staff re-assignment news
Dear Family of Faith, Hello. Pastor John here. You are receiving this special congregational letter in order to share with you some important new direction that our gracious God is bringing about in our church relating to pastoral staff. A significant transition will occur and I feel it is important for you to hear from each member of our executive staff ministry team along with Jeff Dial who represents our deacons as their Chair. As you consider what our Lord is doing in our midst please remember that His plan is to help Faith be the healthiest church possible. His desired result is that we genuinely fulfill our calling as a body of believers to lovingly help people everywhere become fully devoted followers of Jesus. Our goals in writing this letter are to communicate clearly what we see God doing; to share how this positively helps Faith from the vantage point of leadership; to anticipate & answer as many immediate questions as possible; to ask for your prayers; and to help us all move forward with eager, unified anticipation as God unfolds His perfect plans for this church family we love.
Now that I have your attention, let me get to the information. The Lord’s new direction deals directly with Pastors Gary Stanton and Greg Sisley. Pastor Gary recently brought a request to me that he had been contemplating before I arrived on the scene. Gary has asked to be “reassigned” from employment status at Faith to volunteer status in order to pursue God’s leading in his life to develop a real estate business from which he desires to earn his living. I must admit that I had not anticipated his request and was at first saddened because I have come to love and appreciate Gary tremendously. But, the really wonderful news is that Gary deeply wants to continue to serve Faith as a part-time volunteer pastor with special focus upon ministry to those in our church who are in the second half of life. He will fill you in on the details as you read his portion of this letter. As leadership has contemplated the impact of Gary’s decision on ministry direction, we have seen how this has presented an opportunity for Pastor Greg to move out of his current role and to become Faith’s Executive Pastor. Greg also will fill you in on the details as they relate to him but you should know that he views this shift in responsibilities as very positive both for him and the church and is excited to see how God will use him in this new role. Please understand that these brothers will remain in their current positions until we find a new individual to join our pastoral staff as our Worship Pastor along with additional assigned duties. I do not know how long that process will take but I do not anticipate there will changes for either men until sometime in 2010. You’ll hear from me again at the end of this letter but now it’s time for my colleagues to share so you can sense their hearts in these matters …
Greetings from Gary! You may not realize that for the last thirty years I’ve carried various roles in the business community and numerous ministry positions. Six years ago, I was invited to become a full-time pastor at Faith and it’s been a wonderful period of my life! Now, as I listen to God’s voice, I hear Him saying to go back into business (for my financial provision) and to remain on the pastoral team as a part-time volunteer. Pastor John along with the rest of the pastoral staff and the deacons have endorsed my proposal. As a volunteer pastor at Faith, I will continue to meet with our pastoral team for staff time and will focus my main ministry efforts on those (like myself) in our congregation who are in the second half of life.
For some time I have sensed this new direction. During Pastor John’s second message at Faith, God spoke very clearly to me that it was His will for me to make this move. During that Sunday sermon, I was very excited to see just how far God has brought our church family. I truly believe that our new direction as a church is God’s answer to my personal prayers for Faith about which I have prayed for many years.
Also in that message, Pastor John talked about how God called the Apostle Paul to Macedonia … a place where his financial and personal support would diminish greatly. Paul left a thriving ministry to follow the Lord into the unknown. I heard God tell me to be willing to do something very similar in terms of leaving my present comfort zone and trust Him for this business.
For the last ten years, Donna Mae and I have been active members of Faith. We will continue to pour our efforts into ministering to our beloved church family. However as a volunteer pastor, our finances will come from the business world. Given our economy, we realize this could be a difficult time to begin a new business. However, when God leads, it is always a great time to follow. For Donna Mae and me the important thing is our willingness to follow the Lord’s direction. Please pray for us as we step up to this new call; that we would continue to trust and obey and that I will effectively fulfill my new pastoral role at Faith. I am excited about all the possibilities. Additionally, I’d like you to know that I am in full support of Greg’s ability to fulfill his new position and am equally convinced and supportive of the direction of the church that Pastor John’s leadership is helping us to discover …
Hello from Angie. Over the years I have learned to trust the character of God that I have seen in Gary. I value the insights he has brought, especially in those instances where I couldn’t see quite as far down the road as he. More than once, in his understated fashion, Gary has shared a perspective that has both stretched and encouraged me to see more of God’s goodness and greatness. This transition is no exception. So, you have to know, that as a friend, I will dearly miss his full-time availability on campus.
However, I again smile and realize that I have a unique perspective, as a staff member, to see how God is working both in my friend and here at Faith. I am excited and feel privileged to be a part of what God is doing to further His Kingdom. Likewise, I have been incredibly blessed to witness John’s graciousness with Gary’s new direction. John has led us as a staff well through this transition and I am seeing a true spirit of unity and understanding within the leadership team. I am confident that God is at work within all of this and I fully support the decision to transition Greg into the Executive role. I’ve worked alongside of Greg and have been blessed. It’s not only a good fit, but a great decision based on Greg’s gifting, his proven abilities, along with his heart for God and Faith …
Hello from Greg. With a heart full of gratitude I write these thoughts to you. It’s so exciting to see God’s plan unfolding here at Faith and to be part of it. More than at any point in my life, I can really see Him crafting people and events to create something special here at Faith.
God has demonstrated His faithfulness to Faith through the years and now He is readying us for a new and even bigger role. He has been doing amazing things in our church family. This includes the leadership. Aaron and Angie (both so gifted and relational) have become refreshed, energized and eager to forge ahead. While Gary’s decision to leave the full-time staff makes us sad, I think it’s a great move for Gary and our church because we know God is directing Gary’s decision. I see our team of deacons allowing God to mold them into becoming joy-filled prayer warriors. You know it’s God working when we’re all excited to go to a board meeting! Personally, I believe God has, for many years, been preparing me (in heart and skills) specifically for a more administrative pastoral role. While I’m willing to serve this body in any position, I really think God’s desire (and therefore mine) is leading me toward the Executive Pastor spot.
Additionally, I really believe that in Pastor John we have a lead pastor who I can work with effectively. In the brief time he’s been leading the team, John has become a friend. In wisdom, integrity, and joy he has surpassed my expectations. More importantly, God’s blessing is on his and Becky’s life and ministry. I know God answered our prayers and brought us exactly the right leader. Thank you God. Help us to love our pastor. Mold us to be the church you want us to be!
Please let me remind you all to see how God has been absolutely faithful to us. Look around and see what He is doing at Faith. He has sustained us and supplied every need. He has brought together a great church body with gifted leaders. With honest anticipation, let’s find out together what amazing adventure He has designed for us. Remember His words: “For I know the plans I have for you … plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
To those I serve with and to the greater Faith family, I want you to know that I love you. God is on the move and is working all things at Faith for good. Thank you for blessing and caring for my family and me in Christ-like ways. Thank you, Jesus …
Greetings from Aaron. It has been amazing to watch God move in this staff team. I have longed to be a part of a staff where the unique strengths of the individuals are recognized and purposed. I have renewed energy and vision for this church with John leading our staff and have grown to love and trust him. Over these last years our team has been so greatly blessed by having Gary in leadership. He has been a mentor to me and provided clarity and grace. I am pleased by his gracious spirit and desire to keep pastoring at Faith.
Greg too has been a true friend to me over the last 5 years and God has already been shaping Faith through his administrative skills. Greg’s energy, hard work, leadership and management abilities have enhanced our processes, our physical plant and our volunteer support – all the while training new teams to lead in worship. This new position for Greg, will allow him to best utilize his God-given skills and Faith will be the recipient of this great blessing. I appreciate John’s desire to free people up to minister effectively according to their gifts and passions …
Hi from Jeff. On behalf of the deacons, I want to affirm what you have just read from the staff and to personally share with you that the deacons also clearly see God’s hand in these reassignments. At our last Leadership Team meeting, Gary and Greg were able to communicate their hearts and share how the Lord led them to their respective decisions. Hearing these men tell of their personal journey as they have heard God’s voice has left no doubt in our minds that they are following God’s will and that we at Faith are fortunate to have them here with us.
It is important for you to know that the deacons are excited about what these reassignments will bring to Faith and the new direction we see the Lord providing us with John as our Lead Pastor. Please realize that having to rethink staffing so soon in a new ministry is daunting to any new pastor. However, John has shared with me that knowing that these reassignments have come because God’s sovereignty has caused them to occur at this time has brought peace to his heart. So pray for John. He has a huge job. And pray for our entire staff too. The opportunity to continue serving and ministering with Gary and Greg, along with all the rest of the team is exciting. And, pray that God will bring us the right person to meet the new need that He has created. We are confident that our Lord is leading in all of this …
Back over to John again … as your leadership team here at Faith we are united in our conviction that God has brought these “reassignments” into being. Once again, I feel compelled to write that we are seeing the Holy Spirit diligently work to help Faith fulfill the greatest calling of all – to lovingly help people everywhere become fully devoted followers of Jesus. We have prayed for this “collective letter” to help you enter into the same positive confidence we are feeling in terms of God’s leading. For now I would ask us to join together as a church in mighty prayer that our Almighty Lord will be preparing the way for our next pastoral staff addition. I will be working closely with the pastoral staff and our deacons to find God’s gifted person for this position and will be happy to hear of your suggestions for possible candidates. We’ll keep you posted on the progress of that search.
Years ago C.S. Lewis wrote a series of children’s books called The Chronicles of Narnia. In those books God is portrayed as a great lion named “Aslan” who is powerful in terms of might and love. Shortly after arriving at Faith, Angie said to me, “Aslan is on the move here!“ Indeed our God is shaping and moving Faith forward into a great ministry future. However, God doesn’t move alone. He calls us to journey with Him in anticipatory faith. This means your help is needed. Always remember that the Lord’s pattern is to accomplish awesome ministries by choosing to do so through His children. We are so blessed to be His kids. So as we walk forward together let it be … by His grace and for His glory! And by the way, I love being your new lead pastor.
On behalf of the pastoral staff and deacons,
John K. Nagle
Lead Pastor
November 16, 2009
Dear Family of Faith,
Hello. Pastor John here. You are receiving this special congregational letter in order to share with you some important new direction that our gracious God is bringing about in our church relating to pastoral staff. A significant transition will occur and I feel it is important for you to hear from each member of our executive staff ministry team along with Jeff Dial who represents our deacons as their Chair. As you consider what our Lord is doing in our midst please remember that His plan is to help Faith be the healthiest church possible. His desired result is that we genuinely fulfill our calling as a body of believers to lovingly help people everywhere become fully devoted followers of Jesus. Our goals in writing this letter are to communicate clearly what we see God doing; to share how this positively helps Faith from the vantage point of leadership; to anticipate & answer as many immediate questions as possible; to ask for your prayers; and to help us all move forward with eager, unified anticipation as God unfolds His perfect plans for this church family we love.
Now that I have your attention, let me get to the information. The Lord’s new direction deals directly with Pastors Gary Stanton and Greg Sisley. Pastor Gary recently brought a request to me that he had been contemplating before I arrived on the scene. Gary has asked to be “reassigned” from employment status at Faith to volunteer status in order to pursue God’s leading in his life to develop a real estate business from which he desires to earn his living. I must admit that I had not anticipated his request and was at first saddened because I have come to love and appreciate Gary tremendously. But, the really wonderful news is that Gary deeply wants to continue to serve Faith as a part-time volunteer pastor with special focus upon ministry to those in our church who are in the second half of life. He will fill you in on the details as you read his portion of this letter. As leadership has contemplated the impact of Gary’s decision on ministry direction, we have seen how this has presented an opportunity for Pastor Greg to move out of his current role and to become Faith’s Executive Pastor. Greg also will fill you in on the details as they relate to him but you should know that he views this shift in responsibilities as very positive both for him and the church and is excited to see how God will use him in this new role. Please understand that these brothers will remain in their current positions until we find a new individual to join our pastoral staff as our Worship Pastor along with additional assigned duties. I do not know how long that process will take but I do not anticipate there will changes for either men until sometime in 2010. You’ll hear from me again at the end of this letter but now it’s time for my colleagues to share so you can sense their hearts in these matters …
Greetings from Gary! You may not realize that for the last thirty years I’ve carried various roles in the business community and numerous ministry positions. Six years ago, I was invited to become a full-time pastor at Faith and it’s been a wonderful period of my life! Now, as I listen to God’s voice, I hear Him saying to go back into business (for my financial provision) and to remain on the pastoral team as a part-time volunteer. Pastor John along with the rest of the pastoral staff and the deacons have endorsed my proposal. As a volunteer pastor at Faith, I will continue to meet with our pastoral team for staff time and will focus my main ministry efforts on those (like myself) in our congregation who are in the second half of life.
For some time I have sensed this new direction. During Pastor John’s second message at Faith, God spoke very clearly to me that it was His will for me to make this move. During that Sunday sermon, I was very excited to see just how far God has brought our church family. I truly believe that our new direction as a church is God’s answer to my personal prayers for Faith about which I have prayed for many years.
Also in that message, Pastor John talked about how God called the Apostle Paul to Macedonia … a place where his financial and personal support would diminish greatly. Paul left a thriving ministry to follow the Lord into the unknown. I heard God tell me to be willing to do something very similar in terms of leaving my present comfort zone and trust Him for this business.
For the last ten years, Donna Mae and I have been active members of Faith. We will continue to pour our efforts into ministering to our beloved church family. However as a volunteer pastor, our finances will come from the business world. Given our economy, we realize this could be a difficult time to begin a new business. However, when God leads, it is always a great time to follow. For Donna Mae and me the important thing is our willingness to follow the Lord’s direction. Please pray for us as we step up to this new call; that we would continue to trust and obey and that I will effectively fulfill my new pastoral role at Faith. I am excited about all the possibilities. Additionally, I’d like you to know that I am in full support of Greg’s ability to fulfill his new position and am equally convinced and supportive of the direction of the church that Pastor John’s leadership is helping us to discover …
Hello from Angie. Over the years I have learned to trust the character of God that I have seen in Gary. I value the insights he has brought, especially in those instances where I couldn’t see quite as far down the road as he. More than once, in his understated fashion, Gary has shared a perspective that has both stretched and encouraged me to see more of God’s goodness and greatness. This transition is no exception. So, you have to know, that as a friend, I will dearly miss his full-time availability on campus.
However, I again smile and realize that I have a unique perspective, as a staff member, to see how God is working both in my friend and here at Faith. I am excited and feel privileged to be a part of what God is doing to further His Kingdom. Likewise, I have been incredibly blessed to witness John’s graciousness with Gary’s new direction. John has led us as a staff well through this transition and I am seeing a true spirit of unity and understanding within the leadership team. I am confident that God is at work within all of this and I fully support the decision to transition Greg into the Executive role. I’ve worked alongside of Greg and have been blessed. It’s not only a good fit, but a great decision based on Greg’s gifting, his proven abilities, along with his heart for God and Faith …
Hello from Greg. With a heart full of gratitude I write these thoughts to you. It’s so exciting to see God’s plan unfolding here at Faith and to be part of it. More than at any point in my life, I can really see Him crafting people and events to create something special here at Faith.
God has demonstrated His faithfulness to Faith through the years and now He is readying us for a new and even bigger role. He has been doing amazing things in our church family. This includes the leadership. Aaron and Angie (both so gifted and relational) have become refreshed, energized and eager to forge ahead. While Gary’s decision to leave the full-time staff makes us sad, I think it’s a great move for Gary and our church because we know God is directing Gary’s decision. I see our team of deacons allowing God to mold them into becoming joy-filled prayer warriors. You know it’s God working when we’re all excited to go to a board meeting! Personally, I believe God has, for many years, been preparing me (in heart and skills) specifically for a more administrative pastoral role. While I’m willing to serve this body in any position, I really think God’s desire (and therefore mine) is leading me toward the Executive Pastor spot.
Additionally, I really believe that in Pastor John we have a lead pastor who I can work with effectively. In the brief time he’s been leading the team, John has become a friend. In wisdom, integrity, and joy he has surpassed my expectations. More importantly, God’s blessing is on his and Becky’s life and ministry. I know God answered our prayers and brought us exactly the right leader. Thank you God. Help us to love our pastor. Mold us to be the church you want us to be!
Please let me remind you all to see how God has been absolutely faithful to us. Look around and see what He is doing at Faith. He has sustained us and supplied every need. He has brought together a great church body with gifted leaders. With honest anticipation, let’s find out together what amazing adventure He has designed for us. Remember His words: “For I know the plans I have for you … plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
To those I serve with and to the greater Faith family, I want you to know that I love you. God is on the move and is working all things at Faith for good. Thank you for blessing and caring for my family and me in Christ-like ways. Thank you, Jesus …
Greetings from Aaron. It has been amazing to watch God move in this staff team. I have longed to be a part of a staff where the unique strengths of the individuals are recognized and purposed. I have renewed energy and vision for this church with John leading our staff and have grown to love and trust him. Over these last years our team has been so greatly blessed by having Gary in leadership. He has been a mentor to me and provided clarity and grace. I am pleased by his gracious spirit and desire to keep pastoring at Faith.
Greg too has been a true friend to me over the last 5 years and God has already been shaping Faith through his administrative skills. Greg’s energy, hard work, leadership and management abilities have enhanced our processes, our physical plant and our volunteer support – all the while training new teams to lead in worship. This new position for Greg, will allow him to best utilize his God-given skills and Faith will be the recipient of this great blessing. I appreciate John’s desire to free people up to minister effectively according to their gifts and passions …
Hi from Jeff. On behalf of the deacons, I want to affirm what you have just read from the staff and to personally share with you that the deacons also clearly see God’s hand in these reassignments. At our last Leadership Team meeting, Gary and Greg were able to communicate their hearts and share how the Lord led them to their respective decisions. Hearing these men tell of their personal journey as they have heard God’s voice has left no doubt in our minds that they are following God’s will and that we at Faith are fortunate to have them here with us.
It is important for you to know that the deacons are excited about what these reassignments will bring to Faith and the new direction we see the Lord providing us with John as our Lead Pastor. Please realize that having to rethink staffing so soon in a new ministry is daunting to any new pastor. However, John has shared with me that knowing that these reassignments have come because God’s sovereignty has caused them to occur at this time has brought peace to his heart. So pray for John. He has a huge job. And pray for our entire staff too. The opportunity to continue serving and ministering with Gary and Greg, along with all the rest of the team is exciting. And, pray that God will bring us the right person to meet the new need that He has created. We are confident that our Lord is leading in all of this …
Back over to John again … as your leadership team here at Faith we are united in our conviction that God has brought these “reassignments” into being. Once again, I feel compelled to write that we are seeing the Holy Spirit diligently work to help Faith fulfill the greatest calling of all – to lovingly help people everywhere become fully devoted followers of Jesus. We have prayed for this “collective letter” to help you enter into the same positive confidence we are feeling in terms of God’s leading. For now I would ask us to join together as a church in mighty prayer that our Almighty Lord will be preparing the way for our next pastoral staff addition. I will be working closely with the pastoral staff and our deacons to find God’s gifted person for this position and will be happy to hear of your suggestions for possible candidates. We’ll keep you posted on the progress of that search.
Years ago C.S. Lewis wrote a series of children’s books called The Chronicles of Narnia. In those books God is portrayed as a great lion named “Aslan” who is powerful in terms of might and love. Shortly after arriving at Faith, Angie said to me, “Aslan is on the move here!” Indeed our God is shaping and moving Faith forward into a great ministry future. However, God doesn’t move alone. He calls us to journey with Him in anticipatory faith. This means your help is needed. Always remember that the Lord’s pattern is to accomplish awesome ministries by choosing to do so through His children. We are so blessed to be His kids. So as we walk forward together let it be … by His grace and for His glory! And by the way, I love being your new lead pastor.
On behalf of the pastoral staff and deacons,
John K. Nagle
Lead Pastor
