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DCBC Notables
My Tribute to Former DCBC Executive Director/Minister Rev. Ricky Creech: A Friend and Mentor
By Lashanor Doolittle
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I am honored to write about my friend, Rev. Ricky Creech, who passed suddenly on July 16, 2022. Rev. Creech, or Ricky as he preferred to be called, joined the DCBC family in 2011, and his cheery and hospitable persona was a welcome addition to the DCBC family. DCBC also enjoyed the bonus addition of his wife, Donna, who always greeted you with a smile and encouraging words. They were a selfless, caring, supportive, loving, and humorous couple. Ricky was a hands-on Executive Director/Minister who believed in leading by example. He had a heart for people and believed in engaging nonbelievers to work alongside us as we worked to show the love of the Father. One of many examples of the multilevel partnerships he envisioned for the Convention was our work with Mission Serve, an organization that believes in being the hands and feet of Jesus Christ and in sharing His love through missions and home rehab.
Ricky introduced the DCBC to Mission Serve and in his first year, we were awarded a Community Development Block Grant of $40,000 from the City of Takoma Park. In partnership with Mission Serve, which brought 350 youth volunteers, we worked to rectify code violations on the homes of 25 low-income families. As part of this endeavor, 21 DCBC churches partnered to provide daily meals for the volunteers, and one church even housed the entire group.
In addition to Mission Serve, Rickydevelopedthe DCBC’s Emergency Response Team, which was designed to model the whole body of Christ working together to meet human needs. Helping people was in his DNA, and there was an overwhelming joy that he received when he saw the look of happiness on the faces of those we helped.
I got to know Ricky and Donna when we, along with Rev. Paula Moutos (Discipleship Pastor at Pathways Baptist Church, Gaithersburg, Maryland), traveled to Juneau, Alaska in September 2013 to serve the Alaskan Baptists. We served from sunup to sundown for several days until we were exhausted, but we laughed, shared family stories, and experienced many “firsts” together,
including seeing a bald eagle, seeing hundreds of seals covering the shoreline, encountering an adult black bear (literally) and a whale swimming under our boat. (I’m not sure if it was an orca or a humpback. All I know is that it was longer and wider than our boat, and we were on top of it. Paula and I were screaming at the top of our lungs while Ricky captured the incident on video.). On another occasion, I can remember hysterically laughing as the four of us sat in a car on the side of the road, in pitch blackness, hoping to see another bear (definitely not my idea, but it was a oneof-a-kind experience). During this time of ministry, we became like family.
One of Ricky’s passions was cooking for others. Many of you may have stopped by the Baptist Building to enjoy the BBQ he enjoyed cooking. I especially appreciated all his home-cooked meals and hearing the stories of the meals he shared with the families who invited him into their homes, which speaks volumes about his relationship with many of you. He was a good man who desired nothing but the best for you, for me, and for the Convention.
In 2011, he shared the following words with the Convention — words that are still appropriate for us today: This Convention is about you and your congregation. We exist to serve our member churches and communities that God has given to us. The future story is yours to write, and your involvement in the journey will assist in making a successful journey our reality. As with any journey, there will be pot-holes, missed turns, low fuel levels, flat tires, scenic routes and expressways. There may even be “law enforcement” along the way that will seek to impede our journey by citing some infraction or putting up a barricade. Still, our resolve as a body must be to unite, to set aside our differences and seek to move forward toward a new day and a new Convention.
I am convinced our divine destination exists. We just have to be willing to travel in the same vehicle. Will it be what I or you want? Will all of our congregations embrace it? I don’t know. I just have to rest assured that the future is not about me or you, not about any particular congregation but totally and unapologetically about God. With Him as our focus, we will not fail.
To bring this to a close, I felt it fitting to share some of the parting thoughts shared with Ricky on the day when he left DCBC in April 2014:
We have a lot of unfinished business, but all of the beginnings have been GRAND. As I hold within my heart the heaviness of unfinished friendship, unfinished work, unfinished dreams, and unfinished deep affection held for you and Donna, I realize that the huge JOY experienced by knowing you has (almost) been worth the pain of losing you. My only consolation is the hope that our paths will cross again. — Connie Stinson, former pastor, Luther Rice Memorial Baptist Church
When I met you, I was impressed with your leadership ability and your willingness to serve. For we recognize that true leadership is servant-hood which you so capably demonstrated. In the Gospel of Mark it states that, ‘For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’ You demonstrated your love for God by expressing your love for this Convention.
I am sure that all of your friends have fond memories of you too – whether it be your smile that greeted them when they walked through the doors of The District of Columbia Baptist Convention, the fact that you were a Social Worker, the barbeque that they ate that was prepared in love at the Baptist Building or the kind words that you gave to them as they attended meetings with you. Therefore, I share with all of them the honor, privilege and delight to celebrate you as you embark upon your new journey. — Eular Robinson, member, CenterPoint Baptist Church
You have helped the Convention to open its eyes to the need for a more innovative approach in carrying out its mission. As a part of the Search Committee that interviewed you for this position, I am grateful for your service, and what it has meant for giving a needed jolt to the status-quo of convention life. — Ernest Trice, Sr., pastor, Takoma Park Baptist Church
Goodbye, my friend! I will miss your stories, your smile, and your humor. I look forward to seeing you again in eternity.
Lashanor Doolittle is DCBC’s Chief Operations Officer.
Heard Around the Convention
DCBC is global – there are people around the world who are excited about our annual gathering theme and hope to attend! — Rev. Dr. Adrien Ngudiankama
DCBC Notables
DCBC shares the following notable events in the lives of its members:
We congratulate the following individuals celebrating anniversaries, ordinations and other accomplishments:
Rev. Janice Preston, who was ordained on July 17 by Rev. Dr. Donald Kelly, Senior Pastor Olive Branch Community Church in Sandy Spring, Maryland.
Pasto Skye Hallman McQuillan, who, on July 10, celebrated 10 years as Associate Pastor at Heritage Baptist Church in Annapolis, Maryland.
Dr. Wallis C. Baxter III, Pastor of Second Baptist Church, SW, DC, on the recent publication of his book Phillis Wheatley as Prophetic Poet: You Must Be Born Again. Baxter uses Wheatley’s poetry and life experiences to create an image of her not only a poet, but also as “the mother of liberation theology.” Wheatley is described as “both poet and visionary who wrestles with God during the creative process.”
We extend condolences to Rev.
Dr. Harold N. Brooks Jr.,
Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Washington, DC., and to his family at the passing of his father Harold N. Brooks Sr., whose homegoing celebration was held July 27 at FBC-DC.
