Pastor Steve: A Personal Narrative

I knew one thing for certain: Tennessee was a very stupid state filled with stupid people and I would never drink their stupid sweet tea. Thus was my twelve year old opinion.

Church, temple, sanctuary, or the Lords’s house, these are just a few names that your average person might call the place you come to worship God, I have always called it home. The Church I have been attending, Memorial Baptist Church, which is also where I attend high school, I have been attending since I was the age of three years old. Moving to the area that my family lives in now, I do not believe is any accident. At the age of two years old, my father was stationed in Tennessee for the military. After passing away from brain cancer, my Mother moved my two older sisters and me to Killeen Texas, to be closer to her family. Memorial Baptist Church was the only church we have ever been members of since moving to Texas, it has always felt like

First, we thank God for our Pastor’s inspiration and leadership. She has truly taught us what Christian fellowship is all about.

I attend Gospel Light Freewill Independent Baptist Church in Thomasville, NC. It’s a relatively small church, with about 50-70 people on a Sunday morning. My grandmother, my aunt, and my uncle attend this church as well. I consider myself to be a child of God and a true “born again” Christian. Being “born again” means that one has accepted God into their heart and has been changed on the inside. I accepted him into my heart on October 9th, 2012. Growing up strictly in an independent Baptist church, I didn’t know that other churches were different, at least not until I visited my boyfriend’s church which is Southern Baptist. My pastor preaches heavily on hell-fire and brimstone. He walks up and down the altar, yelling and jumping. There are

Intercede for Rev Steve and Mrs. Alison Trudel, the new pastoral couple at Cape Cod Bible Alliance Church in Brewster, Massachusetts. Pray that God will grant them a strong sense of vision for God’s plans regarding the church and congregation.

Going to a church that is not of your current denomination or faith is an uncommon thing to do. We are accustomed to staying within the group of people that have common beliefs, especially in regards to religion. Therefore, attending a different church can be uncomfortable for some. Personally, I had the irrational fear of being rejected by church goers of a Southern Baptist church for worshiping the same God in a different manner. Despite my initial concern of being left out or unacknowledged at the sermon, Panther Creek Baptist Church was humble, welcoming, and open to talk about the regular attendants.

Jennifer, great discussion post on humility as a leader. After reading your introduction to the class I can see that you are working as a Human Resources Specialist at a Technical College, and love NASCAR. Let’s narrate today’s professions as a demonstration in this arena with the concept of a humble leader.

The person I chose to shadow, for this project, was my Pastor. His name is Roy Miller. He has been the Methodist pastor of my church for two years now. He is a generous and humble man that is willing to help anyone in anyway he can. He always has a job to do, whether it be in the church or around the church community. He especially enjoys mentoring and volunteering his time with the youth and children of our church.

Pastor reminded that The Rev. Dr. Donna Simon, bishop's associate will share the word of God on All Saints Sunday.

Ray Anderson, during these chapters, challenges pastors in seeking the theological aspects of the Bible. He begins, in chapter 1, by asking them where does the theological beginning point start? After several answers, one pastor states Exodus; "Exodus precedes Genesis," he explains. This discovery shows that Moses is the first theologian by telling the Genesis story in detail. Additionally, the discernment gives a clear reality of Moses portrayal of the Genesis account, which is innovative to set up the natural purpose of God. Anderson understands the praxis of theology and the theologian which teaches pastors the practice of understanding theology.

Jean is procuring substitute clergy for the Sundays when Rev. Bob will be away. Rev. Dr. James Bronwell will lead us in worship on August 17th and Rev. Karen Dorshimer-Chaplin on August 24th.

The two celebrations I went to were different in a few ways. I go to a Church called ‘Cottonwood Church’. It is a Non-Denominational Protestant Church that some may refer to as a mega church. It's a big church, but it feels like family. The Catholic Church is very repetitive and mundane to me. My church is much more lively and makes you excited to go to church every week. I go to church three times a week: Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday. I’m not sure Ill go back to being Catholic anytime soon.

The policies regarding appointment transition can be found on the Baltimore-Washington Conference website at http://bwcumc.org/toolbox/2015/04/27/transition-policies/. These policies are designed to aid the transitioning pastors as well as the congregation in having a smooth transition of pastoral leadership. These are particularly important as transitions can be very difficult especially if the congregation has formed a close bond with the outgoing pastor. These policies set the boundaries that allow for the leaving pastor closure and allow the incoming pastor to step into their new role of pastoral authority. Though this can be difficult at times, it is important. If the former pastor is returning or maintaining contact with former congregants

I really enjoyed executing this interview. It was a privilege to be able to include my interviewee in my assignment, as he has been supporting my decision to further my education and proceed with my calling through Christ. Bill Kidd has been an associate pastor for over 7 years at Bethel Baptist Church. Pastor Kidd was in school at the same time as myself and we always were able to connect and relate to each other whenever we got together at meetings or other gatherings. I look up to and respect his achievement in ministry and I am looking forward to learning from him as I pursue my role in ministry.

Interviewing several pastors can be eye opening in that you will begin to see different character qualities, disciplines and where they are in their spiritual journey. My intention was to interview several pastors, however, I was unable to obtain the responses needed to complete a study such as that. I did get to meet with one pastor, and I believe that it was truly difficult for him to answer most of the questions even after giving him some time to think about each question. My interview was with a very intelligent and spiritual man named Les Harvey. He is currently serving at the Church of the Highlands Greystone campus under many great leaders.