Dr Hyles was the Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Hammond in America. He taught me probably more than any other man. Dr Hyles was very wise yet had the amazing ability to take the profound and cloak it in simplicity. Because of this he was underestimated by some people but to me he was incredibly wise. Dr Hyles would put a name to things you saw and you would say “that’s it ! that’s what that is” . He could identify people and behaviors and principals and connect the relevant Bible verses and truths. I learned so much from him though I only ever met him personally one time when I was privileged to sit at his table for lunch along with Dr Jack Schaap the current Pastor of the First Baptist church of Hammond. Dr Hyles inspired me, rebuked me, encouraged me, excited me and most of all helped me to understand people and life. He spoke very plainly and simply and often quite directly but he had a power and authority on his life that was unmistakable. I never loved a man who I had never met as much as I loved Dr Hyles. When he died and I received notice I was profoundly effected. I cried over several days and could not bring myself to listen to his preaching for about two years after he went on to Heaven. Strange I know but that is my story. He was and remains a man who was many things to many people. He was and is a person whose name evokes strong responses one way or the other. I believe his power and authority derived from his own sense of mission and purpose. He was above all, despite the false accusations of some, a man of integrity and decency. His generosity is legendary and he did many things for many people that will remain secret until the day of rewards. I marvel to this day how Dr Hyles effected so many around the world, people he never met, people who have never been to America. In my travels I meet these people all the time who share with me the impact Dr Hyles had on their lives and ministry. Like us all he was not faultless or beyond being quite human in his life, but unlike us all God used him in a tremendous way in the lives of so many. I never attended his college and I am glad I did not because I do not think I would have learned that way, but he was my greatest teacher and I will never forget him and the things he taught me.
Dr Tom Williams
Dr Williams is a man who is from another time. He speaks with great power and authority in the way that many like Dr John Rice, Dr Curtis Hutson and Dr Jack Hyles and others before him did. He was their contemporary and knew these great men personally. He was their friend and they were his. Dr Williams has endured hardship and suffering that few could understand. He has a website and you can go there to learn more of his story or obtain his preaching messages if you would like too. Dr Williams mesmerizes me when he preaches. I find myself hanging on every word. I love it when he just gives his opinion about some random thing which he often does. He is strange in a good way. I imagine John the Baptist was a bit like Dr Williams. He has power and you feel it when he preaches. He has a prayer life not just a prayer time. When I am around him I feel the Holy Spirit telling me that God really really loves Dr Williams. Right now I am probably sounding like Benny Hinn (not one of my teachers) but that is what I feel inside me. I sense he is special to God and that makes him special to me. The world and particularly many Christians will suffer a great loss when Dr Williams goes home to Heaven. To me he is an Elijah and a John the Baptist blended together and how blessed we are that he dwells in our day. Dr Williams is a man of great faith, a rarity in our day indeed. He inspires me and dares me to take God at His word. He has taught me that it is ok for Baptists to be daring in faith and belief. I feel privileged to know he prays for me. I have had the honour of preaching with him and feel a deep sense of affection for him that I feel is God given and reflects how God himself feels about him. Who would have thought that I would get to be a friend of an “Elijah” in our own times… The mysterious ways of God are always good though not always understood.
Dr Doug Fisher
A “chance” unexpected meeting with Dr Fisher changed my life and ministry. I exaggerate not. Dr Fisher is the Pastor of Lighthouse Baptist church in San Diego America. I was scheduled to preach with Dr Fisher in Rockhampton Australia with an unknown (at least to me) American Pastor by the name of Doug Fisher. When I first met Dr Fisher I was sure I was not going to like him and considered him likely another loud American who was insensitive to our Australian culture. How wrong I was. Dr Fisher is unique like no preacher you know, of that I am sure. He is somebody that does not fit a mold or a previous pattern. As Dr Clarence Sexton once said to me Dr Fisher has “ interesting cognitive processes ” that is he thinks differently, outside the square. He preaches differently too. He uses a lot of Bible, unusual for your average Baptist preacher, and at times he is so open and transparent about his own life you squirm with discomfort as you listen. He unlocks the old testament in ways you never imagined. You see things that were always there but you never saw them before. He is a loner though wonderfully married with eight children. He sometimes enters a dark world of despair and hopelessness and doubt where none can visit or help. He comes out of those times with deeper understanding of God and the Bible and maybe sometimes even himself. He like the great Charles Spurgeon battles these waves of depression and sometimes feels he is not coming back up…but he does. He has never been allowed to go any lower that God could sustain him. It is because he has walked on the road he does that he sees and is able to teach what he does. He hates the journey sometimes but his fruit and wisdom and insight is because of the uniqueness of his journey. Dr Fisher liberated me to be the person I was rather than trying to be the person I thought I had to be. My church and life grew to new levels and deeper depths because of my meeting with Dr Fisher. He has helped so many men like this. Many of them have now moved on down the road of their own journey but they would not be who they now are if they had not been helped of the Lord through Dr Fisher. I sometimes ponder where would I presently be if I had not met Dr Fisher. Our meeting was a divine appointment and because of it, like David of old I realized I did not need to wear Saul’s armour to fight Gods fight. I could be me and serve God as God had shown me. I was free to accept myself as the man God had and was making me…
Dr David Gibbs
Dr Gibbs is the head of the Christian Law Association in America though they serve all over the world. Dr Gibbs is a very sought after preacher all over the world and not just in Baptist circles. He is a gifted orator and story teller. He can take people on a roller coaster ride of emotions as he preachers and expounds the scriptures. He can very at one moment very funny and the next he has you moved with tears. Dr Gibbs is great because of who he is when he is not preaching. He is a man of great personal integrity. He has been a real friend to so many. He is a listener an encourager and a confidant. He is highly intellectual but at the same time child like. He sees the Bible and faith through the eyes of a child. He could be intellectual and profound but he keeps it simple. He will not buy in to cynicism or character assignation even when it has to do with those who have hurt him deliberately in the past. I have seen him go quiet and look very uncomfortable when people around him start talking critically or cynically about someone. He is not a critic or a cynic and he does not like being around that. He rejoices in what is good in life, forgives his enemies and prays for those who have used or abused him. He loves his wife and family so much and you can tell it. He talks about them a lot and it is touching to see. I have observed who Dr Gibbs is and what he does many times. I watch him often and he teaches me through his example and conduct. I am increased because of the opportunities I have had to be with him…
Pastor Greg Passmore
Greg Passmore was the man who led me to Christ and has been there for me over the years when I have wanted someone to talk to who was outside of the fray. He taught me the value of a humble spirit and the pursuit of wisdom. He valued wise things and spoke of what wise people had said and that made me want to be wise also. I started praying as a fourteen old teenage boy that God would give me wisdom. Greg is a quiet humble man who is well respected in many circles. Where would I be if he had not preached the Gospel to me...I hate to think.
Pastor Robert Bakss
Pastor Bakss is my friend but he has also been my teacher. Robert is one of the hardest working people I know. He is successful in the ministry because he works hard, very hard. He is always working on new projects and new ideas for something. He plans his sermons very well and is extremely ordered in everything he does. I sometimes get tired talking to him on the phone because of all he has going on. He has challenges that he has to deal with in regard to his health and the health of some family members but just keeps on going despite all that. People want his success but few will work like he works. We have preached together around Asia and I reflect on those times with warmth. We laughed a lot...We saw God move and we were moved by what we saw at times. Pastor Bakss will become noticed more and more over the coming years and if your ever tempted to ask “ How does he do it? ” the answer is by Gods grace and a large amount of commitment and hard work.
My Teachers 
Dr Hyles was the Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Hammond in America. He taught me probably more than any other man. Dr Hyles was very wise yet had the amazing ability to take the profound and cloak it in simplicity. Because of this he was underestimated by some people but to me he was incredibly wise. Dr Hyles would put a name to things you saw and you would say “that’s it ! that’s what that is” . He could identify people and behaviors and principals and connect the relevant Bible verses and truths. I learned so much from him though I only ever met him personally one time when I was privileged to sit at his table for lunch along with Dr Jack Schaap the current Pastor of the First Baptist church of Hammond. Dr Hyles inspired me, rebuked me, encouraged me, excited me and most of all helped me to understand people and life. He spoke very plainly and simply and often quite directly but he had a power and authority on his life that was unmistakable. I never loved a man who I had never met as much as I loved Dr Hyles. When he died and I received notice I was profoundly effected. I cried over several days and could not bring myself to listen to his preaching for about two years after he went on to Heaven. Strange I know but that is my story. He was and remains a man who was many things to many people. He was and is a person whose name evokes strong responses one way or the other. I believe his power and authority derived from his own sense of mission and purpose. He was above all, despite the false accusations of some, a man of integrity and decency. His generosity is legendary and he did many things for many people that will remain secret until the day of rewards. I marvel to this day how Dr Hyles effected so many around the world, people he never met, people who have never been to America. In my travels I meet these people all the time who share with me the impact Dr Hyles had on their lives and ministry. Like us all he was not faultless or beyond being quite human in his life, but unlike us all God used him in a tremendous way in the lives of so many. I never attended his college and I am glad I did not because I do not think I would have learned that way, but he was my greatest teacher and I will never forget him and the things he taught me. 
Dr Williams is a man who is from another time. He speaks with great power and authority in the way that many like Dr John Rice, Dr Curtis Hutson and Dr Jack Hyles and others before him did. He was their contemporary and knew these great men personally. He was their friend and they were his. Dr Williams has endured hardship and suffering that few could understand. He has a website and you can go there to learn more of his story or obtain his preaching messages if you would like too. Dr Williams mesmerizes me when he preaches. I find myself hanging on every word. I love it when he just gives his opinion about some random thing which he often does. He is strange in a good way. I imagine John the Baptist was a bit like Dr Williams. He has power and you feel it when he preaches. He has a prayer life not just a prayer time. When I am around him I feel the Holy Spirit telling me that God really really loves Dr Williams. Right now I am probably sounding like Benny Hinn (not one of my teachers) but that is what I feel inside me. I sense he is special to God and that makes him special to me. The world and particularly many Christians will suffer a great loss when Dr Williams goes home to Heaven. To me he is an Elijah and a John the Baptist blended together and how blessed we are that he dwells in our day. Dr Williams is a man of great faith, a rarity in our day indeed. He inspires me and dares me to take God at His word. He has taught me that it is ok for Baptists to be daring in faith and belief. I feel privileged to know he prays for me. I have had the honour of preaching with him and feel a deep sense of affection for him that I feel is God given and reflects how God himself feels about him. Who would have thought that I would get to be a friend of an “Elijah” in our own times… The mysterious ways of God are always good though not always understood. 
A “chance” unexpected meeting with Dr Fisher changed my life and ministry. I exaggerate not. Dr Fisher is the Pastor of Lighthouse Baptist church in San Diego America. I was scheduled to preach with Dr Fisher in Rockhampton Australia with an unknown (at least to me) American Pastor by the name of Doug Fisher. When I first met Dr Fisher I was sure I was not going to like him and considered him likely another loud American who was insensitive to our Australian culture. How wrong I was. Dr Fisher is unique like no preacher you know, of that I am sure. He is somebody that does not fit a mold or a previous pattern. As Dr Clarence Sexton once said to me Dr Fisher has “ interesting cognitive processes ” that is he thinks differently, outside the square. He preaches differently too. He uses a lot of Bible, unusual for your average Baptist preacher, and at times he is so open and transparent about his own life you squirm with discomfort as you listen. He unlocks the old testament in ways you never imagined. You see things that were always there but you never saw them before. He is a loner though wonderfully married with eight children. He sometimes enters a dark world of despair and hopelessness and doubt where none can visit or help. He comes out of those times with deeper understanding of God and the Bible and maybe sometimes even himself. He like the great Charles Spurgeon battles these waves of depression and sometimes feels he is not coming back up…but he does. He has never been allowed to go any lower that God could sustain him. It is because he has walked on the road he does that he sees and is able to teach what he does. He hates the journey sometimes but his fruit and wisdom and insight is because of the uniqueness of his journey. Dr Fisher liberated me to be the person I was rather than trying to be the person I thought I had to be. My church and life grew to new levels and deeper depths because of my meeting with Dr Fisher. He has helped so many men like this. Many of them have now moved on down the road of their own journey but they would not be who they now are if they had not been helped of the Lord through Dr Fisher. I sometimes ponder where would I presently be if I had not met Dr Fisher. Our meeting was a divine appointment and because of it, like David of old I realized I did not need to wear Saul’s armour to fight Gods fight. I could be me and serve God as God had shown me. I was free to accept myself as the man God had and was making me… 
Dr Gibbs is the head of the Christian Law Association in America though they serve all over the world. Dr Gibbs is a very sought after preacher all over the world and not just in Baptist circles. He is a gifted orator and story teller. He can take people on a roller coaster ride of emotions as he preachers and expounds the scriptures. He can very at one moment very funny and the next he has you moved with tears. Dr Gibbs is great because of who he is when he is not preaching. He is a man of great personal integrity. He has been a real friend to so many. He is a listener an encourager and a confidant. He is highly intellectual but at the same time child like. He sees the Bible and faith through the eyes of a child. He could be intellectual and profound but he keeps it simple. He will not buy in to cynicism or character assignation even when it has to do with those who have hurt him deliberately in the past. I have seen him go quiet and look very uncomfortable when people around him start talking critically or cynically about someone. He is not a critic or a cynic and he does not like being around that. He rejoices in what is good in life, forgives his enemies and prays for those who have used or abused him. He loves his wife and family so much and you can tell it. He talks about them a lot and it is touching to see. I have observed who Dr Gibbs is and what he does many times. I watch him often and he teaches me through his example and conduct. I am increased because of the opportunities I have had to be with him… 
Pastor Bakss is my friend but he has also been my teacher. Robert is one of the hardest working people I know. He is successful in the ministry because he works hard, very hard. He is always working on new projects and new ideas for something. He plans his sermons very well and is extremely ordered in everything he does. I sometimes get tired talking to him on the phone because of all he has going on. He has challenges that he has to deal with in regard to his health and the health of some family members but just keeps on going despite all that. People want his success but few will work like he works. We have preached together around Asia and I reflect on those times with warmth. We laughed a lot...We saw God move and we were moved by what we saw at times. Pastor Bakss will become noticed more and more over the coming years and if your ever tempted to ask “ How does he do it? ” the answer is by Gods grace and a large amount of commitment and hard work.