Leadership Team Changes
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Benjamin Kreps:
Hey everyone! And welcome back to the Mark Prater podcast, where our aim is to connect our global family of churches with our Executive Director. Mark, I understand that you have some news for us regarding the Leadership Team.
Mark Prater:
I do. And this is an email that should be in the inbox this morning for the guys that are listening on Tuesday morning. I'm making an announcement regarding reconfiguring the Leadership Team. And I want to tell you a little bit about why I'm doing that in conjunction with the men on the Leadership Team and the Executive Committee, who's going to be joining, and what they're going to be doing.
Benjamin Kreps:
Yeah. So what's the change? What's the reconfiguration look like?
Mark Prater:
Yeah. Let me tell you why first. I think that's the most important part. I think we're at a really important place as a denomination. Meaning that when this Leadership Team was formed, we were tasked to put our new Book of Church Order, our polity in place. And, at the same time, we were managing the crisis that we were walking through. And so, out of necessity, our Leadership Team voice needed to be more polity driven and management, or crisis management, informed. Now that the polity in place and, of course, needs a tweak here and there, but humming along. And I'm praying that we're past most of our crisis, or all of our crisis, that the voice of the Leadership Team would change to be one that's vision casting, that's inspiring, that's theologically equipping. And I think that's going to be really important in moving us forward in our gospel mission.
I think we’ve got some wonderful days ahead. So, a part of the reason then that I want to reconfigure the Leadership Team is I want to make sure we've got some of our best strategic thinkers and leaders on the team. They won't necessarily be directors of a department, but they will have some specific responsibilities. So that's the reason why we're making the change. Now it's a conversation I began a year ago with the Executive Committee and then walked through a process with them where they approved everything I'm talking about in the email that I sent and in this podcast.
Benjamin Kreps:
Excellent. Sounds great. So, so what's the change going to look like?
Mark Prater:
Yeah. When I went to the Executive Committee retreat a year ago, I said there's four younger guys that I have in mind that I would love to add to the Leadership Team. Kind of alphabetical order by last name, Jared Mellinger, Jon Payne, Dave Taylor and Eric Turbedsky. Since then, obviously, Eric Turbedsky has been added as our Director of Church Planting. Dave Taylor will remain our Director of Emerging Nations but be added formally to the Leadership Team. And one of the reasons I'm adding Dave is not only is he a good strategic thinker, he brings a non-American perspective, and right now we're a global Leadership Team. So we need a non-American voice and more non-American voices that influence our thinking as we lead. And then Jared Mellinger and Jon Payne.
So, let me tell you what those guys will be doing. Jared will be working some with me, some with Mickey, primarily with me though, and Jeff, and sort of resurrecting the Sovereign Grace Journal. That's something that C.J. led us in years ago. And I think that's one of the ways we can provide a theologically equipping voice. I'm really excited about that project. Jon will be working with me some to take some of the operational responsibilities off my plate. He'll be working with Mickey and then I've asked Jon and Jared to come up with a plan to reach future generations in our churches, meaning members. And think you know, the teens in your church or those in children's ministry, even, who as they grow want to call Sovereign Grace their home. They find that “this is where I want to raise my family” type of voice. And so I think a younger voice, certainly younger than mine, can reach those young people. And so, they're going to come up with a plan to do that.
Benjamin Kreps:
Excellent. Does that mean that some guys who are on the Leadership Team currently will be going off of the team?
Mark Prater:
No, everybody's staying on. So, you know, Mickey will stay on, Jeff will stay on, Tommy, Rich and myself. And that means we've got a bigger Leadership Team. But I think if you're going to make a good transition in leadership, which is the second reason, really, why I went to the Executive Committee with this plan. I want to add younger guys now so that we can expose them to denomination wide leadership issues, partly to evaluate them and then also to equip them. So, it's kind of the older working next to the younger for a period of time before the older guys transition. For that to happen, you're going to have to have a bigger Leadership Team for a period of time. And we don't know the timing when all that's going to play out, but nobody currently on the team is transitioning off.
Benjamin Kreps:
Great. Thank you for thinking strategically about our future and incorporating younger guys into the team. Any of the thoughts before we conclude the podcast?
Mark Prater:
Yeah. I wanted to devote the podcast to this because you can feel very limited in communicating your enthusiasm for this decision. And I hope guys hear that from me. I'm really excited about our future. I'm really excited about these guys joining the team and how they're going to strengthen us. And I just think that God is at work in Sovereign Grace in some wonderful ways throughout the world that you read Dave Taylor's Emerging Nations newsletter, you just get a glimpse of. So I just think our future is very, very bright because of God's kindness and grace to us. I'm humbled by that, but I'm also excited. So this is one step in sort of just following God in what he's already doing in Sovereign Grace. I can't wait to see what He's going to do.
Benjamin Kreps:
Wonderful. Well, thanks again, Mark. Sounds like a great plan. Look forward to seeing how God is going to use this expanded Leadership Team to equip us and strengthen us as a denomination in the days ahead. And thank you for watching. We'll see you here next week.