I’d love to use the blog as a place for us to interact
virtually and track our progress together.
I’m thrilled for the opportunity to work with you at COTA, and I can’t
wait to see what God is going to do next.
Let me begin with an introduction.
I’m grateful for the warm greeting I’ve received since
arriving at COTA. Charlene and I
initially arrived on Thursday, July 17.
We met the moving trucks, took two days to get the boxes into the house
and the furniture roughly into the
right place, then we headed off on vacation.
Our last three weeks in Minnesota were filled with getting the house
ready for the movers, saying goodbye to many friends and anticipating the move
to Atlanta. As you know, there are a
thousand details involved in moving and a thousand places where things can go
wrong.
I thought I’d tell you a little bit about where I’ve been and what I’ve done in my previous ministry. I became a Christian at the age of 10, and through the influence of the youth/music minister of my home church felt a call to ministry during my high school years. One of my spiritual gifts is teaching (the other is administration), and I considered becoming an elementary school teacher. I finally decided that since I had a love for music and many years of study already behind me, I would pursue a degree in music education. I received my undergraduate degree from a Christian college in Greenville, SC (where Charlene and I met) and taught music, Bible and psychology in a Christian high school in Chesapeake, VA. I graduated mid-year and didn’t have a job waiting for me until I received a call from a school where I had interviewed. One of their most beloved teachers had been killed in an automobile accident during the Christmas holidays and I was invited to take her place. This was my first experience teaching and my first experience stepping into a situation where the emotional pain was very real. I quickly learned pastoral skills and teaching skills as I built relationships with the students, many of whom are now my closest Facebook friends. I was able to continue my studies and received a Master of Music Education degree while there.
After teaching for seven years, I felt a desire to transition to a career in church worship ministry. I briefly served a church in eastern NC before being hired by a SBC church in metro Washington, D.C. We had a wonderful experience there for another seven years in a growing church. While developing a comprehensive worship ministry in the early years of the modern worship renewal movement, I also gained valuable experience serving on the Senior Leadership Team of the church and was deeply involved in several building projects. Unfortunately, unresolved conflicts in the staff and other systemic problems caused my last two years in DC to be rather traumatic. Looking back, I learned a lot about myself and about ministry during that difficult time and I am grateful for the experience. There has since been reconciliation and healing in that church and it was my joy to be invited back to the church a few years ago for their 30th anniversary.
In 1999, I accepted a position as Worship Pastor at what was
then called First Baptist Church of Rochester, MN. The church was founded in Minnesota Territory
in 1857, prior to Minnesota statehood. This
was a wonderful time of healing for me and my family, and “FirstB” became one
of the greatest learning opportunities in my life. The worship ministry eventually grew to a
volunteer-based ministry with multiple worship styles guided by a common set of
theological core values of worship. At
one point we were at four weekend services, one on Saturday night and three on
Sunday morning, in two different styles.
We had clearly outgrown our property and felt led by the Lord to venture
into an unknown future that would test our faith. We sold our 14-acre property, purchased a new
60-acre campus and developed plans for a new church. We held three back-to-back fundraising
campaigns with each raising more funds than had been pledged (the professional
fundraisers will tell you that just doesn’t happen!) I learned a lot about planning, design,
project management, publicity, vision, values and staff development during this
time. I also spent three years in
post-graduate work during this time and earned a Doctorate of Worship Studies degree
in 2003.
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| Autumn Ridge Church, Rochester Minnesota |
We conducted a two-year search for an executive pastor and came very close to hiring a successful businessman who felt called to ministry. At the last minute, we asked a few questions that gave him pause and he asked a few questions that gave us pause, and we unexpectedly parted ways. Initially, we wondered why God would allow us to go that far into the process only for it to end in “failure” (in our eyes). We later came to realize that the process of self-examination was essential to our future success. Because I had been on staff for seven years by that time and had great working relationships with the staff and senior pastor, I had naturally gravitated to a leadership position in anticipation of the hiring of the executive pastor. When the interview process ended abruptly, the board of elders approached me with an invitation to become the church’s first XP (executive pastor). I accepted that position in 2006 and hired a new full-time worship pastor. I continued to lead the “Adoration Service” (what we called our service led by choir and orchestra) while serving as XP.
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| Our son, Blair (1992) is a graduate student at the Mayo Clinic Graduate School |
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| Blaine (1987) has a degree in architecture and works in web development in VA Beach |
Charlene and I have wanted to move closer to family and have been open to the possibility of relocating for a few years. We’ve been surprised when various other ministry opportunities didn’t materialize in the past, but since we’ve been praying earnestly for God’s will and guidance we had to take even the closed doors as an answer to prayer. From the time I first learned about the ministry of Apostles, I felt a spiritual connection to the ministry. I’m very grateful that Dr. Youssef, the search firm and consultants have been very honest about the challenges we face. It was especially confirming for me to be here in June when Dr. Lawless presented the results of his research to the staff. I sat there for five hours hearing a description of my church in Rochester in 2006. While there was clearly frustration in the room that day and a fear to openly and honestly discuss the critical issues, I did not sense hopelessness. On the contrary, I sensed a deep love for the church and a commitment to the future of this ministry.
Okay, if you’ve endured this long you get rewarded with a link. I’d love to keep up with you on Facebook: www.facebook.com/billp2000.
I'd love for this to be an interactive blog that will facilitate conversations, questions and answers. Please feel free to comment! Next week I plan to blog my strategic values for moving forward on our leadership journey. This won't be a statement of what we're going to do in the future but it will outline my values for the way we're going to do things in the future.
The Church of The Apostles is the Body of Christ. It is God’s church; it belongs to him. Jesus said, “I will build my church.” God wants us to be unified, focused, fruitful, Spirit-filled, enthusiastic and personally fulfilled. I don’t have the answers but I think I do know the right questions and I love the process. I’m excited about the journey that is before us and I am eager to see God answer our prayer, “May your kingdom come; may your will be done among us as it is in heaven.”
PS. By the way, you might have received an incorrect cell number for me. I'm at 770-688-6164.
