They make me want to be a better pastor.

• In 2007, when I first arrived on the scene with my family at CalvaryDuncan, I was a deeply broken, beleaguered man with a great desire to be used of God. Over the next few years, as I was able to heal and grow, I became increasingly aware of what an amazing church I had been called to serve. There was and is so very much potential. But I am very weak in administration and organization. I began to consider the possibility of going back to school because, quite frankly, this church needed a much better pastor and I had to either become one or get out of the way so they could find one.
• In 2012 I attended a Catalyst conference in the Dallas area. As I was walking through the exhibit area, I stopped at the DTS booth where the rep shared with me about the MaCL degree and that it could be accomplished without having to move to Dallas. After a few months of prayer with my wife and a few key leaders of our fellowship, I applied and was accepted to begin in January of 2013.
• My desire in pursuing this degree was that I would grow in my understanding and stewardship of the Word as well as gain a much stronger skill set in organizational leadership. While there is still a great deal of room for growth, I do feel that I have grown enormously in both areas.
• I plan to continue to pursue regular growth opportunities to stretch toward the pastor I long to be for the sake of these amazing people I so love to serve.

Overall Reflection Statement for Ministry Distinctive (100 word minimum)

For my competence in Ministry Development, I am submitting as my primary artifact my final research project. This was a requirement for my degree, but this project has been in the works throughout my tenure at CalvaryDuncan in terms of the needs identified, processes developed, and the overall ministry context. I believe that this document demonstrates my understanding of the congregation I serve as well as my personal strengths and limitations. It has been the product of more conversations and frustrations and celebrations than can be catalogued. As I approach the twelfth anniversary of my call to this position, I genuinely believe that this people and place of service are precisely the work for which God called me to ministry so many years ago.

Artifacts With Descriptions

Unleashing a Team Ministry Culture – a Project Summary: This document is more of an explanation of how I intend to proceed rather than the precise steps I am taking. There are several factors that I feel require a little more time and development, but it is a big picture understanding of how I believe we are being led by the Spirit to further grow and develop into a stronger, healthier, church operating almost entirely in lay-driven team ministry. Recognizing the time required to wade through forty-four pages in that document, here you can find the Project Summary video.

Reflection Paper: Personality Type And Religious Leadership – This paper was written as a reflection on this great book and how its insights helped me understand my own strengths and weaknesses. While it may seem obvious to some, understanding who I am not has resolved a great many frustrations of my ministry life.

Learning Reflection

As I developed and demonstrated Servant Leadership in other areas of my degree and ministry experience, I have learned that a recognition of the Story of Scripture brings a powerful lens of understanding that gives more clarity and insight into the Word than I could have imagined. This underscores the significance not only of pursuing a leadership degree, but also the decision to pursue it at Dallas Theological Seminary.

Lifelong Development Statement

As a result of the experiences documented by these artifacts, I will continue to develop in Servant Leadership by giving diligence to continue to read in contemporary leadership literature. The rigorous reading requirements of a DTS degree have been enormously challenging at times, but the disciplines I have developed (especially in the last 2-3 years) need to continue to be a normal part of my life and ministry. I have established a practice of trying to complete at least one book every two weeks with at least every other book being centered upon leadership. In addition, I plan to take a little of the time and expense I have been dedicating to seminary training to participating in at least one leadership conference each year. The other element that has not really been a part of my seminary journey but I see as an integral element moving forward is the practice of seeking a younger leader to encourage and help along the way while maintaining the relationship I have developed with my ministry mentor over the past year. I believe that these three practices will enable me to continue the course of growth into the future.