Highland’s Preacher Search Team and Process
Upon the resignation of Mike Cope, the Highland elders have begun the process of selecting the tenth preacher in the history of this special congregation. This process is bathed in prayer by the elders and the entire church body.
The elders began with establishing a Preacher Search Team, comprised of church members of all ages, representing as many of the adult Bible classes as possible, balanced by gender and representing the diversity of the Highland church body. Important characteristics of this team are that no elders serve on it and that the team has a great deal of flexibility to determine the logistics of how they will achieve their goals.
In May, 2009, two individuals were identified to serve as co-chairpersons of the Preacher Search Team. Agreeing to serve are Dr. Kenneth Pybus, Assistant Professor of Journalism / Mass Communication at ACU and a Highland member for 5 years, and Lenda Jensen, an elementary schoolteacher and a Highland member for 25 years. Other members of the Preacher Search Team are Lisa Adkins, Suzanne Allmon, Cole Bennett, Kenneth Brown, Wally Bullington, Jeff Childers, Lindsay Cranford, Brad Crisp, Rudith Drennan, Randy Halstead, Donna Hester, James Langford, Ryan Morris, Susan Piersall, Rachel Pinson, Terry St. Pierre, Kathryn Witherspoon and Qi Xu.
Additionally, the elders asked Dickie Porche, Highland’s Administrator / Involvement Minister, to serve as the staff liaison between the search team and the Administrative Elders. Thirty Highland members were asked to serve on this team, and twenty-one have agreed to do so.
Finally, the elders developed a charge to the team to specifically outline what they are being asked to do. Some of the highlights of the charge are:
1. Throughout the whole process timeframe -- Pray fervently, along with the entire church, that God will raise up just the right man to come to Highland and proclaim God’s Word.
2. August & September -- Listen to the congregation through conversations, written input venues, and direct meetings with the elder couples and the staff.
3. October & November – Accept and review candidates’ resumes, listen to sermons and identify those who meet the terms of the job description and have a heart for ministry and for the Highland church.
4. December & January -- Present a list of five candidates to the Administrative Elders in January, 2010, for their further consideration and interviewing.
The elders will receive the five names and establish an elder task force that will proceed with the hiring process, conducting interviews and making the offer.
Questions about this process or timetable may be sent to emailus@highlandchurch.org.
Watch for information to be posted here soon:
• Results of the listening process.
• Formal job description
For more information about the Highland Church of Christ, the elders, the staff, and our mission and purpose statements, please refer to our homepage at www.highlandchurch.org.
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RESULTS OF THE LISTENING PROCESS
The Preacher Search Team held "Table Talks" on three Wednesday nights in August and September. These small group discussions allowed anyone in the church to express their thoughts about Highland's next preaching minister. Here is a synopsis of the responses that were received, in no particular order.
A. Focus for Highland in next few years
- Seek what God is calling us to do; establish and be able to clearly articulate what we believe in order to better establish identity
- Continue to tackle difficult, tough, controversial issues and be willing to take a fresh look at important matters
- Continue to improve youth programs so that they are substantive and challenging
- Continue strong focus on local, domestic and international missions
- Put new emphasis on outreach to college students from all local colleges and universities, as well as young adults
- Involve more of the membership in small groups; identify and use gifts
- Do a better job of welcoming visitors and new members
- Continue diversity in all aspects of who we are
- Continue gender inclusion, racial reconciliation and social justice as we move outside of our "comfort zone"
- Continue ministering to those in the immediate community
- Continue to empower, equip and support individual members’ ministries
- Broaden worship time to include more prayer, confession, surrender and more focus on communion
- Establish better mid-week program
B. New Preacher's Agenda
- Preach in an expository manner from scripture
- Preach Jesus, not “church”, but have sound doctrine and understand what we stand for
- Confidently be his own person, in spite of following Mike
- Do what he does well without trying to do all things to all members in mediocrity
- Make main emphasis ministering to needs of Highland church – be present on most Sundays
- Get to know members on a first-name basis
- Develop a great working relationship with elders and staff
- Establish and communicate vision in conjunction with elders; be a vision-caster
- Connect, engage and challenge college students
C. Preacher’s Qualities
- Educated; deep Biblical knowledge
- Depth of thought, content and viewpoint; challenge us to think, rather than just entertain us
- Confident
- Personable and conversational
- Pastoral
- Humble
- Able to take criticism
- Good example in marriage
- Transparent
- Well grounded in the Word and to the leading of the Holy Spirit
- Outstanding presentation skills and ability to communicate to a diverse audience (age, experience, Christian walk, ethnicity, gender, educational level)
- Culturally relevant
- Global view
- Understand importance of being a team player
- Strong family person
- Man of prayer
- Respect the Church of Christ heritage and its traditions but not be bound by those which are not Biblically based
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PREACHER SEARCH CHURCH SURVEY RESULTS
In September, the Preacher Search Team conducted a church-wide survey, asking important questions of the church about their wishes for Highland's next preaching minister. Results of the survey will be made available to the finalists in our search process.
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HIGHLAND CHURCH OF CHRIST PROFILE
Abilene is a city of over 115,000 located in west central Texas, offering many great opportunities for family-oriented activities. Abilene is home to three private universities, the Texas Tech University graduate engineering program and School of Pharmacy, a community college, a technical college, and Dyess Air Force Base. The historic downtown area and art galleries have transformed the heart of the city. There is a variety of shopping and restaurants, two excellent hospitals and a large medical community, a zoo, a philharmonic orchestra, and other cultural organizations that help make Abilene one of the premier mid-sized cities in Texas.
For 80 years the Highland Church of Christ has been a spiritual outpost of missions, ministry and worship in the heart of Abilene, Texas. Highland began in 1929 when fifty Christians decided not to follow Abilene Christian College out to some farmland northeast of the city, but rather to stay in the center of town near their homes to establish a congregation there. The church has thrived, stepping out on faith again and again, reaching out to the city of Abilene and the world through innovative efforts to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. A few of the ministry efforts launched at Highland include Herald of Truth Media Ministries, Christian Homes and Family Services, high school huddles concepts, hosting a Boys & Girls Club daily for after school care, Christian Ministries of Abilene food pantry and benevolence outreach, FaithWorks of Abilene life skills training, Neighborhood Walkers ministries, and Into All the World short term mission trips, and many more.
Currently, Highland has approximately 2,000 members representing a reasonable balance of all of the local zip codes in the area. Diversity among the membership is increasing as the church reaches out to the central city area and partners with other downtown churches in ministry and benevolent service. More recently, an emphasis that “every member is a minister” has significantly increased the missional efforts of the church, and new ministries are formed regularly by members whose passion for loving the hurting and lonely of our city is manifested in significant ways. The church supports three missionary families in South America and one family in Thailand, along with spiritual oversight for several other national and international missionaries.
At this time thirty-eight elders lead the church, providing spiritual guidance, wisdom and prayerful support to the membership. The leadership is highly unified, taking care to be permission-giving in their approach to ministry activities. Adhering to a shepherding leadership model, the elders engage in the lives of the church members and maintain an open posture regarding consideration of spiritual decisions. Much of their meeting time is spent in prayer for hurting church members and for guidance as they minister to the church’s needs.
Highland’s current ministerial staff represents a combined total of over 80 years in ministry at Highland. Their longevity is truly an indicator of the unique partnership that exists between the elders and the staff. The staff is dedicated to the growth and spiritual formation of everyone who enters Highland’s doors and seeks to live for the risen Savior, Jesus Christ.
More historical information, along with elder, staff, and ministry profile information, is available on Highland’s website at www.highlandchurch.org.
THE PREACHING MINISTER OPPORTUNITY
Upon the resignation of Mike Cope after eighteen years of faithful preaching and ministry, the Highland church is seeking applications and nominations for the next Preaching Minister. During Mike’s tenure at Highland, the church has made significant advances in allowing all members to recognize their spiritual giftedness and to use their gifts for God’s glory and service. A large facility addition was completed in 2001. An important study regarding the role of women in public worship has resulted in broad participation in worship assemblies and a rich blessing for the entire church.
A job description for the Preaching Minister opportunity is included with this packet.
In addition to regular preaching responsibilities, priorities for the new Preaching Minister will center around partnering with the elders to provide vision-casting, pastoral care and missional initiatives. The Highland leaders anticipate a vibrant future for Highland as the church’s history of stable leadership, spiritual maturity, and general overall health are potential indicators of exciting days ahead.
THE SELECTION PROCESS
In May, 2009, the Highland elders commissioned a diverse group of twenty-one members to serve as the Preacher Search Team. The elders have asked this team to solicit possible names of candidates and perform the due diligence necessary to submit the names of five finalists sometime in January, 2010. Over the last six months, this team has met regularly to determine the scope of their task, listen to the desires of the church membership, consider the desires of each of the elders and staff members, identify a selection plan, receive and review names of potential candidates, and listen to podcast sermons. After hundreds of hours of prayer, listening and conversation, the team has narrowed the field of candidates to fifteen names that deserve further consideration for the position.
Once the names of the five finalists are received, the elders will conduct extensive interviews as they discern the best candidate to be the next Preaching Minister at Highland. No specific time deadlines have been set for this process, but it is hopeful that the new Preaching Minister will begin sometime in the summer of 2010.