Ambassadors for Christ Baptist Church

Meet the Pastor

Pictured: Pastor James Waddell and wife Florence

    • I, James D. Waddell, grew up in the church. I was under the teaching of the gospel for my entire adolescent years. I remember raising my hand at a tent revival meeting in Hixburg, VA around the age of six. But it was not until the evening of October 7th, 1973 at the age of fourteen that during an evangelistic meeting, hosted by Greenville Baptist church of Greenville, PA, that I “heard” the gospel call from a dynamic preacher named Theron Spurr. Brother Spurr was an Evangelist who travelled from town to town, preaching the Word of God.
    • The Preacher that night preached a sermon entitled, “The Devil’s Conditioning”. I remember Brother Spurr read from newspaper articles from the 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950’s. He then read from the daily newspaper from Greenville for that very day, October 7, 1973. He then compared the current events and the news that occurred on that day from 1973 with the current events published from those previous decades. The results were astonishing.
    • From the comparisons between the articles from the current newspaper from October 7, 1973 for Greenville, PA that day, with the articles from the previous decades, Brother Spurr was able to show how the Devil had been actively attacking and altering the morals of this nation! And, furthermore, how the Devil was seeking to make; good – evil, and evil – good.
    • Fast forward to 2024, and the proof is in the pudding so to speak. Presently, we are dealing with openly gay and homosexual people, transgenderism, and the ongoing attack on our youth through all those demonic forces and entities trying to undermine the good Christian foundation upon which this nation was founded.
    • Well, at the invitation call, I, who happened to be seated in the balcony and in the middle of the second row of the balcony, had to get up and work my way through a sea of legs, then find my way to the staircase, and slowly work my way down the center aisle of the church to the front. I remember my legs felt like rubber and I could barely walk; and, it seemed like I would never get to the front. But somehow, I made it to the front of the church, where I was immediately greeted by Theron who then showed me from scripture that I was a sinner in need of repentance, and in need of a Saviour.
    • At the front of that church that night, Brother Spurr presented to me the gospel, which is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the atonement of my sins. I then prayed to receive Christ as my Saviour. And on October 7th 1973, I became a born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
    • Well, it didn’t take the Devil long to begin his attack on my newly found faith in Christ. And, the attack came in the oddest of all places. It came in the very church that I was attending – which happened to be a very good Baptist church. And, the attack came through our Sunday school. Our Sunday school teacher, Ruth, had received a copy of the RSV in the mail. In case you did not know, the RSV stands for the Revised Standard Version.
    • Ruth began using that translation in her Sunday school class. However, immediately the Holy Spirit pricked my heart. For my whole life, I had always used the 1611 Authorized King James Bible – even when I was not saved. I remembered as a new babe in Christ, I had asked her to please read John 3:16 for me from the RSV. She read, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  
    • Immediately, I said, “Wait a minute, that is not God’s Word!” I picked up my Bible and read, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
    • I remember telling her that in that one verse that she just read there were words omitted; there were words altered, and there were words that were changed altogether.
    • Omitted entirely was the word “begotten”; which is so doctrinally important. Jesus is, “the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” John 1:14. “Begotten” – one unique, like no one else, procreation of God.
    • Changed and altered; was the word “whosoever” – which was altered to read “whoever”! Again, also doctrinally important. Especially if you are trying to refute a five-point Calvinist.
    • Changed and altered was the word “everlasting” to “eternal”.
    • And, that was only one verse.
    • I had a terrible uncomfortable feeling whenever she read from the RSV for the rest of the lesson that day. So, I made a stand over the choice of text that she was using, and ultimately went to the Pastor, who backed me up, and told her to never again use that translation in Sunday school.
    • Crisis avoided, or, so it would seem! However, the crisis over “text” of Scripture was avoided only for a brief moment, for the real crisis had only just begun. Because the Devil began “conditioning” saved people in the seventies, eighties, nineties, two-thousands, and forward in time to our present time into accepting these false, and inferior texts. Presently, there are over possibly as many as nine-hundred English mis-translations of the bible on the market today. (Bible is intentionally in lower-case to show that these modern translations – anything past 1611 – ARE NOT, God’s Word!)
    • Well, this incident with my Sunday school teacher back in 1973 began my personal lifelong quest to “defend” the Inspired, and Preserved Word of God in English, which I knew to be the 1611 Authorized Version! However, at only the age of fourteen and as a new believer in Christ, I was not yet fully equipped to prove it. Thus, the work began for me to research the foundations of our beloved, time-honored text – the 1611 King James Bible!
    • So, for the past half-century, I have done just that, and the following is a result of that work. My prayer is that this work that I have expended much of my life to defend will produce fruit in the life of God’s true children, who do not question the Word of God, but who are seeking to honor and obey the Word of God!
    • We must never forget how we got here! Remember, the first words spoken by the Devil to the woman was “Hath God said”! The Devil has been questioning God’s Word ever since sin began!
    • Now, I want to be clear I am addressing only the English Bible, and not any other language. However, with that said, the same battles that are going on in English, are also going on in German, Spanish, French and virtually every other language God’s Word has been translated into.
    • So, for that reason, in this study, we will also be looking at the underlying texts that were used for the Old Testament, and the underlying texts that were used for the New Testaments. And, we will see, which ones have stood the test of the priesthood of the believer, and which ones have not stood that test!
    • When it comes to His Word, God’s true children seek to obey even that which they do not understand, because they believe it to be the inspired, and preserved Word of God. Thus, we must have faith in His Word, and faith in believing that it is exactly what God said! None of it has ever been lost!
    • Again, I hope this study will assist you in your efforts to defend the Old King James Bible. For it IS the Inspired, and Preserved Word of God in English – [Period]!