When Jim Sellers agreed to be the general contractor for First Baptist Sapulpa’s building expansion, he didn’t know at the time that an expansion in his own personal life was about to take place.
"It seemed that in my life there was always something big that I needed to do...something I just couldn't seem to get done," he said. "I didn't know what it was, but I was always trying to get this big something done, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it was always with me."
Sellers is the owner of Jim Sellers Construction, a company established in 1984. His company does work for the Corp of Engineers, state agencies, and private individuals.
“I’m in the phase-out business. On my way to retirement,” he said with a smile, adding that he wants more time to hunt and fish.
But along the way to retirement, Sellers got the call from First Baptist Sapulpa.
“They were doing a building project and needed a contractor, but I just didn’t have time and my guys were tied up on other projects,” Sellers said.
His friend Dewey Enlow, Chairman of the Deacons at First Baptist Sapulpa and a member of the building committee, called back and told Sellers that they only needed his advice on what steps to take next in their project.
“So I talked to the building committee and gave them some idea of what to do next. I got a call from Pastor Doyle Pryor who said, 'We've decided to hire you to build our building for us.'"
Sellers insisted to Pryor he wasn't on a sales call when he visited the church, but the pastor said the committee really wanted him to take the job. He agreed and was awarded the contract to do the building project in June 2003.
“While on the project, I was around Doyle Pryor for several months and he always had a reason for me to come to church—a ground breaking, a fall festival banquet, or he wanted to introduce me to the members as being the new contractor,” Sellers said. “He had me there for a lot of reasons but never told me to come hear him preach.”
Sellers did eventually hear Pryor preach and in December 2003 he walked the aisle to give his life to Christ.
“When I became a Christian that feeling that there was something to get done, that thing I could never get done, that load was lifted and a lot of the things I worried about before began to matter less,” Sellers said.
Sellers asked Pryor to lead a prayer and devotion time for his construction crew each week during the church’s building project.
“For nine months Doyle came every Thursday and asked the guys if they had prayer needs,” he said. “The guys were exposed to the message of Christ and would visit with Doyle to ask questions about becoming a Christian. Our crew became a very close-knit group.”
Sellers was soon baptized and asked Pryor about tithing, “How far back do I need to go?” he asked his pastor.
Pryor remembers telling him, “Second Corinthians 5:17 says that all things become new and so really you are only responsible for the last 36 hours.”
Sellers renegotiated his builder’s fee from six percent to three percent and shared with Pryor that wanted to give to the church.
“From the bottom of his heart he wants to give and do,” Pryor said. “He’s humble and never asks for recognition.”
Sellers set up a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) through the Foundation. A DAF is a fund to which you can make charitable gifts and retain the right to advise on the charitable recipients, the amounts, and the timing of gifts from the fund. While the charitable organization is not bound by your recommendations, it generally follows your advice as long as the suggestions are consistent with the organization's objectives and the recipients are charitable organizations.
“I looked at several options,” Sellers said, “I would recommend the DAF because there isn’t a lot of paperwork and for me it looked like a better, easier way to invest.”
Dealing with less paperwork will give Sellers more time to enjoy hunting and fishing.
“I will eventually retire; I really am headed that way,” he said.
Posted on
Friday, January 2, 2009
by BFOK