Adventist Ministry

Show Notes Welcome to the Best Practices for Adventist Ministry podcast. While much of pastoral ministry may seem ordinary there is a mystical element that permeates every aspect. It all begins with the origin story of a pastor which we refer to as the ‘call to ministry’. In 2015 we featured the origin stories of a dozen pastors at the CALLED Pastors Convention in Austin. We’re going to share three of those stories today. But the thing is, that mystical quality, the call to ministry, never stops with the origin story. So today we won’t stop with the origin stories,  we’re going to get updates from those same pastors as we trace the mystical call to ministry. Here’s the guests on this month’s show in order of appearance: Act One: Richie Halversen Richie Halversen stood at the crossroads between life and death one more time. “I got caught up in substance abuse and lived a very selfish lifestyle. At the bitter end I ended up in jails, institutions. That last time I was in the treatment center I came to a crossroads that I had been to many times before. Do I keep going to chase after that high that I knew did not exist anymore? I heard an audible voice from God that if you go out that door, you'll die, but if you give your heart to me right now I'll change your life and I want to use you. And that day I made my decision to give my heart to God.” You can watch theshort version of the interview here [https://www.nadministerial.com/video/2017/1/11/richie-halverson-short-interview-video], orthe full length interview here [https://www.nadministerial.com/video/2017/1/11/richie-halverson-full-interview-video]. Since we last talked with Richie, he's become senior pastor atBowman Hills [https://bowmanhills.org/]in Cleveland Tennessee. He also has begun to tell his story of recovery from addiction to wider circles. He published his story in the bookThe Darkness will not Overcome [https://adventistbookcenter.com/darkness-will-not-overcome.html], published by Pacific Press. Richie also has some recommendations for pastors, family and friends, and anyone affected by addictions. He has found working with the resources ofCelebrate Recovery [https://www.celebraterecovery.com/]helpful. Act Two: Harold Altamirano Pastor Harold also shared with me the story of his call to ministry for the 2015 CALLED Convention. His call was sparked by a short intense conversation with a stranger: “I was recently baptized after struggling with alcohol for a number of years. I was struggling in my marriage, ended up in jail, and in that process, God called me into the church. One day being in church for about a year, this one lady waited for me outside. it was really weird, and I remember going out and saying 'Hi' to the pastor and I remember this lady I didn't know her, came at me, and she held me and she told me you are running from God like Moses, and she told me 'you need to be a pastor'.” You can watch theshort version of his interview here, [https://www.nadministerial.com/video/2016/12/8/harold-altamirano-short-interview-video]orthe full length interview here. [https://www.nadministerial.com/video/2016/12/8/harold-altamirano-full-interview-video] Since the last time we talked, Harold’s call to ministry has taken a radical turn. “My life took a turn that I was not expecting.  It happened actually three weeks ago.  Here I am packing,  about to sell my house.” Harold has transitioned to the specialized ministry of hospital chaplaincy. If anyone reading this is interested in chaplaincy they can find out more information atNAD Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries. [https://nadadventistchaplains.org/] Act Three: David Franklin While David Franklin's prayers for excelling in a fortune 500 company were being answered, God had a bigger dream: “I never wanted to be a pastor. Then maybe that's the story for a lot of folks, but for me it's absolutely true. My plans were to go to a Fortune 500 company, be a marketing executive, make some money, have some power, and enjoy life. I grew up in church, enjoyed church, participated in church but God had other plans...One fateful night, under the African Sky in Zambia, I was preaching, and I felt like I had done a terrible job; the worst job I had ever done in my life. I'd preached other places, but this was my worst sermon in my opinion, and I felt like giving up. But then I heard God say I've got you exactly where I want you. And so that night I surrendered to God. I said 'God, if you can use me like this, then I'll do whatever you want me to do.' That was the night that I said yes to God, and responded to his call.” You can watch theshort version of the interview here [https://www.nadministerial.com/video/2016/12/8/david-franklin-short-interview-video], orthe full length interview here. [https://www.nadministerial.com/video/2016/12/8/david-franklin-full-interview-video] That mystical calling continues, and David has been the lead pastor at Miracle City church in Baltimore for many years. I recently caught up with David for an update on how God is currently calling him. The name of the church changed from Miracle Temple to Miracle Temple. David explains that instead of just praying for miracles within the congregation, he wanted to be a part of miracles happening all through Baltimore. His church is active in addressing some of the injustice and systemic issues that are present in his community. David Franklin currently serves as Senior Pastor ofMiracle City Church [https://www.miraclecitychurch.org/].

Welcome to the Best Practices for Adventist Ministry podcast. I’m Dave Gemmell. Tell me, is a call to ministry static, or can it change? After about four decades of ministry, I've come to believe that a call to ministry is fluid. Perhaps I can compare it to the river that flows behind my house. I can take a picture near my house, or I can move miles upstream and take another picture or move miles downstream and take more pictures and every picture will look different. And yet it’s the same river. That's kind of like what a call to ministry is. Even though it looks different in different times of our ministry, it’s the same calling. About six years ago for a feature for the CALLED convention, I interviewed pastors about their call to ministry; snapshots. We're going to play some of those today. But we're also going to move a half a dozen years downstream and take other pictures as we update those calls to ministry. Here’s the guests on this month’s show in order of appearance: Act One: Jamie Pombo I had the privilege of interviewing Jamie for the 2015 CALLED Pastors Convention where he shared the story of his call to ministry. When his life was at its lowest point, it was about to change. “My dad had a gun in his room. And the gun was empty, but I knew where the bullets were. And so, at that time I remember wanting to end my life because there was just no worth whatsoever. And I thought I was doing the world a favor if I could just cease to exist. And I remember putting the gun right to my right to my temple. And that that was the first time that I really heard a voice. It said don't do it. I love you.” You can watch theshort version of the interview here [https://www.nadministerial.com/video/2016/12/8/jaime-pombo-short-interview-video], orthe full length interview here [https://www.nadministerial.com/video/2016/12/8/jaime-pombo-full-interview-video]. It's been about a half a dozen years since I first had that interview with Jamie. A lot has happened in this world and in Jaime's life since then. I catch up with him on a zoom call while he is taking care of his four week old second born son. He shares how COVID have created some challenging times for all including himself as his father recently succumbed to the infection. Yet he remains resilient thanks to his faith in God, his family, and the help of professional therapy. “Its never fun to go through all of those things. But life is fun, and life is not so fun at times. Yet you still keep going forward.” Jamie Pombo serves as an Associate Pastor at Port Charlotte Seventh-day Adventist Church. He is married to Michelle and together they are raising two sons. You canfind out all about his ministry at the Port Charlotte website. [https://www.pcsda.net/staff] Act Two: Pranitha Fielder Pastor Pranitha also shared the story of her call to ministry to me for the 2015 CALLED Convention. She revealed one of the biggest obstacles to her calling: “I distinctly remember once someone called me on the phone who I hadn't seen since I was five years old, and they called me and they were angry and they said, what do you think you're doing? Who do you think you are that you think you can be a pastor? You know the next time I see you, I'm going to pull you in front of everyone and tell you about yourself. It's painful.” You can watch theshort version of her interview here, [https://www.nadministerial.com/video/2017/1/11/pranitha-fielder-short-interview-video]orthe full length interview here. [https://www.nadministerial.com/video/2017/1/11/pranitha-fielder-full-interview-video] Since the last time we talked, Pranitha’s call to ministry is getting more intense with her growing passion for supporting the growing number of Adventist women clergy. She says : “I love just being able to work on conferences for female clergy and hearing stories of women who feel called to ministry and are trying to live it out but just don't have the support and encouragement. So I think the way I feel it the call deeper is trying to be a support and encouragement to women anywhere who feel this call and are trying to live it out.” Pranitha serves at the Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church as Pastor for Discipleship and Congregational Care. She has been within the Sligo community for over two decades. It was here that she first received her call to ministry. For more information about her ministrygo to the Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church website. [https://sligochurch.org/pastors/] Act Three: Marvin Wray When I interviewed Marvin for the CALLED convention he told about a very unusual place where he would go to contemplate his call to ministry: “After church I would take the little stipend that they paid me and I would go down to the Tavern and drink the rest of Sunday away and So many times during those dark years of my life. I actually used to sit on the bar stool and would think. I really wanted to be a minister. I really was supposed to be a minister.” You can watch theshort version of the interview here [https://www.nadministerial.com/video/2017/1/11/marvin-wray-short-interview-video], orthe full length interview here. [https://www.nadministerial.com/video/2016/12/8/marvin-wray-full-interview-video] Since my last interview with Marvin he has retired but continues to serve as an interim pastor “If you still enjoy preaching but don't want to handle all of the administrative stuff anymore and if you have an opportunity to be an interim pastor, you should do that. My goal is to go into churches and just create a spiritual revival so that they're ready to run with the new guy when he gets there or the new gal.” Currently Marvin serves as the interim Lead Pastor of the Chico Adventist Church. To find out more about his ministry to theChico Adventist Church website [https://www.chicoadventist.org/about#staff]. -Dave Gemmell,  Host of Adventist Ministry Podcast

Welcome to the Best Practices Adventist Ministry Podcast. I’m Dave Gemmell. What words come to mind when I say ‘church board?’   Some may say Waste of time. Church Fight! Never Ending. Nit picky. Other’s might say: uplifting, Unifying, Productive, Fun. How would you like to move your church board from the first group to the second? You’re in luck. Today’s title is 3 tips for Church Boards. I’ve gathered tips from experts and interspersed them with powerful tips that came when I asked Adventist Pastors in an online group to share.  and they really delivered. Here’s the guests on this month’s show in order of appearance: Tip #1, Be Prepared Andre GoncalvesofDallas First Church of Seventh-day Adventists [https://www.dallasfirstchurch.org/staff/]believes that having the right people on the church board makes all the difference. It starts with the organizing committee and the nominating committee. Another person who is essential is someone who has the skills in keeping minutes. Why are minutes important?Karnik Doukmetizian, General Counsel for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists gives tips from a legal perspective for Church Boards on minutes, abiding the laws of the land, solid supporting documents, and secret ballots. These areshort excepts from his presentation [https://s3.amazonaws.com/nadministerial/Karnik+Doukmetzian.MP3]at the2015 CALLED convention [https://www.nadministerial.com/seminar-audio-recordings-pastors]for pastors. South Atlantic pastorEverton Ennis, servingNew Jerusalem Seventh-day Adventist Praise & Worship Center [https://newjsda.org/pastoral-staff]as well as Newnan first, shares his passion for relationships and preparation for church board. Lowell Cooper, former vice president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is considered in Adventist circles to be one of the greatest experts in conducting productive meetings. In this podcast he gives powerful tips on room preparation, agendas, and organizational polity. His interview comes courtesy of theMaking Committees and Church Boards More Effective [https://www.ministryinmotion.tv/episode/making-committees-and-church-boards-more-effective-part-1-lowell-cooper/]episode of theMinistry in Motion [https://www.ministryinmotion.tv/]weekly video series, hosted byAnthony Kent and Ivan Williams [https://www.ministryinmotion.tv/about/]. A big part of preparation is getting out the agenda and supporting documents early enough for each board member to be prepared.David Salazar,Youth Ministries Director of Washington Conference [https://www.washingtonconference.org/about/leaders], shares his powerful tips. Tip #2, Make Quality Decisions Many board meetings grind on and on about trivial things. Does every tiny decision need to go through the board?David Hamstra,Pastor atEdmonton Central Adventist Church [https://edmontoncentraladventist.org/], gives some great tips on why and how a church board should delegate some of its decision making. Matthew Shallenberger, associate pastor atOoltewah Seventh-day Adventist Church [https://www.ooltewahchurch.org/our-pastors], points out some of the unintended consequences of trying to preserve unity at all costs by requiring consensus or supermajorities. On the other hand, Matthew and I also knew that if a consequential action carries only by a slim majority it can lead to a church split. The trick is to try to guess how consequential a vote really is, in advance. Hopefully we’ve done our homework and talked one on one with most of the influencers. But what if we guess wrong? We’ve unleashed a church war. So here’s an idea; what if  we let the board itself weigh in on how much unity is needed on the vote? I’m intrigued by a technique thatKaren Lewis, pastor of thePathways Adventist Church [https://www.pathwaysadventistchurch.org/]has developed. She also gives a description of what its like to nudge a church board toward becoming a theocracy. And much of the process of discussion and listening to each other if done well, can itself build unity.James Winegardner, pastor atKeene Seventh-day Adventist Church [https://www.keenechurch.org/]likens it to combing your hair. Tip #3, Stay Mission Focused Tyler Kraft, pastor ofTracy Adventist Church [https://www.tracysdachurch.org/about/our-staff], learned a valuable lesson from a member who coached corporate executives how to run meetings. The tip is to know that a decision is meaningless unless it is followed up by an action plan. The end of every meeting should answer the questionshowiswhois going to dowhatbywhen. And listen toDust Sernsgives a complete rundown on his church board meetings atLifeBridge Church [http://lifebridgeway.com/new/]emphasizing how he keeps his church plant mission focused. I hope this episode has been as insightful, and inspiring for you as it was for me.  These stories all remind us that the toughest times can lead to significant discoveries.  Thanks for joining us for NAD Ministerial's Best Practices Adventist Ministry Podcast. We're available on all your favorite platforms. So please like, share and subscribe, so you'll be notified when new episodes are posted. We're here to help you grow. Keep going. But most of all, keep growing for God's glory.

Welcome to the Best Practices Adventist Ministry Podcast. I’m Dave Gemmell. Our world was just clobbered by the worst pandemic in over a century, slaying hundreds of millions, triggering economic hardship, exacerbating social unrest, and revealing worldwide inequities; yet also providing an opportunity for monumental discoveries that will take a generation to fully understand. As the fog of COVID-19 slowly lifts, I’d like to share three discoveries that were featured at the EHuddle evangelism conference held virtually in the peak of the pandemic. In Act One, Kevin Wilson pastor and TikTok star, tells how and why he puts so much energy into this creative platform. Kevin is the Associate Pastor of Youth and Young Adults atOceanside Seventh-day Adventist church [https://www.oceansidesda.com/]and also liked by four million as thecrossculturechristian on Tik Tok [https://www.tiktok.com/@crossculturechristian], as well asCrossCultureChristian on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/user/Spencer050890]at the intersection of chai, faith, and life. In Act Two Pastor Allareece Collie tells the story of how her church's agility and neighborliness paid off in the pandemic. Allareece is the Executive Pastor atWalla Walla University Church [https://www.wwuchurch.com/staff/#alareece]. And finally in Act Three, Pastor Manny Arteaga shares the powerful theology of tacos, which he calls ‘tacology.’ Manny is the founding pastor ofKalēo Seventh-day Adventist Church [http://kaleosda.church/], a vibrant congregation in Southern California. I hope this episode has been as insightful, and inspiring for you as it was for me.  These stories all remind us that the toughest times can lead to significant discoveries.  Thanks for joining us for NAD Ministerial's Best Practices Adventist Ministry Podcast. We're available on all your favorite platforms. So please like, share and subscribe, so you'll be notified when new episodes are posted. We're here to help you grow. Keep going. But most of all, keep growing for God's glory. -Dave Gemmell,  Host of Adventist Ministry Podcast

Welcome to the Best Practices Adventist Ministry Podcast. I’m Dave Gemmell. There's an old slogan from a wristwatch company that says "It takes a lickin', but keeps on tickin'. Today we call that resilience, a must have quality for pastors. Pastors take lickins, from church conflict, to health challenges to personal loss. But in the tumbles of ministry, why are some pastors crushed by lickens and why do other pastors keep on tickin? Or why do some pastors get bitter, and others get better? In Act One, Tricia Payne shares her story of resilience through a life-threatening medical accident. Tricia is the lead pastor of the Kona Gardens Seventh-day Adventist church in Detroit. Get to know Pastor Tricia a little better by going to her website,Tricia Wynn Payne | The Fight for My Life [https://triciawynnpayne.com/]. There you can learn more about her story in her new book entitledThe Fight for My Life. In Act Two you’ll meet Shawn Brace who got pushback when he began to lead his church into a new vision of church as a body of believers who are living all of life on God's mission. Shawn is the pastor of Bangor Seventh-day Adventist Church but more importantly a husband and a father.  Shawn recently replanted his church in the same facility with a new mission.  Explore Pastor Brace’s passion for mission in his podcast entitledMission Lab [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mission-lab/id1242427245]. “From the heart of the least religious region of the United States, join us - Shawn and Camille Brace - as we explore what it's like to pursue a missional life in Maine. We will discuss and share stories about discipleship, evangelism, church, missional communities, and the gospel - offering practical tips on how to live out the gospel as a family and church in everyday life.” And finally in act three, Carlton Byrd reveals a tragedy that forever changed his ministry. Carlton is speaker/director of Breath of Life Ministries and lead pastor of the Oakwood University Church.  “Breath of Life Ministries [https://breathoflife.tv/]seeks to help individuals discover the truth of God’s life-enabling concern for their well-being. The mission of Breath of Life Ministries is to present the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ to all people groups from a contemporary, urban perspective.”  Oakwood University Church [https://oucsda.org/about-us/], on the campus of Oakwood University is a “Christ centered, God-fearing, and Spirit-filled congregation” with the “mission to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ with people from all backgrounds and walks of life. With caring and open hearts, we seek to exemplify our love through multiple ministries and worship experiences intentionally designed to reach our diverse, postmodern society.” I hope this episode has been as insightful, and inspiring for you as it was for me.  These stories all remind us that pastors face unique challenges, and It’s how we respond that reveal our resilience.  Thanks for joining us for NAD Ministerial’s Best Practices Adventist Ministry Podcast. We're available on all your favorite platforms. So please like, share and subscribe, so you'll be notified when new episodes are posted. We're here to help you grow. Keep going. But most of all, keep growing for God's glory. -Dave Gemmell,  Host of Adventist Ministry Podcast