Transforming Pastoral Leadership: What, Why, and How!
As I said in my first post, these reflections on pastoral ministry will be rolling out piecemeal. With this installment, I am going to hit the pause button. Really, the rewind button and take you back to 1995.
I married Melissa, my wife of nearly twenty-three years now, on July 29, 1995. Within two weeks of our wedding day, we were invited to join a church and serve in a position of Associate Pastor of Youth and Children.
The church was Oak Grove Church of God in Tampa, Fl.
I’ve loved everywhere I’ve served. I’ve even enjoyed the churches that weren’t so loving during the time of my service with them.
But Tampa was special.
Many of the kids who were a part of our first ministry are now grown with families of their own. Some of the most enjoyable correspondence Melissa and I have is with these grown men and women with whom we began our first ministry assignment.
Just a couple of months before starting at Oak Grove, in May of 1995, I graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. As is the case with most seminary graduates, I left with the confident assurance that I was going to show a church how ministry should be done.
Answering Questions No One Is Asking
Also, of course, I was coming with all the answers in hand.
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