Hey, I am J. Richard Byrd. I am a soon to be "41 year old" (did I say that out loud) father, husband, church launcher, entrepreneur, musician, and marketing consultant. Whew, that is a lot. This blog is my rantings and ravings, as I try to figure out my purpose in life. Sometimes irreverent, it is still relevant to the duality of the man.
As I stated before I am married to a wonderful woman, Yvette Byrd. (check out her blog here). I am the father of 5 boys and 3 girls we have adopted in to the family. We are an eclectic and zany bunch of people. Everyday I find more and more of myself in my boys, so I want to personally take this time to apologize to my mother. If I was half as crazy as my kids, I know I gave her a run for her money. Let's see what else - April 2012 my wife and I along with a great team (still looking for team members) will be launching The Experience Charlotte church plant. This will be the biggest venture I have ever undertaken. In January 2012 I became an ordained elder. So I guess I am legitimate, although I still feel inadequate for this responsibility.
I didn't aspire to be a pastor. I have been in churches all my life, and spent a lot of time with pastors . Believe me, it was not my first calling or, so I thought. There has always been a burning deep in my belly that told me this was the avenue that I should take. I remember as a little boy, I would preach to the weeds and grass in the field in front of my great aunt's house. I guess you can say the seed was planted.
My first thought was to write about the many accomplishments I have been blessed to receive, or to discuss the absolute failure I have been in many areas of my life. When it is said and done, I think that really does describes me. In fact, I think that describes a lot of people I have come in contact with over the years. Successes and Failures. Oh, how you have to love the ironies of God. In a nutshell, I have been up and I have been down, I have been to jail and I have run multi-million dollar corporations. I've sat at the table with killers and I have sat at the table with billionaires.
You know what? People are people. We all have issues. I may have more than most. But if you are willing to follow this imperfect man with issues as I follow Christ; then, I welcome you into the family. The opinions on this page are my own, and as such, should not be considered the gospel truth. These are my unfiltered thoughts about life, leadership, children, ministry, and just trying to stay sane in an insane world.
More importantly, I love God, I love my wife, and I love my family.
For the important thinking people: Here is the good resumé.
If you are looking for the professional business profile - Try here - or on my Linked-In Page. If you are looking to have me speak, please click here for my speaking information page.