Terry Scalzitti, First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale. (James D. Davis / March 11, 2012)

March 11, 2012, 4:03 p.m.

Meet another member of South Florida's many-sided faith community. This week we're talking with the Rev. Terry Scalzitti, discipleship pastor at First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale.

Q: How did you get into your vocation?

A: I was interning at First Baptist's singles ministry. I kept telling God, "I don't want to become a pastor." I set him three tests: to confirm the calling through friends, to confirm it through a stranger, and to break my heart. All three happened within a week.

Q: How was your heart broken?

A: At a state camp in Ocala, I heard a pastor say, "Someone is fighting the call to ministry. Stop fighting." That hit my heart. I called my fiancee and said, "You were planning to marry a teacher and coach, but now you'll be marrying a pastor."

Q: Has it worked out?

A: Oh, yes. Here, I teach a lot, and I travel internationally each year. Every year, I use my skills to go lead a baseball camp. Last summer I went to Nicaragua.

Q: How do you like to relax?

A: Baseball with my 4-year-old. He can already play!

Q: What's your favorite vacation spot?

A: Kauai, Hawaii. We went there of our five-year anniversary. It was gorgeous, quiet, remote.

Q: Do you have any favorite TV shows?

A: "Raymond" reruns. My family is Italian, so I can relate to the family dynamics.

Q: How about favorite film(s)?

A: "Field of Dreams." I liked the father-son relationship, connected with baseball.

Q: Favorite music? Favorite performer(s)?

A: Taylor Swift. Her messages are pretty real.

Q: What person in history would you like most to meet?

A: FDR and Churchill, during World War II. I'd love to chat in a war room with them. I'd see what they were faced with, and how they made their decisions.

Q: Do you have a treasured possession?