Dr. Robert Decker

Better known as Pastor Rob to us and the other members and visitors at Triad Baptist Church. I have included some of my so called “Robisms” below.

As COVID-19 was arriving into the United States, our political leaders decided it was best to shut down society as we had known it (including churches). Our church at the time closed and went virtual, as did most. We had been very active and were both in leadership positions at the time. We attended virtually for a couple of months knowing that virtual church wasn’t working for us during this crisis in our lives. A friend of my wife knew of a church in Greensboro that was holding worship services outside at 10:30 AM on Sunday. We were excited and got up that day, headed over to get there by 10:15, only to find out that they had moved their start time to 9:30. We were too late to stop and join in so we just kept going. Dejected that we had an opportunity to worship in person and had missed it, we continued our grumbling.

I am grumbling when I doubt.
Dr. Robert Decker

God had a different plan! Two days later, again my wife was talking to a good friend who informed her that her church in Kernersville was opening up for in-person worshiping the following Sunday – May 24, 2020. That day changed my life. I was spiraling downhill quickly. Covid was here and my business was wrecked; my life-long best friend had been in an accident and succumbed to his injuries three weeks later; my brother had been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and was going to have a stem-cell transplant in Sept (as long as he didn’t contract Covid); and our church at the time had closed the sanctuary to members and visitors and locked the door. We called our minister and asked to meet him. The three of us sat our chairs outside and discussed what was going on with the church in regards to Covid. He listened to us, offered sympathy and prayed with us, but the bottom line, Covid was here and the church was closed.

“When you’re in a scary place, that’s when God becomes real – not just a theology”
Dr. Robert Decker

We visited TBC on the 24th of May, 2020 and have never left. We became members on February 21, 2021. As I said before, my life has changed because of that friend that invited my wife (us) to their service. The leadership at TBC had made plans to do the absolute best they could do to keep the worshipers safe, healthy and keep Covid from spreading. TBC continued having their services online and the leadership urged people to make whatever decision they were comfortable with regarding attendance or watching online. If attending in person, we were required to have our temperature taken prior to entering the building and worship center; wear a mask to our seats; leave 3 chairs (6′) between our party and another; leave every other row empty to allow for 6′ between worshipers; bathrooms were closed except for emergencies. Attendees had to exit out a different way because they were disinfecting the entrance for the next service and they changed the times of worship allowing for time to disinfect the worship center before the next service.

“God never wants you to go through something without getting something out of it”
Dr. Robert Decker

Back to May 24, 2020. Pastor Rob preached a sermon entitled “The Shepherd and the Shadow” My wife and I were blown away. It was exactly what we needed to hear at exactly the right time. The message preached was on my favorite Bible verse, Psalms 23. Even though I had memorized the verse as a child, read it hundreds of times, I had never really heard anyone break it down and explain it the way Pastor Rob did.

“God has a way of picking the worst time to do his best work”
Dr. Robert Decker – 10/10/21

Fast forward to September 23, 2020 – The day my brother had his stem-cell transplant. He had gone to the hospital several days earlier to have his good cells extracted and frozen, then it was time for the big awful chemo blast. They gave him a huge blast of chemo to burn everything up and then they put the good frozen cells back in. They call this day your second birthday. I had stopped Pastor Rob after church one Sunday prior to the transplant and asked him to put my brother on his prayer list. We were not members of TBC at this point and only knew a handful of people there. Days and weeks went by with very little good news.

“Peace is not the absence of problems, it’s sensing God is with you”
Dr. Robert Decker

Late in the afternoon of September 23rd, I received an email from Pastor Rob wanting to know how my brother’s procedure went. He said that he had prayed yesterday (9/22) and today (9/23) for him. As my brother had one setback after another, we were finding very little to hold on to except our faith . The emails and prayers kept coming from Pastor Rob. The next week right in the midst of another setback for my brother, Lynn and I were sitting in the den talking and my phone rang – “John, this is Pastor Rob. We just finished praying for your brother, how is he?” I was shocked and surprised – we were not members, the church has 1900+ members and he is reaching out to me? I should have known…

“Nothing can stop your ship of destiny if Jesus is in your boat”
Dr. Robert Decker – 12/19/21

My brother is better now, appreciating his wife, family, grandchildren and many friends (and strangers) that supported him through those tough days with their prayers.

You get your greatest honey (victories) from your greatest fights.
Dr. Robert Decker – 11/28/21

My business is better now, my life long best friend is in a better place and Lynn and I are thankful that we found Pastor Rob and our church home, TBC. Thanks be to God!