Whaley is an ordained minister with Congregational Holiness Church Inc., which is headquartered in Griffin, Ga.
He and his wife, Angie, have been at Taylor’s Grove since July 13. He preached his first Sunday sermon July 25.
“I love it because my grandfather pastored there in the early 1980s,” said Whaley. “It’s kind of a tradition, you could say. His name was Jack Horton.”
Whaley served as youth pastor at Limbaugh Chapel C.H. Church in Talladega and moved to Heritage C.H. Church in Childersburg as an associate pastor in November 2008.
He is originally from Sylacauga, and spent about eight years in the military before working for the Talladega Police Department.
He is in his 17th year at department. He frequently gets asked how he his able to balance two remotely different occupations.
“It’s a fine line you have to walk,” Whaley said. “I see the whole picture instead of just part of it.”
He also gives credit to his general love for people.
“As a Christian you have to have a general love for people,” Whaley said. “We’re supposed to demonstrate the same kind of love as Christ did.”
Taylor’s Grove, which began in 1946, was on the brink of closing before Whaley agreed to become pastor.
“I don’t like to see a church close,” he said. “If you can’t get it from the church where can you get it from with all the bad things going on in the world?”
His congregation started out with a small mix of family members and friends, and has since grown to include other members of the community.
He said he hopes the church will continue to have a positive impact on the community, and believes it was no coincidence that brought him to the ministry and eventually Taylor’s Grove. It was a calling.
The following services are held on Sundays: Sunday school starts at 10 a.m., Sunday morning worship starts at 11, Sunday evening worship starts at 6. Midweek Bible study will begin Thursday, Sept. 2, at 6:30 p.m.
Everyone is welcome to attend.
Contact Aziza Jackson @ajackson@dailyhome.com
