Pastor's Circle - Rurel Ausley

Rurel Ausley, lead pastor of Niceville United Methodist Church, joined the Pastor's Circle to talk about the choices we make. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

You're doing a sermon series on choices; what exactly is that about?

I've always been big on New Year's Resolutions. The choices that we make determine the direction we go, and who we are, and what happens to us.

What are some choices you've made that have impacted your life?

One choice is that I asked Jesus into my life. That changed everything I've ever done. Another choice would be marrying my wife. That has made the second most difference in my life.

Even today, I look at some choices I need to make this year; I think especially a new commitment to his Word.

That's a choice I need to make every day. When I do that, it makes a big difference in my day, because I sense his presence with me all day long. I need that.

I would say I need to work really hard to make sure I'm operating on my priorities. It's so easy to get sidetracked, to get trapped in other things.

What are ways that you've studied the Word of God?

One way I did for years, is that I read the Bible through every year. I've also just taken a book and spent some time in it. If your audience has never read the Bible through, I encourage them to do that.

On the prayer time, the most recent thing over the last four or five years for me has been contemplative prayer, trying to learn to just be silent before the Lord.

It slows me down, it gives me a sense that he's there, it gives me a sense of reality with him. I've enjoyed that, although I'm not really a "sit still" person.