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In 1978, after weeks of internal wrestling, Caldwell says he finally heard the call for himself on an October afternoon as he sat alone in his office. "My heart and my mind became eclipsed in what God wanted me to do," he says. He promptly went into his boss's office and resigned. "He thought I was crazy. My coworkers thought I was crazy," Caldwell remembers, adding that one colleague from his Wall Street days "called and literally cursed me out" over the decision.

Undeterred, the 25-year-old Caldwell started over. He completed a four-year program at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in less than three years and served as an associate pastor at churches in Dallas and Houston before accepting the assignment at Windsor Village.

Caldwell jumped from the world of finance to that of ministry without blinking, perhaps because he had grown up immersed in multiple worlds. His neighborhood was in Houston's poverty-stricken Fifth Ward, sometimes known as "the Bloody Fifth" because of the area's weekly homicides. But he was also exposed to celebrities like B.B. King and Ray Charles, for whom his father, a tailor, had made custom clothes. He recalls being kissed goodnight on the forehead by Tina Turner as a small boy.

Most important, Caldwell received lavish encouragement from parents who took their family to church each week. And the church, it turns out, was the setting for one of Caldwell's earliest victories: the conquering of a serious speech impediment, which his parents trained him to overcome by volunteering the child for every public-speaking opportunity available.

That family influence still resonates. Ask the busy pastor what his most important achievements have been and he'll tell you, in order, his decisions to follow Christ, marry his wife, and have children. Advising the President and transforming the economy of southwest Houston apparently fall further down on the list.

Suzette Caldwell, the preacher's wife of 10 years, is a major player at Windsor Village Church, where she leads the prayer ministry. The couple has three children (the youngest arrived in August).

The Caldwells share a talent for salesmanship, says Windsor Village lay leader George Johnson, but they use it only "for the good of the whole. Rev. Caldwell's ideas are never selfish; they're always what's best for the community." Johnson cites Caldwell's advocacy for a ministry to people with aids, which the church undertook over the objections of some congregants. "When the church started the aids ministry back in 1989, that was not a popular thing to do. Most church people just looked the other way on that. But it proved to be a very wise thing."

Johnson calls Caldwell an unflagging optimist with an energetic sense of humor. "He believes in laughter; very rarely will you get through a sermon without him saying anything funny."

Caldwell's positive attitude is reflected in his preaching, which has charmed many listeners with its energy, eloquence, and bold claims about the promises of God for his people. A national audience got a glimpse of his style at the inauguration, when the preacher called for God's divine favor "to be upon President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush." He continued: "We decree and declare that no weapon formed against them shall prosper."

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October 1 2001, Vol. 45, No. 12