#which required me to devote hours of prep time to writing comments for every student

[midshipmank]

ngl fam trying to teach the iliad & the decline of the roman republic at the same time is definitely not my greatest plan

[jmyers104]

Pastoral Interview

Pastor’s Name and Church

 I had the privilege of interviewing Pastor Karl Sexton of Sand Hill Creek in Baxley, GA.

 Interview Questions

 Tell me about your call to pastoral ministry.

I never heard an audible voice from God calling me to preach, but there was a sense that lingered for years. I felt that God was calling me to preach when I was 13, and I answered the call at a youth camp when I was 17. The speaker’s message confirmed the inner promptings. With the call came the gift. I started preaching, and shortly after that, I was asked to pastor a local church. That was over 30 years ago.

 Describe your ordination council.

I was ordained at 17 or 18. My ordination counsel was made up of pastors in the local association. My church recommended me to the council, and once it was approved, I was licensed by the church and ordained by the counsel.

 Which pastoral responsibility do you enjoy the most, and why?

I enjoy everything about preaching and teaching. That includes the act itself, but it also includes studying and writing, as well as seeing lives changed as a result of preaching and teaching.

 Which pastoral duty do you enjoy the least, and why?

I don’t enjoy dealing with domestic problems. They are the most heartbreaking and disappointing.

 How do you deal with dissentions or divisions in the church?

It depends. If it is more than one person or has affected a group, I will address it more generally; I may take a text and preach on the issue. If it’s a sin problem, I go to them with Matthew 18 as a blueprint. If I am confronting someone, I will take a witness so I cannot be accused of saying something I didn’t say. In any case, ask God to give you wisdom on whether I should visit them.

 Describe the amount of time you spend in an average week in sermon preparation.

Mondays are the days where I gather my resources for the sermons I would be teaching during the week. It is my “collection” day. My big study days are Wednesdays and Saturdays.  I typically have about 15 to 20 hours per week for sermon preparation, and I usually preach 3 times a week. That gives me 8 to 10 hours for the “main” sermon that I deliver either Sunday morning or evening, depending on the situation. Then I spend about 4 to 6 hours on second sermon, and 2 to 3 on the third message, which is typically delivered on Wednesday. I spend less time on the Wednesday sermon, not because it is unimportant, but because it is a topic I am familiar with. It could be on a passage I have preached on once before, or it could be that the congregation and I are working through a book written by a Christian author. In either case, it does not require as much preparation time as the other two sermons. Now, if it is content primarily derived from another author, I always make it known; give credit where it is due.  To be as productive as possible, only a handful of people can interrupt me during sermon prep: my secretary (in the event there is an emergency concerning a member of the congregation), my wife, and my children.

 What is your procedure for sermon preparation?

I always want to read the passage a number of times before I go to secondary sources. So first, I read the Scriptures, glean what insights I can from the text, making notes as certain truths come to mind. Only then will I consult my commentaries. I make it a point to read after at least 3 commentators. I go to reliable sources, but if I am dealing with a debatable text, I may read after or listen to a preacher who believes differently than I do, just to make sure I have considered everything I should have. Then I will compile my notes and construct my outline. On my computer, I have 2 documents per sermon: one for notes and one of the actual sermon. Now, there are times when I am teaching on a lengthier passage. During times like this, I construct the sermon knowing that it will end up being a 2- or 3- part message.

 Do you believe in expositional preaching, topical preaching, or a combination of both?

I always have at least 1 expositional series going on. Then I’ll have “textual” message that may incorporate several different texts or passages. At times, I will do topical sermons, often using something like a book on leadership. Regardless of the type, I always want to stay true to the text.

 Describe the amount of time you spend in an average week in administrative responsibilities.

When I was at a larger church, I would spend about 15 to 20 hours a week on those responsibilities, less now that I am at a smaller church. As a bi-vocational pastor, I typically do all of the administrative stuff myself.

 Describe the amount of time you spend in an average week in personal devotions and prayer.

Oh well this is embarrassing…Not as much as I should. First thing in the morning, before I leave the house. I try to spend about 30 minutes a day in prayer. We also do family devotions in the evening. When my children were younger, we would pray together and do our Bible reading plan every night.

 What is an area of pastoral ministry you wish you had been taught in school?

I wish my professors would have stressed keeping our priorities right not neglecting my family. It can be all too easy to focus on ministry to the neglect of your family.

 What is one piece of advice you would give to someone aspiring to become a pastor?

My advice is simple: regard your walk with the Lord as the most important priority in your life. Your family second, and your church ministry is a very distant third.

 Discouragement in the ministry can be brought on by many different factors (lack of numerical growth, sin in the church, etc.). What do you do to remain joyful and keep depression at bay?

There are a few things I do. I try to put the positive church members around me. Those are the ones I tend to eat lunch with more, for example. Maintaining a sense of humor is also critical; I try to stay involved in activities that will make me laugh (i.e., time with my kids). I also try not to take things personal. If, for example, someone fails in the church, their failure is not necessarily my failure. I must shepherd them, but I can’t punish myself for their wrongdoings. Also, I try my best not to bring problems home. Whatever problems I have going on at the church, I leave them at the door. One last thing: when I need to get my mind right, I will take the long way home and listen to Christian music. When I lived closer to the church, I would just walk home because that would give me extra time to destress from the day.

 How important is it for the local church to be involved in missions, and how do you promote missionary activity to your congregation?

It is absolutely necessary! I preach on missions, and I constantly have missionaries in front of the people. We have a yearly missionary conference so the congregation can be exposed to missionary activity. At one of my last churches, the church was giving hardly anything to missions. By but by the time I left to move down here, the church was giving $200,000 annually. That’s not to brag, but that shows what happens when you stress the importance of missions to your congregation.

 Many things demand your attention as a pastor. How do you prioritize what needs to get done, and what order such things need to be completed?

I do my devotions first thing. Every morning, I write out what needs to be done for the day. When I had a secretary, I would check with secretary to see if there was anything I missed. Then I would put it on the calendar. (At a bigger church, the schedule was more detailed.)

 All believers are called to evangelize. While it is clear that there are many out in the world who are unbelievers, Scripture demonstrates that there are also unbelievers within the congregation. Do you see yourself as an evangelist when you are in the pulpit?

I always give a gospel presentation at the end of the service, but the gospel must be in every message.  If I don’t know my crowd, I tend to focus more explicitly on the gospel. Now sometimes the passage at hand leads me to be more evangelistic in nature, but there must always be a gospel presentation. Also, you’ve got to find unique ways to present it. You don’t want it to come across as the same talking points every week.

 How have you raised up men like Timothy and Titus to follow in your footsteps?

I tell my students and young pastors that they must always be mentoring someone. It can be formal or informal. Mentoring actually takes place in the pulpit, but it does need to take place 1 on 1. At my previous church, I started a program with a group of men that met once a week. They would take turns delivering mini-sermons (5 to 10 minutes), and I would give general advice and pointers at the end. Many of these men are pastoring throughout the country. Much of this takes place over a meal. It could even be something as small as recommend certain books, buying books for them, or recommending certain preachers for them to listen to. However it is done, it has to be an intentional setting-aside of time to mentor and cultivate their gifts.

 Summary

           I did not select Pastor Sexton at random for this assignment. Far from being just a name on a church sign, he is both my pastor and step-father. While I regularly listen to preachers like Drs. John MacArthur and Al Mohler, I have not had the benefit of examining their lives. While I have no reason to doubt whether or not they practice what they preach, the fact remains that I have not seen how they shepherd their flocks or care for their families. With Karl, it is a different story. In the four years I have known him, I have sat under his preaching, ministered along side him, and watched how he treated his step-family like they were his own. Not only have I learned from him how to preach and rightly divide the Word, but I have learned how to shepherd God’s flock with patience and loving-kindness. As I conducted the interview, his answers codified in my mind what I had witnessed for the last few years. There were three things in particular that stuck out to me. First was his heart for evangelism and missions. Even when he is in the pulpit, he sees himself as an evangelist, pleading with any unbelievers that may be in the congregation. When it comes to missions, he has put his money where his mouth is, so to speak. Not only does he bring missionaries to the church to preach, but this past year, he and my mom adopted to Haitian girls so that they can disciple them and help them to grow in Christlikeness. Second is His passion for the Word. While I here him preach on a regular basis, it was a joy for me to hear him explain how he develops his sermons. His hard work is evident to the congregation every Sunday. Third is his love for God’s people. Not only does he feed the sheep and pray for the flock God has entrusted him with, but I also learned of his impact on young men aspiring to the ministry. He detailed how many of the young men he has mentored over the years are now pastoring churches across the nation (including 2 of his sons). These three aspects serve as lessons for me as I ponder how God might use me in the future. Wherever God places me, I too must have the heart of an evangelist, a passion for God’s Word, and a love for His people.