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Bonita Valley Baptist Church

Place

Bonita Valley Baptist Church

4701 Sweetwater Road, San Diego




Membership: 200

Pastor: Jim Carpenter

Age: 58

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Born: Denver, Colorado

Formation: University of Denver, Denver, Colorado; Denver Seminary, Littleton, Colorado; Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena

Years Ordained: 33

San Diego Reader: Can you think of a time when you gave a sermon that completely flopped?

Pastor Jim Carpenter: I don’t think you ever know how it’s going to go. There’s a dynamic in teaching God’s word. There’s something the Lord is doing in spite of what you’re doing and that happens quite often, I find. I work hard to prepare and hope for the best, but sometimes the Lord may have another plan. It’s humbling when people comment on something that was really meaningful to them even though I didn’t plan to say it.

SDR: What is your main worry as member of the clergy?

PJ: That I’ll dishonor Christ in any variety of ways. I fear I may act one way up front and another way in my private life. If you saw me at my home I would not want you to see anything that would cause you to say, “What a jerk that guy is. On Sunday morning he seems like this godly person, but look at him now yelling at this other driver on the road.” I’m by no means perfect, but I would want to be the same on the inside as I am on the outside.

SDR: What is the most prevalent sin you observe or hear about from your congregants?

PJ: The most prevalent sin is idolatry for a lot of people. I think idolatry is not necessarily having a little plastic God-figure on your bookshelf but worshipping and serving something other than the God of creation. That’s a biggie. We’re not talking about literal golden calf but about people who say, “Look at me!” or “Look at my car!” That was one of God’s First Commandments, of course — not to have anyone or anything above him.

SDR: Why did you become a pastor?

PJ: I guess the short and spiritually trite answer is that God called me to be a pastor. I began to feel that calling when I was in my early teens. I became a Christian when I was 15 years of age, following the death of my father. At the time, my bent was toward teaching and my mother wanted me to be an attorney — a tax attorney, preferably — but after studying God’s word, it was odd how often there were opportunities for me even as a kid to pastor people and teach from the Bible. I was in a little farming community in western Colorado, and my minister one day said, “I’m going to be out of town. Would you like to preach in my place?” I was 16 years old at the time and I said okay. In any case, that started a long journey I guess I’m still on.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PJ: My conviction comes out of the Bible, as you might expect, and I believe people live eternally in hell or in heaven. I think that the factor that ends up determining that is their relationship or non-relationship to Jesus Christ.

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San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
Place

Bonita Valley Baptist Church

4701 Sweetwater Road, San Diego




Membership: 200

Pastor: Jim Carpenter

Age: 58

Sponsored
Sponsored

Born: Denver, Colorado

Formation: University of Denver, Denver, Colorado; Denver Seminary, Littleton, Colorado; Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena

Years Ordained: 33

San Diego Reader: Can you think of a time when you gave a sermon that completely flopped?

Pastor Jim Carpenter: I don’t think you ever know how it’s going to go. There’s a dynamic in teaching God’s word. There’s something the Lord is doing in spite of what you’re doing and that happens quite often, I find. I work hard to prepare and hope for the best, but sometimes the Lord may have another plan. It’s humbling when people comment on something that was really meaningful to them even though I didn’t plan to say it.

SDR: What is your main worry as member of the clergy?

PJ: That I’ll dishonor Christ in any variety of ways. I fear I may act one way up front and another way in my private life. If you saw me at my home I would not want you to see anything that would cause you to say, “What a jerk that guy is. On Sunday morning he seems like this godly person, but look at him now yelling at this other driver on the road.” I’m by no means perfect, but I would want to be the same on the inside as I am on the outside.

SDR: What is the most prevalent sin you observe or hear about from your congregants?

PJ: The most prevalent sin is idolatry for a lot of people. I think idolatry is not necessarily having a little plastic God-figure on your bookshelf but worshipping and serving something other than the God of creation. That’s a biggie. We’re not talking about literal golden calf but about people who say, “Look at me!” or “Look at my car!” That was one of God’s First Commandments, of course — not to have anyone or anything above him.

SDR: Why did you become a pastor?

PJ: I guess the short and spiritually trite answer is that God called me to be a pastor. I began to feel that calling when I was in my early teens. I became a Christian when I was 15 years of age, following the death of my father. At the time, my bent was toward teaching and my mother wanted me to be an attorney — a tax attorney, preferably — but after studying God’s word, it was odd how often there were opportunities for me even as a kid to pastor people and teach from the Bible. I was in a little farming community in western Colorado, and my minister one day said, “I’m going to be out of town. Would you like to preach in my place?” I was 16 years old at the time and I said okay. In any case, that started a long journey I guess I’m still on.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PJ: My conviction comes out of the Bible, as you might expect, and I believe people live eternally in hell or in heaven. I think that the factor that ends up determining that is their relationship or non-relationship to Jesus Christ.

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2nd place winner not so much
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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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