What is a Communications Director?

"The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

This is a new position that was created and I hope that I can fully flesh out the details of the job description. As I explore this job, I'll try to identify the good, the bad, and the ugly of defining a new job. Dr. Delp was able to put together a job description for me upon hiring, but I'm afraid we've only tapped a small portion of the potential of this job. I'm really looking forward to getting a little crazy with it all.

The best thing so far is working among friends. I'm pretty close to nearly every member of the church staff and it's comforting to see them in my workspace! The people that we work for - the congregation of this church - are also filled with many friends. I can not WAIT to begin interacting with more of them on a daily basis. You see, I have always loved the 'church'. The local church, the organized community of believers. This is how I grew up.

Dad is a retired United Methodist pastor. I grew up in the church. I grew up in church buildings across the state of Iowa. It was my playground when I was a child, it was my social outlet as a junior high / high schooler, it was my musical training ground as I grew up and it was the place where my heart learned how to worship God. The people in each of those small churches became a part of my extended family. I was friends with their kids, I took piano lessons from them, I spent time after school in their homes, I loved their food at potlucks and I would listen to their stories.

Eulalie Bryant in Morning Sun, Iowa was my first grade Sunday School teacher. We would sit on the floor around her while she told us the stories of the Bible. Those were some of my first memories. I remember singing before Sunday School, I remember singing in children's choirs and Chancel Choir, then leading those same choirs. I remember taking organ lessons because the organist in Sigourney couldn't imagine not having that as part of my musical background. The poor woman. I made her listen tome play "Nights in White Satin" on the organ, because I did not want to be in those lessons. I failed miserably at those lessons. And consequently, don't play the organ.

I love the church. I love everything about it. Even the conflicts and the stressors. These are the things that bring God's people into connection with Him. If we trust Him to guide us through it all. There's so much to be done before the Kingdom of God reigns on this earth and I'm ready to be a part of it all.

I was planning to leave my first church job in 1984 to return to college. I was heading for Asbury Seminary in Kentucky to continue my education in Christian Education and ministry. Mom, Dad, and God had other plans for me. And I helped mom run a business. I was always active in churches throughout these last 22 years, but never on a fulltime basis. It's as if I took a very long hiatus from my chosen field. But, I'm back and I look forward to viewing every day at work as the best day of my life!

The Lord has had to be close to me for the last 22 years as I have stressed over things I never imagined would be a part of my life. And now, as I am in a position where I am working closely with His flock, I pray that He remains that close to me and guides me so that I will not slip and I will not ever take what He has given me for granted.