I do feel the call of God in my life to be an elder/pastor. I have known this calling since I was young and felt God’s leading in my life as young man into my teenage years. I believe God has given certain spiritual gifts of teaching and exhortation as well as a passion to guide and disciple. As far as this particular position of eldership, I believe this is the door that God has opened for me and my family at this time in our lives. God has knit our hearts with the people of Parkway and has given me the desire to see this church grow. 

I believe this is the role God has given to me to serve. I believe God has called me to be a pastor and I want to serve him in obedience. I also have a desire to serve the people of Parkway in whatever way I can. I have a passion to see others move forward on their spiritual journey. I want to help nurture an atmosphere of spiritual growth, Biblical unity, and protect sound doctrine within the body of Christ. 

As a congregational elder this is not my full time job, but I do view this as a full time responsibility. While this is not my vocation, as mentioned in previous questions, this is my calling. That being said I understand that there are choices and boundaries that I will need to set up in my life in order to avoid burnout in my work life and family life. My goal is detailed calendar that will allow me to engage with the people of Parkway but also allow me time with my work and family. 

This is a great question. I think this means first and foremost we must let the truth of God’s Word be the source of our words. It can’t be our interpretation, our standards, our impressions, or even our emotions. When we engage with people we must come to the with the Word because that is what carries the promise of not returning to God void. When we get ourselves out of the way, we make way for God to do his work. Now to answer the second part of the question, this does not guarantee that you can do this without being offensive. The gospel is offensive to the lost and degenerate heart. When sin is confronted with the holiness of God there is no way that cannot be offensive. What we want to make sure of is that only the “content” not our “conduct” is offensive. If someone is going to reject the gospel, we don’t want them to reject it because of our excess. 

One of my spiritual gifts is in teaching. I have already been a part of the teaching in Parkway, but one area that I would love to get involved in would be teaching others to study the Bible and teach others as well. To develop “Berean” Christians in Parkway. Those that can search the Scriptures for themselves but can also know how to give it to others.  

I served as an assistant pastor for 5 years in Michigan before my wife an I moved to FL. In that position, I taught teens and adults, I preached on a weekly basis, planned and coordinated many of our events, as well as spiritual care.