I was born in an orphanage in Athens, Greece, in 1959 to an unwed mother of Greek ancestry. Immediately placed in the care of the orphanage, I was adopted at the age of three months by a Navy serviceman and his wife, Thomas and Faye Cox, both from Porter, Oklahoma, stationed in Morocco at the time. I was soon brought to the United States and naturalized as a citizen. Most of my early years growing up were spent in Norfolk, Virginia, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Muskogee, Oklahoma. I gave my life to Christ just before my eighth birthday in January 1967 in Tulsa.
Licensed to preach in 1983 and ordained in 1984, I became Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Pryor in May 2008. I came to First Baptist Church of Pryor from West Lynchburg Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, where I served from 2003 to 2008. I have also served as Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Inola, Oklahoma, Lakeview Southern Baptist Church in Skiatook, Oklahoma, First Baptist Church of Boynton, Oklahoma, Oak Street Baptist Church in Cushing, Oklahoma, and Trinity Baptist Church in Keefeton, Oklahoma. Moreover, I have preached an evangelistic crusade in Dominica, West Indies, under the auspices of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, as well as a number of Bible conferences and revivals in Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Texas.
In addition to my pastoral duties, I have also served as an Adjunct Professor of Evangelism for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Tulsa extension and as a Doctor of Ministry Field Supervisor for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I have also served as President of the Pryor Church Softball League; as Moderator and Vice-Moderator of the Craig-Mayes Baptist Association; as a member of the Southern Baptist Convention Committee on Committees; as Moderator and Vice-Moderator of the Lynchburg Baptist Association; as Co-President of the Pastors’ Conference, Resolutions Committee member, and Personnel Committee member of the Tulsa Metro Baptist Association; and as President of the Inola Ministerial Alliance.
I am a graduate of Muskogee High School (1977) in Muskogee, Oklahoma, of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana, earning an Associate of Divinity in Pastoral Ministry degree (1986), of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies (1986), and of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, where I earned both Master of Divinity with Biblical Languages (1989) and Doctor of Ministry (2000) degrees, with an emphasis in my doctoral work on biblical hermeneutics, especially as applied to New Testament interpretation, ethics, and Christian apologetics, done under the faculty supervision of the late Southern Baptist theologian and philosopher John P. Newport.
My preaching focuses on competent biblical exposition utilizing the grammatical-historical hermeneutic taught by Southern Baptist seminaries and universities and is built upon sound exegesis. My sermons are a blend of preaching and teaching, routinely stressing evangelism, discipleship, repentance, and stewardship. I am committed both to Old and New Testament Bible-book exposition, with particular emphasis on the New Testament, having preached, exegeted, and translated through twenty-four New Testament books and having preached through twenty-two Old Testament books. I also address important topics such as why there are so many different denominations, worldviews, just war theory, the creation-evolution debate, alcohol and drug prevention, anti-gambling, the sanctity of human life, the virgin birth of Christ, the virtuous woman, spiritual discernment, spiritual gifts, the Christian perspective on homosexuality and same-sex marriage, and the inspiration and authority of Scripture.
My writing accomplishments include one book, Not One Little Child: A Biblical Critique of Calvinism, published by WestBow Press, my copyrighted Doctor of Ministry Thesis, “A Pastoral Ministry Approach for Developing a Biblical Response to Channeling and Its Principal Tenets,” as well as articles posted on the website of the North American Mission Board, and others published by the Pryor Daily Times, The Baptist Messenger (the Oklahoma Baptist state paper), WordSlingers (the Oklahoma Baptists blog), Religious Herald (the Virginia Baptist state paper), and The Message (the Louisiana Baptist blog). Additionally, I have an unpublished manuscript entitled, “A Practical and Homiletical Examination of the Book of Zephaniah.”
I married my high school sweetheart, Joyce McConnell, December 16, 1977. She has been highly active in women’s and children’s ministries as well as adult choir.
Joyce and I have two sons, Michael, Jr. and Matthew. Michael, Jr., a Broadcast Journalism graduate of Oklahoma State University, lives in Owasso, Oklahoma, with his wife Kassi (Lea) Cox, who is also a graduate of Oklahoma State University. They have two daughters, Blakeley and Saylor, and one son, Boston. Michael, Jr. and Kassi attend the First Baptist Church of Owasso, Oklahoma, where Michael is a drummer in their praise band. Michael, Jr. is also the Owner of Stough Tool Sales headquartered in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, specializing in the sale of cutting inserts for machine shops in the Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Wichita metro areas.
Matthew, too, is a graduate of Oklahoma State University where he was a University Studies major with an emphasis on wildlife management, range management, and communications. He and his wife, Tiffany (Epps) Cox, a graduate of Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, live in Owasso, Oklahoma, and have one daughter, Landrey, and one son, Nash. They attend The Church at Battlecreek in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where Matthew plays lead guitar in the praise band at the South Tulsa campus. Matthew is Director of Business Development and Regional Sales Manager of the Mid-Continent ESP Division for Extract Production Services headquartered in Skiatook, Oklahoma, a company specializing in sales, installation, and service of submersible lift systems for oil and natural gas production.
My recreational passion is whitetail deer hunting, especially with a bow and arrow (I shoot a Mathews Halon for those of you who care!), which my dad introduced to me when I was nine. My favorite color is camouflage! I also enjoy bass and crappie fishing, and, obviously, reading and research. Lastly, I coached the First Baptist Church of Pryor’s men’s softball team from 2010-2015. The men’s team won the USSSA Oklahoma Church League State Tournament in 2013 and the team was NSA Oklahoma Church League State Tournament runner-up in 2014.
I genuinely pray that you’ll love my website. It’s far more than a blog for articles. It’s a host site for sermons, publications, church history charts, Greek grammar helps, Greek translation/exegesis charts, and information ranging in category from apologetics, to bibliographies, to church, to culture, to deacons, to ethics, to prayer, to spiritual gifts, and more. You can peruse the Topical Sermons or click on a particular book of the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament, which interests you and see my writings on each verse, found by chapter and verse, and there are thousands. My prayer is that the website will prove to be a reliable, respected, much referenced resource for anyone wanting to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ and become a more deeply rooted disciple. Think of it as Christian education at your fingertips. This has been God’s gift to me, now it’s my gift to you. Just trying to make Jesus even more famous than He already is!
Serving Christ,
Mike
DRMICHAELACOX.COM 