He and his wife, Margot, recently celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary. They are the parents of two wonderful daughters, Shannon and Delaney.

A Modern Nicodemus...in his own words

My Name is Jimmy Painter, and this is my story. I am a home-grown native of the great State of Maryland. I grew up in Elkton, on the Chesapeake Bay’s upper shore, experiencing all that small town had to offer.

On the socio-economic ladder of life, we were near the bottom rung.  I longed to be “somebody,” to have people know me and respect me. I longed to break out from the mold circumstances had set for me. I wanted to rise above my blue-collar roots to arrive at the apex of the American Dream. I believed that sports and education were my tickets to my destination. I had it all (to those looking on from the outside) – Captain of the football team, President of the Varsity Club, Key Club President, Class President, Student Council Vice-President, was dating a cheerleader, and had an active social life. But inside I was empty and hurting. The more I achieved, the emptier I felt. The pain led me to look for answers in all the wrong places.

Thanks be to God that my search did not end in prison or death. I didn’t grow up in a Christian home. But my grandmother, who lived with us, used to tell me stories from the Bible, and I went to Sunday School for a while as a child. But I never heard the life-changing Gospel of Jesus. I didn’t know if God existed, and if He did, what difference did it make? All I knew was a little religion, and I wanted nothing to do with that.

I met a woman named Ellen, a Pastor’s wife. She told me about a God who loved me, who sent his Son to die for me, and who had an exciting plan for my life. She said to me, “God so loved the world,” and, “God so loved you.” He loved me in spite of everything I had done. I had become a god unto myself and I had shut out the one true God. As much as I had done to gain a higher status, I could not work hard enough to earn my way to heaven.

A short time later, after a night of partying and near disasters, I looked into the mirror. I hated what I saw. I cried out to God, “God, if you are who you say you are, and if you did for me what you said that you did, and if you can straighten up my messed up life; …take it! It’s yours!” And do you know what God did? He took me up on my offer!

Suddenly, I was changed. My emptiness was replaced with God’s presence. My hurting was replaced with God’s healing. My sins and my shame were replaced with God’s forgiveness and grace. I didn’t need to self-medicate my pain by overachieving and I didn’t need to seek the acceptance and approval of others. I had Jesus – and I dove into my relationship with Him, wearing out Bibles and spending time in prayer.

I was baptized and joined the First Baptist Church of Elkton. In my Senior year of high school, I answered God’s call to the ministry and began my ministry journey at Campbell University in North Carolina. There, next to Jesus, I met God’s greatest gift to me, my wife Margot. God has blessed us with two wonderful daughters, 25 years of Pastoral Ministry, countless friends (oh, and my “son” – our Bichon Frise named “Bubba”!).

In the Gospel of John, Chapter 3, we are introduced to another overachiever named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a member of the Jewish Ruling Council, the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was Israel’s answer to congress and the supreme court. Nicodemus was also called “Israel’s Teacher.” He was the superintendent of schools. Nicodemus seemed to have everything – a highly respected position, political clout, and education. And though it was frowned upon by his peers, Nicodemus risked it all by coming to  Jesus. Jesus told him, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Everything Nicodemus had ever done was worthless. He had to start over. He needed to be born again. It’s not by our abilities or human reputation by which we are saved, but by the gift of God through Jesus Christ. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”