All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:15-16
As life slows even for a moment, we pause to give thanks to our Creator, the source of all good things. For many reasons, we may do so with mixed emotions this year. I pray God’s promise of enduring grace and encouragement, as described in 2 Corinthians above, may comfort you and yours.
At Caldwell, we give thanks for many things. One is that our Associate Pastor Nominating Committee has finished a major portion of its work. Please take a moment to read the letter below from the committee’s co-chairs. — John
Dear Caldwell,
Thank you for keeping the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee (APNC) in your prayers. We are pleased to let you know that the Ministry Information Form (MIF) has been submitted and approved by the Presbytery of Charlotte Committee on Ministry, and we are beginning to receive applications for the position. Now is the exciting time as we review applications, with the assurance that the Holy Spirit is very much at work in leading us to the candidate called to serve Caldwell as Associate Pastor.
In order for you to better understand what an important step this is, let us update you on the steps the APNC has taken. We began meeting over the summer. The Committee on Ministry conducted a workshop for us on the search process. Who knew there were so many acronyms we needed to remember! The most important ones to know are MIF, noted above, and PIF. The MIF is like a resume of the church. It includes demographic information about Caldwell. More importantly, through our responses, we’ve tried to capture the warmth, the diversity, the sense of community at Caldwell, and our call to be Christ’s hands and feet in the world. The MIF also describes the role of the Associate Pastor at Caldwell, and identifies the competencies we think are most critical. You can read the MIF that the APNC submitted here. A PIF is the Personal Information Form that a person interested in the position submits.
Before we began working on the MIF, Eddy Capote led us through a review and discussion of the Pastoral Duties Report, which was completed in 2015. That committee had spent several months assessing the congregation’s needs in pastoral leadership, leading to a report that was adopted by Session. Over the next several APNC meetings, we discussed and decided upon the core competencies for the Associate Pastor. We also discussed and reached consensus on responses to the essay questions within the MIF. Finally, we met with Session to determine the compensation for the position. We are happy to report that Session approved the position as a full time position – another example of a Leap of Faith.
We are now in Steps 7 and 8 of the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee Process. Because of confidentiality, we cannot talk about candidates we are considering but we will certainly keep you informed of where we are in the process. We ask you to keep the APNC in your prayers, that we will be open to the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
In Christ’s love,
Meg Haynes and Azu Nwadei – Co Chairs
Kimbo Bohannon
Doreen Byrd
John Chandler
Jonathan Hardin
Richard Harrison
Johnny Johnson
Tovi Martin