Homecoming
Minister returns to lead church where he joined as a teenager
The Rev. Keith Burkhart, who went to First Southern Baptist Church of Del City as a teen, is now the church’s senior pastor.
When the Rev. Keith Burkhart arrives at his church, he not only sees its present but its past, as well.
That firsthand knowledge of yesteryear may stand him in good stead as he leads First Southern Baptist Church of Del City, 6400 S Sooner Road, into the future.
For Burkhart, it’s a spiritual homecoming to return to the church where he developed a close relationship with Christ after joining the congregation at 16. He met Jeanette — the love of his life — there, married her and served on staff in several capacities before joining the staff of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.
Burkhart had been serving as director of the convention’s Falls Creek and Cross Timbers Conference Center near Davis since May 2018, when pastoral search committee leaders from First Southern approached him about returning to the church home of his youth. Before that, Burkhart served as the convention’s family and men’s ministry specialist for about 11 years.
After prayerful contemplation and with his connection to First Southern in mind, Burkhart accepted the senior pastor’s post. His first Sunday in the pulpit was Nov. 25.
Church with a storied history
Burkhart said First Southern’s search committee didn’t have to tell him a lot about the church because he first joined the house of worship in 1976. After graduating from high school, Burkhart served as the church’s chef while running his own food service business. Over the years, he became part of the church’s pastoral staff and executive staff.
Burkhart said he kept up with happenings at the church even after he went to work for the Oklahoma Baptist convention.
He knew First Southern’s storied history, including the popular Starlite Crusades, which drew hundreds of people for summer worship services. He knew the church had not one but two ministers — Bailey Smith and Tom Elliff — who were elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention while serving as senior pastor there. Two of the church’s other pastors — Jimmy Draper and John Bisagno — also became president of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.
“We have been blessed with a great legacy of pastors here,” Burkhart said.
Burkhart also knew the church had experienced its share of adversity, too.
In the mid-1980s, the congregation moved to its present complex on 80 acres near Tinker Air Force Base under Smith’s leadership but got into serious debt when the charismatic leader left and the Oklahoma oil bust ensued.
More recently, First Southern had been mourning the loss of its beloved pastor, the Rev. Shane Hall, who died in February 2018 after an extended battle with stomach cancer.
Burkhart said he hadn’t been at his new position as director of the Baptist convention’s conference centers very long and was hesitant about agreeing to be considered for the pastor’s post.
Then he remembered a time in 2005 when he had felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit about one day leading the church. Burkhart said he put that memory away years ago, but it came back when he was asked to consider leading First Southern.
“God took 11 years and really developed who I was as a man and a leader,” Burkhart said.
In need of a shepherd
Burkhart said a church leader told him that First Southern was in need of a certain type of leader in the aftermath of Hall’s death, and they thought he had all the right qualities.
“When he called he said ”Keith, we need a shepherd because our church has been through a lot,’ “Burkhart said. ”They loved Shane Hall. They were hurting.”
The preacher said he and the church began praying about the future, and he felt that God was calling him to accept the pastor’s position. As a former member of the church who knew many members and Hall, Burkhart felt uniquely set to lead the church forward.
“He was such a lovely man, and he has such a legacy here. In just five short years, he did so many things,” Burkhart said of Hall. “Knowing the
people here, knowing their pains and their hurts, helps me to be a better shepherd to them.”
The pastor said he depends on God’s guidance each day as he leans into his new post.
‘Blessing to the city’
Burkhart said his time as the church’s chef was what he considered his “foot-washing ministry” because it was a good experience serving the congregation. He said as a deacon and later as a staff member and men’s ministry leader, he learned much.
He said he also had felt the burden of a $20 million debt that the church had incurred when it moved to its sprawling complex on Sooner Road.
However, things on that front are looking up.
“It just seemed impossible all those years. We moved out here right after the recession; times were tough, interest rates were real high,” Burkhart said.
“We’re now almost debt free. We will be debt free in 2019,” he said.