Meet Synod Moderator Tom Pickering

by Ray Waddle

The Rev. Tom Pickering, new moderator of the Synod, has heard so much debate about evangelism — "Is it right for us?" "What is it anyway?" — that he decided to stop worrying about it and just do it.

The result has been growth in his church, Cordova Presbyterian Church in Memphis, a clarified vision within the congregation, and a word of encouragement to Presbyterians everywhere.

"A lot of people associate 'evangelism' with being bludgeoned over the head with Bibles," he says.

"But to me, evangelism means sharing that which we've received, that which we know and have experienced — the experience of Jesus Christ."

Pickering has spent a decade applying his ideas, and seeing results, in congregations across the Synod, mostly as an interim minister. Since last year, he has been the pastor at Cordova church, a small congregation than has grown on his watch from 45 weekly worshippers to about 70 now.

Tom, Marilyn and Murphy Pickering.

Stirring enthusiasm was the church's recent adoption of a vision statement after several rounds of soulsearching congregational discussion. The statement, a declaration of mission and core values, describes Cordova Presbyterian as a down-to earth place devoted to Jesus and committed to offering hope to all. The statement begins by announcing:

"We exist to proclaim a real hope to real people facing life in the real world. This is an optimistic, empowering and liberating message that people long to hear. Jesus Christ is the hope we proclaim."

One member said the statement symbolizes congregational rebirth.

"Tom's a great leader, very much a people person," says Kathleen Montgomery.

"One thing you have to have for growth is Christ at the center. You need to preserve your heritage, not discard it, then build on it. I think our growth potential is tremendous."

As moderator, Pickering uses his platform to stress the growth theme. Church vitality is not a magic act but a matter of finding the passion to go the extra step beyond maintenance of the status quo, he says.

"If there's a sale to be made, God makes the sale," he says.

"My job is to 'hand out literature' — that is, share the experience of Christ ... in the pew, in the hospital, in one-on-one conversation. At its best, God's love in Christ must permeate everything we do at church — the way we deal with visitors, vendors and each other. What you do speaks louder than what you say. Evangelism isn't a program in a church. It's THE program."

Pickering, 60, who grew up Presbyterian, is a graduate of the University of Nebraska. He came to ministry after a secular career that included political campaign experience, congressional relations work in Washington, corporate management and sales, and, for a time, ownership of his own furniture store.

Over the years he felt "from time to time a subtle feeling that I might be called."

"These were whispers that were easily ignored in the face of other dreams and goals and an image of ministry in which all ministers were 'goody-two-shoes,' " he says in a statement of his faith journey.

"What comes to many as a gradual unfolding in their lives, came to me as a shock, when I discovered that God accepted me when I could not accept myself or my life, loved me when I could not love myself, and I was changed."

He was ordained in 1983 after graduating from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He also has a doctor of ministry degree from Columbia Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Marilyn, have two children.

His life experiences have given him practical insight into leadership dynamics and also a need for a sustaining relationship with God.

"Hope will liberate people from things that hold them back," he declares. "Everything we need to do is positive and practical."

In an era preoccupied with denominational decline, Pickering warns against self-fulfilling defeatism. The truth is, he says, healthy and growing churches can be found in every presbytery. One pivotal element of growth: the pastor's passion for it.

"We have a whole lot of churches growing well and rapidly, and many others are stable," he says.

"The issue is finding energy and moving beyond maintenance. The problem is, we train people for maintenance. But we don't grow from maintenance. Leadership needs to believe growth is possible."

Preaching at the annual synod meeting in January, Pickering urged congregations to be open to change, overcome fear of failure and remember Jesus' leadership relations with his own disciples in the New Testament:

"Jesus did not send them out with a program, but a vision," Pickering said in his sermon. "A vision that was given to Jesus by God and that he shared throughout his ministry. Jesus knew that the key to spreading the Gospel was in relationship: Christ's relationship with the creator, a believer's relationship with Christ, the relationship between a minister and congregation, and the relationship between friends."

He concluded with a plea to believers to move beyond the comfort of their theological or social foxholes: "We have not been called by Christ to build bigger, better and more comfortable foxholes. Christ came to bring life and life abundant. That life is to be found when we leave the foxholes. We are called to transform the world by transforming people, beginning with us."

  

Posted: 10-Jun-2006 10:01 PM