Who Is Rev Richard Puckett

By: Richard Puckett

Beginning to Present Location History:

I was born in St. Louis Mo. On November 23, 1954, in St. Louis City Hospital. I was diagnosed with congenital cataracts. My first eye surgeries were done when I was two, yet they didn't help much and I was legally blind. This means that a person that could see something and recognize it at 200 feet away I had to be within 20 feet. (Simple explanation). No big surprise for my parents for they both had bad eyes and had in fact met at the Arkansas School for the Blind. They two were partially sighted. (Term used in the 60's) So at age five I was sent to the Mo. School for the Blind Mondays through Fridays during the school year. I didn't get to go home every night until I was about 11 years old. You may be wondering why is this important? Because in those days the school for the Blind had a strong Catholic influence. We said our prayers each night, before each meal, there was even time set a side to hear scripture read by dorm parents. The programs we put on used Christian (Catholic style) songs.

Dad had pastored a small church for a couple of years in a denomination called Union Missions. This was a breakaway group form the Methodist and was a holiness group in beliefs. About the time I turned 4 years old Dad had quite pastoring and was helping my uncle Harvey who pastored a Union Mission church. So we had started attending there. (Dad didn't pastor agin until 1971 when he pastored a church in Ellsinore Mo) On Thursdays and Saturdays another uncle, Paul, pastored a General Baptist Church where we would go as often as we could. Being at the Blind school I only got to attend on weekends except in the summer.

During summers as I grew older I spent more and more time with my Uncle Paul. We would go to revivals and / or church services all over Mo., Arkansas, and Illinois.

In 1967 I had more surgery done on my eyes, I had been praying for some time that God would just let me see to drive. If I could drive I could then go to church and read the Bible easier. God answered that prayer, my corrected vision was now borderline to being able to drive, and with a Dr.'s ok I could do it. In 1968 we moved to a small town called Ellsinore, Mo. There I began to go to a small county General Baptist Church. This is where we lived till I graduated out of High School in 1973. (Carter Co. R2) I moved Linn MO went to Jr./Tech College where I graduated in 1975. Moved from there to St. Louise until 1985 when I moved to Holts Summit to pastor our church.

Conversion and Ministry:

At the age of seven having been around church a great deal already, I was converted. (I mean you didn't miss a service unless you were dying) There was a tent revival that came to Town by A.A.Allen. One night he gave an altar call and I knew I wanted what other people had. I knew right then that God had touched my life. As I grew older and became more involved in church I grew in knowledge. At the age of 11 we were having a revival at Union Mission church, the services were great my older brother, myself, and a number of our friends were really getting into the service, then it happened, we got so excited as the Spirit began to move on us we began leaping and shouting and just praising God. This was great. One afternoon while the revival services were still going in the evenings, we were playing church with neighborhood kids. When we began to realize that we weren't playing, I was preaching, my brother was leading singing and it became real. After we sent the kids home Mom called me upstairs to her room. She said she had been listening to the service and just wanted to know if I thought I was called to preach. As soon as she asked I knew that is exactly what God had been trying to tell me. That next Sunday I preached to our youth group.

But then a sad thing began to happen we were continuing to have great services out youth group had doubled when some of the older folks began to complain that you shouldn't shout, and that services were getting too long, and that no kid could be called to preach, and on and on. Some of the kid's were told that if they got up there and sung or lifted hands and got to their knees and prayed aloud as we had been doing they would get a beating when they got home. This began to have a lasting effect on each of us. Now this I know that God had called me, I was so moving in his Spirit and such a joy as I've never known in my life. Yet as I began to listen until even my folks were getting a lot of static that I just started sitting back. I found the joy gone and depressions enter. That soon became a deep bitterness and it turned into hate. Oh I still went to church, carried my bible, if front of the folks that counted I smiled and acted fine, but away from them I started to use bad words, I started getting into street fights. Where I had been an excellent student and well liked, I got thrown out of 2 classes. I would look for people to fight. I began to carry a switchblade, wore a rumble chain when I got a way from the house. I would walk through Tower Grove Park and look for people to beat up. I would find people sitting on the bench and hit them across the neck with my chain and then run. Tell me you can't backslide, I'll tell you, you don't know what you're talking about. If I had died I would have been loss. I had reached a place where on the surface I looked good but in my heart I was lost. I would find myself asking God why did he call me to preach, then let his church raise against me. At my age then for the first time I began to see his church not as the loving people that I thought but what many of them really was. For as we would go visit some home of a people I had thought really loved God, I began to listen to the adult conversations, I heard the grumbling about each and every other member, I heard the bickering over the messages. By the time I had reached my 15 th. birthday I was had given up in my heart on church and God. I was waiting for an opportunity to leave. I had begun to plan a way of running away from home. I found more of the same kind of hippocratic's in Ellsinore that I left in St. Louis. My sister in law found out my plans and had me start spending a lot of time at their place.

Then a day came where my oldest brother and I got into an argument and he started taking swings at me. (He had been a boxing champ for boys club in St Louis, gotten in trouble and made extra money while doing time in boys retention center teaching boxing.) I was no match. I got in one good blow then he got kind of serious. I finally got away; I took my rifle and went to the woods. I tried to pray no answer, I knew that my life had went so sour, no hope, I had left God, I didn't think I loved anyone any more so I wasn't surprise not to hear an answer, it had been so long since I had really talked to him I wasn't even sure he knew my voice. I loaded the gun, I cocked the gun having taken the safety off I placed the barrel between my eyes, as I placed my finger on the trigger, I heard God speak to me. I was startled at first I looked around the woods to see if someone had come up behind me. But the words were simple stop, don't do that. After not seeing anyone I though must be my imagination, I put my finger again on the trigger, saying with in myself if thy hand offend thee cut it off. Once again I heard the words to Stop.

As I laid the rifle down and again began to pray I began to find a peace, a peace I had not had for a number of years. It wasn't long before my brother came through the woods and apologized. (This was something I don't remember him ever doing very often). For the first time in a long time I was able to go to church and be a part.

A short time later while at my brother's house my sister in law asked me to go to the spring for a fresh bucket of water. (No running water at their house or our farm) It was a day with a bout 3-4 inches of snow on the ground. While headed to the spring I noticed a large old tree stump about 3 ft tall. I had a sudden urge to go pray. As I prayed the power of God fell on me. I can't tell you all that happened but when I came to my natural senses, this thing I knew, I must preach his word. I must live a godly life. That he had a mission for me. I went to my pastor told him the entire story, I was license to preach later that year.

At the same presbytery I was licensed to preach I was elected to be the Sunday school worker. The next year (1970) I was ordained and elected to be home mission minister. I filled in as interim pastor for 6 MO's at a small church and began to preach a lot of weekend revivals. Several of us had formed a quartet called the Ambassador for Christ.

In the summer of 1972 at the close of my Junior year I had gotten a job offer if I could get of school a month early to work down in a little town in Arkansas. This I did with no problem for while in Ellsinore I had changed who I was, I was known to be a Christian

And made good grades so it wasn't a problem. While there I went to the only church that had any life, the Assembly of God. (Now one of the things that God had impressed upon me he likes life, the dead are in the graveyard) At the end of the summer I went home to finish high school, Dad had started pasturing a church in Kennet, Mo., which is where I met my wife.

Again a job offer came if I could get out of school early so I talked to the school officials and got out on mid term graduation. Moved to St. Louis until collage began and wen to my Uncle Paul's church again. In the fall of 1973 I moved to Linn Mo. To go to College, I searched every local church. I found it hard to find a church where the message wasn't a read script, where there was any life, where the people would just let the Spirit of God move. I tell you most churches really do have as much life as in a graveyard. On December 22, 1973 I married my wife. When she move to Linn with me we live in a rented room and found a church at Holts Summit, Mo to go to (the church I now pastor). We drove from Linn to there every service, about 80 miles round trip.

Upon graduation I took a job in St. Louis, went back to my uncles church and began to teach a Sunday school class, preach revivals, and do a radio ministry with a cousin that had been called to preach. Some of the best times of my life were in those years. About 1977 my wife and I were asked to begin helping a pastor friend of ours with a mission church he was starting. It was a holiness church and with some of the most dedicated Christians I have ever known. I learned more here then I had learned in all my past church work. Bro. Boyd Eoff was a man that was indeed filled with the Spirit. After working with the mission for a few years I was asked to come and help at my Uncle Harvey's church. He now pastured a General Baptist Church, for the Union Mission Church had closed around 1969 or 70 and he had went to pastor Mount Zion in Ferguson Mo. I began to do work with children's church, teach senior Sunday school class, and become youth leaders.

During all of this time I had held a number of official presbytery positions, from Sunday school field worker, home mission minister, moderator, on a lot of different committees, such as the good conduct, finical, ordination committees, investigating, etc. So I got to visit a lot of churches and had ample preaching opportunities. I had no desire to pastor, I thought being a Minster in helps was enough.

In 1984 we ran into some folks that we had known form the church in Holts Summit, they told my wife and I that they were searching for a pastor and was I interested. I told them no but I would fill in a few Sundays if they needed me to. The next eight months I drove form St. Louis to Holts Summit for almost every service. (240 mile round trip) Stayed at a sister's house on weekends. Until I finally was led in a service to take the pastors position. I have been here every since. I have made many mistakes through out my life and through the years of preaching. But here is what I learned in a nutshell. Not to worry about the name over the door, just preach the word, not to be a show, they can get that on television, not to plan the service, allow the Holy Spirit to guide the service. Not worry about numbers, let the Spirit bring them in then they will stay, Preach to five like you would to a thousand, if only five come that five want to have church. Don't worry about 10% giving, get the heart right with God and they will give what's required and more, for we must give our all to Jesus. Be instant in and our of season, I stayed prayed up and studied up, you could call on me at anytime and the Spirit will give the words to say. Live the life of a disciplined follower; preach it, live it. Live in the world but separate form the lust of the world, which means when we don't have service I go to the churches that are in revival. This keeps me strong, increases my witness for Christ allows me to learn form others, allows me to help others. But most of all to Love God more than all else, forsaken all other for him alone. I took my wedding vow at an old tree stump and God has blessed me a wonderful wife, and three children, a church that just want to serve the Lord, a home a good job, and I hope some day to meet you maybe share the word with you, and just worship to gather, here and over there.

Update

I No longer pastor at the moment except to run my web site and be of service where I I can. Lots of things have happened in the past three years and I will confess some Of which has been the hardest since I began preaching so many years ago. I guess we as we grow older and go though more of the fires we develop a Sense of we won't get beat. You get to feeling closer and closer to God, and Doors open and things looks like you are on top. Three years ago, I received a call from my brothers; they had a business in AL. After lots of prayer and discussions with my wife and one Child still homes we both felt like God wanted me to make this move. So I resigned the church, and off to Al. I went. My wife was to put our House on the market and follow three months later. Things do not always go as we plan. My wife decided to put off coming down. After three months I left My brothers company, I prayed and God sent me to a Company in Montgomery Al. I was doing a lot of work in AG church in Al. No GB churches in the area and God was using me to help this church; it seemed that things were going great except personal problems between my wife and I, I found myself very much alone and the persnoal area''s of my life were going down hill fast. This eventually led to a desolving my marrage. Let me say right now I hold no one but me responsible, my wife and I ran into problems and different ideals on what we should do. The details I won't go into, its really between her and I and God. Except to say this that God has brought me back to where I need to be. My own loneliness was greater then I have Ever known, so I found myself spending what time I was not at work, on the Net talking to many others most of who were in some way going though the same things I was. Rejected after 25 years of marriage was very hard.
One day I received a Letter in the mail, the first and only correspondence from my Presbytery, it Seems I was found to be in contempt of the Presbytery because I had not Joined a GB church in Al. And because the church I had pastored sold the Building after I left and the members just went to the new church formed There, they assumed I was not a member anywhere and pulled my papers. This blow was very devastating to me, over 20 years I had been a member of This body, over 30 years a ordained Minster, and though the church had sold the Building it was legally still formed; the corporation was still in tact, This I had done in part because I wanted to keep the branch of the church Alive by my web pages. You know from this set of pages, which God led me to Build I had reached over 80,000 people by that time. I could have preached Everyday of the week all my life and never touched that many lives. Usually In the past a church in the presberty would have offered a courtsy Membership, some effort would have been made to not just kick me out but find a way to work with me till I was able to either start a church or find one. I made some bad choices, some of which I have no good excuses except to say depression can get the best of even a very strong person that loves God if he has no support. Was it worth it, for there was a price to pay, well I guess? God will have to answer that one. I continued my work in the AG church, I met others from the net that were Struggling, I continued to talk with my wife and try to work past it all. The company I worked for asked me to go to TN to help them out this was the worst mistake I ever made, I said yes. The job in TN was hard, where I had a manger before that was a man of God, I Now had one that was not and a new vice president of that area that was not A man of honor or integrity. Still I pushed on; I found a church in the area And attended, I talked to other consolers on the net that were Christians. And let me say it was by some of their help I began to feel some self worth Again and hope that God still had a plan. Evently my wife and I agreed that the only answer for the two of us was to Divorce let her go her own way. I was so alone, I set in my motel room and prayed why God did you not let me just die. I have done more to hurt your name there is no work left me to do. The job was falling apart, the new manger was a man the covered his own Failures and short coming by blaming others and firing them. He fired the Office manger and made it known if I could not do a miracle and pull out the Messes he was in fact was responsible for I would be gone too. The task was Impossible, the day came I was given a call to rush to GA to pick up a Check. I had now grown numb and defeated, lost inside, I still believed in God, Just I felt no direction, I like Job prayed why? What do I do from here? That day I had a head on wreck with a 18-wheeler, I walked a way only with sore mucles, the cop who witnessed it said he didn't understand how I was not Hurt. If I had of died my pain would of been Over, wife would of got life insurance and been very happy, job wouldn't of Mattered, and the church world didn't care one way or the other except for a Few last Christian friends that had been praying for me on the net. One is a Lady that has women's ministry on the net, I had talked with her and her Husband, she placed me on her pray list and many people from her group Contacted me. They have become good friends and the ones that showed the most Concern. On the way back to TN after the wreck I prayed, "God you wouldn't let me die You must still have something I can do for you, someone I can reach, but God I can not go on alone. The balls in your court." That weekend while busy on my computer, still very empty and depressed, the Churches I had gone to felt empty and dry no preacher that I knew I felt I Could turn too, which is odd being I know so very many, someone by chance messaged me on icq. We talked long into the nite I found my self open up and Tell everything to them. I ended up calling her the next day, and its like God heard and answered my prayers with someone that is a bible student, Someone that understood and connected in the heart with me. And for the First time in a long time, I truly felt at one with another person. Now the door is open again and God is Beginning to use me and let me do something that with out none of this I would not have really been able to do. I can understand and see Things I could not see before. Jesus once said that who wouldn't leave the 99 and go seek out the one lost Sheep. Well my brother if I could just reach the one out of every 100 the Church has lost because, lets face it, the church is not forgiving and Accepting people it should be. If a man and wife have gone though what I Have one of them had to be sinners; the condemnation of adultery is placed On them, we convict them and oh yes we will take their tithes and let them Come but in the back of our minds and hearts they just don't add up. Most Often we stand in denial of this, but the proof is in our own rules and Standards we set down. Let me add to this a bit to explain what I mean. If we used to day’s standards to accept a preacher, then Elijaih must surely Have been rejected. He visited a widow’s house often and spent the nite. He Might of been labeled as a pervert, after all he laid naked on top of a dead Young man to bring him back to life. Jesus had no natural father, so was he? Not a child born out of wedlock? If you say oh but he was not God was his Father, in the natural since then should not of Mary remained uncommitted To anyone else, for wasn't she married to the Holy Ghost? And then seems to Me Jesus and his deciples went to women's houses stayed with them, one was a Known prostatute, would we except such a preacher today? What church did he or His deciples belong too, what college did they have their degrees from, what Study course did they take. Why he even talked to a smarten woman, drank Wine, went to marriage feasts where dancing was customary. Spent a lot of Time with people that others would say were of seedy reputation. I believe he said he came not to condemn but to save yet the church of Today does more condemning then really dealing with saving. I wonder how Many will stand before him to him say I didn't know. Its not all that say Lord, Lord. What Is the will of the father? Why didn't he take the woman that was caught in Adultery and stone her. Its what the ministers do today, we just do it in a Nicer cleaner way but the result is the same. Right now I'm working with a couple going though this kind of Thing, she was marred to a GB preacher, her dad is a well-known GB pastor, And now they feel utterly destroyed because their marriage didn't work. Like All have forsaken them. Well maybe man does but God doesn't. Give me the broken hearted, give me the torn and lost, give me the drunk, Give me the adulteress and fornicators, give me the man that can talk Without cursing, give me the sick, and old, and the poor that can't afford Ten dollars to drop in an offering plate, give me those that smell and are Dirty. For in them they see and realize a need, and I know Christ is Sufficient to meet it. No joy greater then knowing that a life has really Turned around. The young couple is moving on and building again a Life, one of newness and understanding.
Was it Worth the price I personally had to pay to learn the lessons I have been Taught. I hope so, I hope that I do not fail God in the new role and mission He has placed me. Now I apologize, I do not no why God placed it on my heart to open up all of This and tell you, maybe Because I feel the need to talk. Mostly I just hope you let God keep using You and you expand your horizons in his work. I am now in St Louis, Mo. And I lost the job I had the company did cut backs and because I took the slot to help them out in TN. They decided not to open the new office so I was cut due to lack of slots for me. SO I start over, but thats ok, I still have God, a renewed faith in he still knows what he is doing, and all things do still work for the good to those that love him and are called according to his purpose. Keep me in your prayers and trust him.

God Bless You

God Bless and Keep YOU for HE is Always with YOU