I hope to love students the way that Christ loves them,
to teach them about His love for them, and to encourage them
to love others in this same way. I pray that Highland will
be a place that is reaching and growing students for Christ,
and I pray that it is a place where students are learning
to love God and love others.
As far as hobbies and interests go, I love music. I played
baritone in the marching band throughout high school and college,
but I love playing the guitar and piano much more. I enjoy
watching sports, especially Baylor athletics and the Texas
Rangers. I also enjoy anything related to video or media production,
and just hanging out with friends! If you’d like to
know more, please say hi or give me a call sometime; I’d
love to chat and get to know more about you as well!
Check
out our Youth Facebook Group
Mary Lin McNeill
Director of Children's Ministry
I am a Texan by birth, have been a Louisianian for most of my life, am an Arkansan by heart, and I am now returning to my Texas roots, living in Ft. Worth while I attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary! My Texas heritage shows through in my love for the Texas Rangers, especially—I have been a fan for as long as I can remember, dating back to when Nolan Ryan played for them when I was in elementary school.
I was born in Wichita Falls, TX, but I moved with my parents to Lake Charles, LA when I was a year old. I grew up in Lake Charles and was blessed to be raised by Godly parents who made sure that I learned about Jesus at every possible opportunity. I was in church just about every time the doors were open, sometimes even more than that, since my mom served as the Financial Secretary/ Church Accountant for our church for 25 years! I had a strong Biblical foundation from an early age, and I accepted Christ as my Savior when I was five years old.
I continued to grow in my faith as I grew up in church, and as a fourth grader at GA camp, I felt God calling me into missions or ministry of some kind. When I was in the seventh grade, I again felt that call during a youth camp. This time, I shared the decision with my church family, and I continued to pursue that call in all areas of my life. I continued down this path until about my senior year of high school, when I began making decisions about college. I let what other people thought I should do influence me more than what I knew God had called me to do.
After graduating from McNeese State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Studies Education in 2008, I taught for a year. After losing my job due to budget cuts, I moved to Little Rock, AR to pursue a Master’s degree in Gifted and Talented Education. I became heavily involved in my new church in Benton, AR working in several different areas of children’s/preschool ministry. During this time I also became involved at my school’s BCM. Through all of these avenues, I began to feel God speaking to my heart again about missions/ministry. I finally said “yes” to Him, and I know that He is calling me into full-time ministry/missions. I have a passion for children and a heart for missions. I am not entirely sure what kind of ministry I will be doing in the future, but I know that God will use both passions and desires to complement each other and fulfill His will for my life.
I had the amazing opportunity to spend the summer in India, teaching conversational English and sharing my faith there whenever possible, and I absolutely loved it! I am currently attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, where I am pursuing a Master of Arts in Christian Education degree with concentrations in Children’s Ministry and in Missions. I am honored and excited to be called to serve as the Director of Children’s Ministries here at Highland, and I am looking forward to seeing how God continues to reveal His plan for me as I trust Him and follow Him one step at a time!
When it comes to hobbies, I love to read. My dad just retired from being a librarian, so I have always loved books! I also enjoy painting/drawing in my free time, and I LOVE music! I grew up in the band program, and I still enjoy playing my trumpet at every opportunity! That’s enough about me, though—I look forward to meeting all of you and getting to know what your interests and strengths are! Feel free to contact me by phone, email, or facebook!
Larry
Davis
Minister to Senior Adults
I
felt God calling me to the ministry at an early age. I was
a member of a small Baptist church in Oklahoma. Since I didn't
realize there were ministry opportunities other than preaching,
I didn't answerthe call. Later I was made aware of other areas
of ministry and realized I could serve in other ways. While working on my degree in
accounting at McNeese, I worked in Lake Charles, LA, at Hercules
full time. I was active as a deacon serving in many capacities
of the church. I surrendered to God's call while at the Southern
Baptist Convention in New Orleans in 1983. I came to Denton
in 1975 and worked at Denton Lawn Sprinkler while attending
seminary. I graduated in 1989 with an associate degree in
Religious Education. I returned to seminary in 1990 for further
studies, finishing in 1992. I came to Highland in 1991 as
Minister of Education, always having adesire to work with
Senior Adults. In 1997, the Lord opened the door for me to
serve in the rewarding capacity of Minister of Senior Adults
here at Highland.
