Hello Emmanuel,
Any time there is leadership added to an organization, people can get nervous. It doesn't even matter if the change is for the better or for the worse. The sense of the unknown can create questions:
What will the new leader be like? Will I like him? Will he like me?
How will this affect my role in the church? Am I going to be told to change how I do things?
Is he going to be bossy? Not care? Too intense? Too relaxed? Look weird?
... will he be as funny as Pastor Joe?....... likely not...
I remember my first Sunday at Emmanuel and all the heightened sense of anticipation both for the congregation and for me and my family. Would it be a good fit? The church packed it in to see what the new preacher was going to be like. From that point on, there has been a journey of mostly ups, a few downs, but a ton of blessings.
Starting January 1st, Emmanuel is adding a paid staff member. Shawn Young is going to be the new part-time Associate Pastor of Emmanuel. While it may not carry the same weight as changing the Senior Pastor, there may still be similar questions as to how his addition will affect what Emmanuel does and how it does it.
In the weeks ahead, we will be introducing Shawn and his family to Emmanuel (January 6th will be his first official Sunday and the day on which we will pray over him, his wife Leslie and their two children). However, this addition of the MMP is going to be about what Shawn's role will be and how it might affect ministry going forward.
First, why did Emmanuel hire a new position? Simply put, my time has been maxed. As a result, for the past 8-12 months, I have been doing what I can to help maintain the healthy ministries that are going on. This isn't a good thing. I need to be able to continue reaching into new areas, finding ways to make Disciples of Jesus in new ways. I can't lead Emmanuel into the future if I'm spending all my time helping them maintain the present. I need to hand some stuff off..... therefore....
Shawn is being hired to work 15-20 hours a week. His time is going to be split to do the following:
1. He is going to be put in charge of over-seeing all of Faith-Forming Relationships Ministries.
For those of you who are familiar with the Discipleship Pathway (i.e. the Circle Chart), FFR includes 3 ministry teams: Small Groups, Sunday School and YAK (Youth and Kids). It includes about 22 groups which is good. However, I believe the potential is so much more. The dream is to have more retreats, more short-term studies, and the continued growth of adding new Small Groups as Emmanuel continues to grow.
The intent is NOT to disrupt the current lay leadership. Beth and James Pollitt are doing awesome with YAK and Muriel, Paula and Renee continue to do well with their respective roles (Sunday School, Small Groups and Nursery). However, Shawn will have the time to not just help them maintain, but be a support and resource person to dream and expand as opportunities allow. In other words, the new ideas that Beth emails me every week will have more opportunity to gain energy... lol....
2. He will also over-see the media aspect of Emmanuel. Again, we have avid and committed servants (Russ Boone on slides, Keith on the website, etc.). However, Shawn's role is going to be the support person who equips more people to get involved and help out, especially on Sunday mornings. He will be able to troubleshoot problems when they arise, but mainly he will be equipping other people to be servants in a ministry that also has potential to expand.
He will NOT be taking over anyone's role, but be that extra help and support in a ministry that often takes various turns and some unexpected ones (ever want to kick that computer?).
So you will be hearing more about Shawn in the days ahead. I know Emmanuel will greet him and his family with open arms just as you did for me and my family. I'm optimistic that this is another step forward in 'making Disciples of Jesus Christ'.
God is Good,
Pastor Joe
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