Pastor Search

Pastor Search Team Highlights – 12/2/24

Since our last report to you, we have continued to review candidates recommended to us for the senior pastor role.  We have reviewed the resumes, as well as performed sermon evaluations, of 9 more proposed candidates.  We are currently working through yet another 5 potential candidates to determine which warrant further consideration in the process.  We continue to thank you for your continued prayer and encouragement as we move forward.  In addition to our previous encouragement to be vigilant against misunderstanding, misinformation, and miscommunication; we recognize a need to speak clearly as to our limited role.

We as the Pastor Search Committee are only authorized to, and have only one focus of, following God’s guidance to bring a candidate to the church to serve as our next senior pastor.  We have no other involvement nor input into any other personnel matters of Roswell Street.  We have not taken part in nor attempted to affect any other decisions involving ministry or staff at Roswell Street.  Frankly, we are so fully committed to the pastoral search that we have neither the time nor desire to address any of other matters.  Further, no potential candidate has made any request of us to affect any change of our ministry, staff, or other decision as a prerequisite for further consideration.  We appreciate the many other members of our church family who serve in other equally important and vital roles, and we have not intervened in any way with the carrying out of those separate responsibilities.

After over a year of preparation and taking part in the transitional process led by Pastor Dan, we are a little shy of one year in actual consideration of individual candidates.  As we continue to prayerfully depend upon God’s timing to make His direction clear, we are personally hopeful to bring this process to an end in the near future.  Please remain vigilant in your own prayers for this process, and continue to offer yourselves as living sacrifices to His Kingdom work at Roswell Street; so that we might all be fully prepared to be the church that is ready for God’s man to lead us into many years of effective ministry, experiencing lives transformed in Marietta and Cobb County.  May God bless us with the revealing of His man for His church in His way in the near future.

Pastor Search Committee

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PST HIGHLIGHTS   7-29-24

Let us share with you what we have accomplished in the pastoral search process, and encourage you to continue doing your part in this process.

For many months your PST has been meeting almost every week with a focus on the responsibility of seeking and following Gods direction toward the man He would have us bring forth as a candidate for senior pastor.  Our work starts with fervent prayer that God would show us his choice for the man through whom He will lead Roswell Street to minister to Marietta and Cobb County, now and for years to come -even at the cost of our personal preferences in a pastor.  We recognize the need and are excited for the opportunity to adjust to the needs of our current community, while always maintaining the commitment to God’s Word and the Gospel message.  To that end, we have reviewed many resumes, watched many sermons online, have visited some churches, and have had individual conversations with potential candidates. I am thrilled to report that your pastor search team is experiencing great unity of spirit and closeness as we move toward our making a decision, but we know that our decision is simply the first step in a multi-step process, before a candidate can be brought before you for consideration.

As we get closer to that decision, we have already experienced some conversations and suggestions about our decision. Unfortunately, some of these have included misinformation or misunderstanding as to the process. We continue to encourage anyone who has questions or suggestions about our responsibility to please speak directly to any member of our team, or email us at rsbcpst@gmail.com, so that we can address any issue directly. Please support us in the process which our church has had in place for decades to address the calling of a new pastor.

While our work is the first step in the process, remember there is another man and his family and their church on the other side of this adventure. We all need to be committed in prayer for them also to follow God’s leading and direction.  Then, and maybe most importantly, is your role in this process.  We as a church must be prepared to accept God‘s direction for His overall plan to build the Kingdom in Marietta and Cobb County. We have often said in our meetings that it would take a God-size miracle to have an agreement among the nine of us, with our diverse personalities and backgrounds.  We ask that you allow that miracle-working process to work itself out in your heart and in our church family as well.  I offer 1 Corinthians 1:10 as a prayer to engage with, as the Apostle Paul writes:

 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

To conclude, we can offer what we have experienced as the best way to know God’s answer.  It is to come before him in desperate dependence and humility in prayer!  You may have seen individual search team members praying at the altar after the conclusion of the worship service each week.  We believe the pulpit is a space where God empowers men to lead, with His authority, to engage His church.  So, we encourage you to join us at the altar – whether kneeling, standing, or sitting nearby – to pray for our next senior pastor, and for unity of our hearts to accept God’s leading in this process.  May we be a people who are called by His name, who will humble ourselves in prayer, turning from our sin, and seek His decision.  We are certain that He is ready and willing to hear and to guide, both with this decision, and for many years to come.

Pastor Search Team

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Highlights – 5/7/24

Thank you for your continued prayers and encouraging words to us as we continue in our search process.  We also thank many of you who have provided recommendations for our consideration.  We recognize that this process continues to take longer than we all prefer, but we are confident that we are narrowing our focus in accordance with God’s leading toward our next senior pastor.  Without divulging any confidences, know that we are continuing to receive resumes from highly qualified individuals, and we are already having direct conversations with candidates who are  far enough along in our process to warrant continued consideration.

As you can imagine, we continue to feel the weight of this responsibility upon us for the future of Marietta and Roswell Street’s impact on it.  The gravity of this decision grows as we get closer to the final decision.  You may have seen many of your PST members are taking time each Sunday kneeling at the altar following each service, humbling ourselves in prayer for the filling of our pulpit with our next senior pastor.  We want to invite anyone who would like to join with us in this recognition of our dependence upon God’s direction and leading by coming alongside us at the altar on Sunday mornings following the service to pray for these things:

• God’s sovereignty to guide the process of our search

• God’s direction to be clearly understood in unity by the PST

• God’s protection of the PST and Roswell Street through this process

• God’s power and authority to be manifested in the preaching of His Word from the pulpit, both now and into the future

• God’s willingness to allow Roswell Street to once again be His instrument to greatly impact Marietta and our communities

• Our willingness to be obedient to and engaged in God’s vision now, in our individual lives and as a church body

• God’s plan to be evident to the man and his family He is leading us to call as our next Senior Pastor

• Our diligent patience to allow God’s timing to prove His faithfulness, and our willingness to accept it

If your heart resonates with these requests, please join in with us any Sunday as we lift these requests up in prayer at the altar.  There are no formal requirements: you can pray alone or with others, silently or aloud, kneeling or standing.  We simply ask for a willingness to humble yourself before God, recognizing our need and His provision, seeking God’s will to be made evident and completed in us.  We look forward to having you participate with us, and we are looking forward to having a candidate to present to the church as soon as God’s sovereign will  allows.

Pastor Search Committee

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Pastor Search Team Highlights – 2/12/24

As we have turned the calendar to 2024, your Pastor Search Committee is excited to share our progress in seeking God’s provision of our next Senior Pastor.  Our work on the Transitional Focus Group is almost completed, as the report from this group is soon to be shared with the church.  You can anticipate that it will highlight the values, skills, needs, and opportunities for growth of our congregation.  This is intended to be a great tool for us to share with potential candidates which will provide a quick guide as to where Roswell Street stands in regards to its strengths, weaknesses, and vison.  Your PSC has worked diligently to include a pastoral profile which helps to guide us and others in looking for our next pastor.  While this profile provides some essential parameters to our search, we are in continual prayer and submission to whatever the Lord’s direction is to us.

Even more exciting is the fact that we are in position to be seeking, reviewing, and acting on recommendations of individuals to be considered to fill the position as senior pastor.  At this time, we have decided not to post a listing with the convention or other job posting sites, in order to avoid the creation of unnecessary working through what could be hundreds of applicants whom might apply simply because of the job opening.  Rather, we are reaching out to trusted sources within our local church community, association and convention leaders, and beyond who have a heart for and knowledge of Roswell Street; requesting that they share with us names or insights into those within their knowledge who may be able to serve into this role with integrity and capability.  We can report that this has already resulted in several men being brought to our attention for consideration, and we have already begun the review process.

Because we view our church family as a trusted source of insight and wisdom as well, we invite you to offer any thoughts or recommendations of any man you feel led to bring to our attention in this search.  As you prayerfully consider this opening, should the Lord lay on your heart anyone to pass along to us, it is preferable that you email us directly at RSBCPST@gmail.com.  Of course, you can reach out to any of the team members individually, but an email is preferred to ensure that your information reaches the entire team.  Please provide as much background information as you may have about the candidate, and if you can provide internet links to sermons they have recently preached, we will follow up in consideration.  If you know them personally, please consider asking the candidate to email a resume to the email address above.  We look forward to hearing from you and considering whomever you forward to us.

In the end, we are trusting fully in the sovereignty of God to not only provide the name, but also to provide us a confirmation and unity of spirit to recognize His choice to fill this role.  We are praying continually for our discernment in this process, for the man and his family whom God is preparing, and for our church family to be fully engaged in the vision and ministry of Roswell Street to lead us into the great days ahead.  Please join us in this prayer and action, and may the Lord bless us with the leadership and commitment to impact Marietta for the Kingdom’s sake and for His Glory!

RSBC Pastor Search Committee

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Pastor Search Team Highlights – 11/6/23

Your Pastor Search Committee (PSC) continues to meet regularly in prayerful preparation to move forward in our search for our next Senior Pastor.  In addition, we continue to serve as part of the Transitional Focus Group (TFG), which meets separately with Pastor Dan walking us through the evaluation and assessment of our church.  Combining these efforts, we are creating a profile of the character qualities, physical skills, and spiritual qualifications which we will expect of our next Pastor.  Along with the other work being done by the TFG, we look forward to reporting to the church family a specific understanding of God’s vision for His work to be done at Roswell Street.  We trust you are likewise diligently in prayer for God’s direction, for you personally and for our church corporately, to receive and accept His vision for the future of His Kingdom work here in Marietta.

To provide a glimpse into the work of the TFG, we can share that we have identified areas of strength as well as areas for improvement in our mission at RSBC.  Among our strengths are prayer and fellowship, while we recognize the need to improve in the areas of evangelism and discipleship.  Looking further, we have determined that Roswell Street highly values multiple areas of ministry, most notably in our teaching and generosity.  Each of these discoveries are helping form a profile of our church, which will greatly assist the PST when we communicate with a potential candidate.  As Pastor Dan reminds us, we are fully committed to preparing the church for the next Senior Pastor, and our combined success going forward.

As the TFG closes in on fulfilling its responsibility, the PST is preparing itself for the more direct task of identifying men for further consideration.  To that end, we are learning how to complete sermon evaluations and preparing a pastoral profile which will identify the expectations of the ideal candidate.  We are not actively interviewing any specific persons, as such is premature before we complete the transitional assessment processes.  Nevertheless, we are fully open to God’s leading us toward our next Senior Pastor, in whatever means He chooses to guide us.

As always, please continue praying for us individually, and corporately, that we might have clear direction and leading from God to move us forward in His perfect timing to His next appointed Senior Pastor for Roswell Street.

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6/13/23 Update

In addition to spending time together in fervent prayer to identify the candidate for our next senior pastor, your Pastor Search Committee is currently serving as members of the Transitional Focus Group.  Pastor Dan is leading this group through a process of self-evaluation and assessment, in order to prepare a profile of our church, along with a profile of the ideal pastoral candidate.  While the TFG will report these findings to the church family once our duties are complete, allow us to share some initial insights gleaned from this process so that you can appreciate the work that is being done behind the scenes.

Over the past few weeks, we have affirmed that Roswell Street continues to find strength in our prayer, fellowship and worship with one another.  In addition, we have identified the need to improve in our efforts of evangelism, discipleship, and service.  The Pastor Search Team then took on the current task of creating a profile of a pastor to help guide us in the upcoming search for a specific candidate.  While Pastor Dan has every desire to expeditiously move us through the transitional process, we have encouraged him to allow us the time to better understand what lies behind what these assessments reveal.  In the end, we believe we will be better positioned to address the future needs of Roswell Street as we seek God’s man to continue to lead us forward.

As always, please continue praying for us individually, and corporately, that we might have clear direction and leading from God to move us forward in His perfect timing to His next appointed pastor for Roswell Street.

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3/28/23 Update

As we near the Easter season, your Pastor Search Committee is continuing to work toward the goal of bringing a candidate before the church family to be considered as our next senior pastor.  Under the leadership of Pastor Dan, we are fully committed to the transitional process of preparing our church for our next senior pastor.  Recently, we have enjoyed listening to our church family recount the many experiences that led each of us to Roswell Street, that keep us engaged, that make us distinctive, and what potential barriers exist to our moving forward.  These are exciting discussions, and they are integral to the process.  We look forward to taking part in the Transitional Focus Group which will work alongside many of our other leaders to create a profile of our church and of our vision.  With that, your PST will be better equipped to recognize the man that God has already chosen to serve us in the years to come.

Your Pastor Search Committee continues to spend time in prayer over the transitional process, as well as for our combined wisdom and discernment to be unified as we move forward to hear God’s direction toward a specific individual.  We continue to seek out wise counsel from many, not only in our church, but also within our community and throughout our convention.  So, please continue lifting us up individually, and corporately, that we will walk in the steps prepared for us, at the time we are appointed to do so.

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1/25/23 Update

We are excited to join with the church family in the transitional process along with Pastor Dan.  While our church corporately is focused on addressing ministry needs and purposes, your Pastor Search Team has the continuing, additional role of seeking specific direction regarding our next Senior Pastor.  Before we can actively seek to identify a specific person to fill the pastoral position, we believe it is necessary to go through the transitional process so that both the church and our senior pastor will be in a point of unity moving forward.

However, that does not mean that your Pastor Search Team has stopped working!  In fact, we continue to meet weekly, committed to prayer and to determine our next steps.  Since inviting Pastor Dan to fill the transitional role, we have been in specific study of the Biblical qualifications of a Senior Pastor.  Diving into 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, and I Peter 5; we find over 25 qualifications set forth to guide our search.  We invite you to join with us in refreshing your knowledge of these passages, and to pray specifically for us to ensure these qualifications are fully addressed in our process.

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1/6/23 Update

Your Pastor Search Team has committed itself in prayer, fasting, discernment, and action to move us forward in the ministry of the Kingdom through Roswell Street.  After many weeks of diligent seeking, searching, and serving; we are prepared to report to our church family regarding our next step in this transition.  We are excited to have an opportunity to share with the church family this Sunday, January 8, during the 10:30 worship service, some details of our journey and the decisions made that we are confident the Lord has blessed us to walk into in the coming days.  Please prayerfully prepare to join with us on Sunday for this update.   We look forward to seeing you there!

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12/23/22 Update

We are excited as we continue to learn more about the process and seek even more dependence upon the Holy Spirit as we seek His leading our hearts into the direction He would have us move.   As we do so, we have been meeting with various men who have capabilities to serve into the transitional time of our church.  While we are not at liberty to disclose the names and content of these conversations, we thank our church family who recognize that this is due more to sensitivity to the men, families, and ministries involved; rather than an exercise in secrecy of this process.  As a result, we look forward to sharing with you the results of our labor as soon as the Lord confirms His direction as to whom will lead us forward as our transitional pastor.  In addition, we are taking time to converse in prayer with the Lord, pleading for clarity of mind and spirit in this decision.

As we are in the celebration of Christmas season, we join in giving thanks to our Lord from whom we receive every good and perfect gift from above (James 1:17), the greatest of which began with the sending of His Son, Jesus, to live on earth in flesh and dwell among us (John 1: 14).  As you are enjoying the many gifts of this season, do not cease in your intercession for us to discern and follow His leading us as a team, as well as His guiding in your own lives as church members.  Together, we look forward to becoming the church to which our next senior pastor will be drawn by the Holy Spirit, and of which we have unity of Spirit as faithful, committed members.

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12/12/22 Update

We have certainly been blessed in the recent weeks by the speakers filling our pulpit, expounding the Word of God.  As you have likely noticed, many of these men have served previously as a “transitional pastor,” and you may have wondered what that means.  Your Pastoral Search Team (PST) is taking time to answer that question as well, allowing these men to educate us on this role and to share from their experiences in this capacity.

The role of Transitional Pastor is a relatively new creation, which the Georgia Baptist Convention succinctly describes this way:

The transitional pastor ministry is a guided process that prepares the congregation to receive a new pastor. The transitional pastor process is a proven path that builds unity, heals hurts, promotes fellowship, and focuses on the mission of the church.

Historically, an “interim pastor” is called upon to fill the pulpit and handle some pastoral duties while the search for a permanent replacement took place.  However, wisdom and experience have shown the benefit of having a “transitional pastor” to walk alongside the church body to assess, identify, and address issues prior to the calling of a new pastor.

Please join with us in praying through the decision as to how to proceed in this interim or transitional time.  Please pray specifically for the man that God has chosen to serve our church in whichever capacity is best suited to our current and future needs.  We continue to seek each members’ personal engagement in the process of becoming the church that our future pastor will be seeking to join in to lead.  May the Lord be glorified in how He leads your PST and our church family in these exciting days!

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12/5/22 Update

As we look to 2023, your PASTOR SEARCH TEAM (PST) is tasked with seeking out speakers to fill the pulpit each week.  In doing so, we are searching both for men who have previously served in an interim pastor role, and may be considered to serve into our interim needs; as well as for others who may speak into the needs of RSBC, without any desire to fill the interim pastoral role.  That review is ongoing, and we established a process of ensuring we can provide the proper welcome for them as they visit with us.  In carrying that out, we will provide you the opportunity to see individual members of the PST each week, in hopes of reminding the church family who is serving in this capacity, and to put a face with a name in your prayers for us.

In addition, we devoted some time to thinking through and sharing various commitments that each team member must make, both for the team success, as well as for the benefit of the church family.  Among items on that list were:

• Seeking to do God’s will, in God’s way, and for God’s purpose

• Praying intentionally for one another

• Continually being honest, transparent, and patient

• Seeking to be expedient and efficient

• Expecting to be challenged, and have a teachable spirit.

There are many more items which we discussed and others you might add to this list.  As those come to mind, take a moment to ponder how you can commit to that in your own life and how you can intercede on behalf of the PST in that area.  We continue to relish your prayers, support, and encouragement.

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11/29/22 Update

Your PASTOR SEARCH TEAM (PST) invited the Advisory Council (AC) members to share their insight as to multiple areas:

• the state of RSBC overall vision, financial status, day-to-day operations, and potential direction as to interim pastoral role.

• the relatively new role of a transitional pastor, as compared to the traditional interim pastor role.

• Sharing our thanks to the AC and staff for its outstanding work in having already obtained pulpit supply in place through the end of 2022, and

• the PST accepted the responsibility of pulpit supply going forward.

As we go forward, our church family is encouraged to be actively present and attentive each Sunday as we invite multiple speakers to fill the pulpit.  We look forward to their bringing a Word from the Lord  to us in this time of transition, with an eye toward potentially filling the role of transitional pastor while we continue our search for a lead pastor for the future of RSBC.

Join in with us in  prayer for . . .

• Clear messages to encourage and equip RSBC in the interim,

• Clear direction as to how one of these men may lead us in the interim,

• Clear leading from the Lord as to whom we should invite to fill the pulpit

• Clearly identifying who we should recommend to the church family to serve as an interim leader of our church family and staff.

As we enter the Advent season, we are reminded of Israel’s reliance upon multiple prophecies as they expectantly awaited the coming of the Messiah (Isaiah 7:13-14; 9:1,6-7; 11:1-5; Micah 5:2).  Similarly, while we are in a time of transition, our church family maintains confident HOPE of God’s eternal plan and purpose continuing to be worked out through us.  In return, we offer ourselves as a people individually committed to living out our Christian faith daily and corporately engaged in the fulfilling of God’s Great Commandment and Great Commission.

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11/21/2022 Update

As we begin our service as your PASTOR SEARCH TEAM, we are thankful for your commitment to JOIN IN the process of identifying the pastor-shepherd for our church both in the interim and in the long term.  To do that, we ask for two things from our church family :

• INTERCEDE with us and for us in prayer for unity of Spirit and clarity of direction as we hear from, review, meet with, and make decisions as to an interim pastor and ultimately a senior pastor. We would welcome your praying for a particular team member by name and sending encouragement to them personally as you are led to do so.

ENTIRE TEAM – rsbcpst@gmail.com

Noemi Caro – noemicaro91@gmail.com

Kerry Jackson – kbj@bellsouth.net

Bill Kelley – fwkelley3@att.net

Susan Lyle – sdlyle333@gmail.com

Bryan Lumpkin – tbryanlumpkin@gmail.com

Dawn McElhaney – utk9091@aol.com

Russell Palmer – russellpalmer@bellsouth.net

Sandra Sommerman – sandrahs@comcast.net

Mitch Walker – mitchythekid10@gmail.com

• ENGAGE individually to seek the Lord’s direction in your own life to live out your Christian faith in your everyday life and in the life of your church. If we are individually subject to living out Christ’s life daily, then we will anticipate 1 Corinthians 1:10 being exhibited –  “that there be no divisions among [us], but that [we] be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

Among our initial actions, we selected the following persons to serve in particular structural roles as a church committee :

• Chairman : Bryan Lumpkin

• Vice-Chairman : Bill Kelley

• Scribe : Dawn McElhaney

In addition, and more importantly, we have identified several other roles to be accomplished by individual members, connected with each members’ particular gifting, talents, and experience.  Together, we look forward to working in tandem to address the many tasks before us.  To that end, we cannot ask too often for your continued prayer support for us as we serve you in this vital responsibility.