I Planted the Seed (and Woody Squashed it) (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780615525945)

Barry Phillips was born in Limestone, Maine and was raised in Massachusetts, California and South Carolina. Barry joined the US Air Force immediately after he graduated from high school and spent the next twenty years in: Sacramento, California; Sumter, SC; Tucson, AZ, Champaign, IL; Osan, Korea; Honolulu, HI; and San Antonio Texas. Barry earned a bachelor's degree from Eastern Illinois University, a master's degree in information systems management from Hawaii Pacific University, and a master's degree in intercultural studies from the Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary. After "retiring" from the USAF, Barry and his family moved to Seattle in 1996 to pursue the American dream, and by 1998 he was earning a six-figure income as the technical half of a software sales team. This work required non-stop travel which kept him away from his family. Feeling that he was failing as both a father and a husband, Barry did what some people talk about, but few people do - he quit his job and moved to a tropical island. The plan, he recalls, was to take a year or two sabbatical and heal as a family, then return to Seattle and re-join the rat race. But the Lord had other plans for the Phillips family. For many years Barry was antagonistic towards people of faith, but was given the opportunity to 'be still' while in the jungle (with no telephone service, internet, or television signal) and encounter God. Barry surrendered his life to the lordship of Jesus Christ on July 29th, 2000 and he and his wife immediately began hosting weekly Bible studies for the neighborhood teenagers. Eighteen months later he was ordained as the founding pastor of Malupa Baptist Church, which has now planted nine additional churches. Barry founded Hands of Hope International (www.lifttheburden.org) in 2001 to help lift the burden of poverty and share the love of Jesus with his community in the Philippines. This organization has been instrumental in growing the Philippine ministry. Barry and his wife, Lilia, have hosted missionaries from Hawaii, California, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Australia. They continue to host teams from many locations who are eager to assist in the growth of God's kingdom in the Philippines. When he isn't teaching, preaching, growing disciples or writing, Barry designs and builds electric guitars.