The sermons included in this book were written and preached by me after I was called to be Senior Pastor at First Presbyterian Church, Marietta, Georgia. The first two sermons represent my farewell to the First Presbyterian Church congregation in Columbia, Tennessee, and subsequent sermons were prepared and preached in Marietta, from the time of arrival July 2017 through the date of my first year anniversary.

As a child of the First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, a call to return as Pastor was a gift that brought back many memories for me. The preacher I grew up listening to, Dr. James O. Speed, still sings in the choir every Sunday, and as the two of us have now switched chairs, I’ve been reminded of something he told me when I graduated from seminary: “Being a pastor’s not so hard, Joe. All I’ve had to do is to keep the doors open and avoid doing anything too stupid.”

These simple words of his and his faithful service I witnessed as a child continue to motivate my ministry today and inspired the title of this book: A Door Keeper in the House of the Lord.

What does the stole we preachers wear symbolize but that we are the chief foot-washers of the church we serve? And what does it mean for me to be a pastor in the very church in which I grew up? While I sit in the big, fancy chair at the front of our historic sanctuary, my real call is simply to keep the doors open and to point to the One whose love changes everything!

It is a gift for me to proclaim the Gospel. Every time I stand behind the pulpit, I am overcome with the privilege of it.

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Joe Evans was baptized at Morningside Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, Georgia. He was nurtured, confirmed, and ordained at First Presbyterian Church, Marietta, Georgia. He graduated from Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina and Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.

 Joe now serves as Senior Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Marietta, Georgia. He and his wife, Sara, live in Marietta with their two daughters, Lily and Cece.