KERMIT The Rev. Dudley Mullins says there is a lot of humor in the story of Jonah, but it conveys the serious message that the will of God must be obeyed.
Recently having taught the story from Luke 11:29-32, the Rev. Mullins said Jonah wanted God to destroy the wicked city of Ninevah instead of having them repent.
“Jonah went the other way, so God sent him a taxi in the form of a whale,” said Mullins, pastor of the First Baptist Church at 400 E. Bryan St. “Jonah got a second chance with God and I think he looked like a heavenly being when he came out of there.”
Mullins is a native of Burkburnett who worked for 8 ½ years as an auto body repairman and for a glassworks company before earning an associate degree in divinity at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.
He was a pastor in Wapanucka and Red Oak, Okla., and Big Spring before arriving here 20 years ago. He and his wife Deborah have two children and five grandchildren.
“I have found that the longer you stay at a church, the better the ministry,” said Mullins, who is director of missions for the Pecos Valley Baptist Association. “I don’t think it starts taking hold till after three years.”
The First Baptist Church meets at 11 a.m. Sunday with an average attendance of 40-60, which is down from the 70-75 it had before the pandemic. “COVID blew us away and we are still trying to get back from that,” Mullins said.
“We lost quite a few who got out of the habit and it takes a stick of dynamite to get them to respond.”
Mullins said Luke, a physician who wrote excellent Greek, was the only Gentile writer of the New Testament. “He might have been a Greek, but I think he was probably Roman,” he said.
Mullins’ favorite scripture is Romans 8:38-39, which says, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Deacon Gayle Reeves said Mullins “is a very good Christian man who cares about people.
“Dudley loves the Lord and he doesn’t care if you’re black, brown, white or green,” Reeves said. “He treats everybody the same. We love him and hope he stays much longer.”
