Pastor Tommy Nelson: The Legacy of Fifty Years in the Pulpit

Before Zach ever met him, he heard his voice on the radio. In the 1980s, Pastor Tommy Nelson of Denton Bible Church taught the Song of Solomon "on a lark," and his church jumped from 700 to 1,250 in six weeks. Then 4,000 singles showed up to a Dallas Bible study, the tapes went onto military bases and submarines around the world, and a generation learned what the Bible actually says about love, sex, and marriage.

Now, after 50 years in the pulpit, Tommy sits down with Dr. Zach Terry for an honest look back: the white shoes that cost him a Texas A&M scholarship, the church "nobody planted," the night his body quit before he preached, and the psychiatrist who said, "He has run out of gas." He talks openly about depression, medication, and rest, why a driven pastor with AI is a dangerous combination, what the Amish and Andy Griffith understand about a simple life, and why every church needs a discipleship current running under the Sunday crowd.

They also take on the hard questions: Should "one nation under God" name which God? Why is antisemitism rising on elite campuses? How should Christians love Israel without pretending Israel is always right? Stay to the end for Tommy's stories about Howard Hendricks, his one regret, and a word of hope for the next generation of pastors.