My name is James Lipford and I am, by God’s mercy, married to the most beautiful and wonderful woman, Staci, of 4 years. I was raised in Williamsburg, VA and as a child, my mother would take me to church where I would hear about the law and the wrath of God. After many years of trying to be a “moral” person, I saw that I couldn’t keep all the laws that God expected me to, so I decided to do whatever my passions desired.

Throughout my college years I partied, chased women, did a lot of drugs and got in trouble with the law. There were so many things that I was looking for that the world could not provide for me. I longed for meaning, acceptance, and love, but could not find them myself. I was failing my classes and struggling with depression when God, by His grace, pulled me out of my situation and recruited into the Apprentice School to wrestle.

After two years of continuing in my ways, I was invited to church by a friend of mine at work where I truly heard the gospel. God had opened my eyes to the truth that the purpose of the law was to show me that I couldn’t achieve my own righteousness and that Christ had done that for me and died the death that I deserved so that I could be counted righteous. This opened my mind like an epiphany and suddenly my attitude and desires changed.

Several days later, I blew my knee out in a wrestling match and was bed-ridden for a month with nothing but my bible and Mark Driscoll podcasts. God sat me down and showed me the beautiful truths that seemed hidden to me for so long which sparked a fire within me to share the truth that was revealed to me.

After church hopping for a few years, I landed at a baptist mega-church where I met my wife and established many good friendships. Several years later, my theology was becoming more reformed baptist and I knew it was time to find a reformed church for my wife and I to grow. In April of 2017, we started attending Reformation Christian Fellowship where we are now covenant members and deeply love the people and preaching. My passion is to teach and edify the body of believers with the truth of God’s word which can be distorted, ignored and hidden because of our own pride and precommitments to tradition. Let us hold up Christ in all things so that all may behold and the elect may hear their great Shepards voice and come to repentance.