Pastor Mark Interview Paper

“Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.” This quote, attributed to Norman Schwarzkopf, sums up the rarity of leadership of Rev. Dr. Mark Walker. Pastor Mark a leader of unquestionable character and incredible intentionality in everything he does in ministry. I have served under Pastor Mark for almost two years now as an associate pastor and have come to greatly appreciate him and his leadership. I sat down with Pastor Mark to talk about his philosophy of ministry, the office of the pastor, and leadership in the context of the local church in the process I learned much more than I expected. The following will reflect upon my interview it Pastor Mark to the end of

I asked Pastor Mark how he maintain this in the face of the difficulties of ministry. Pastor Mark emphasized several things, but especially the importance of remember one’s called in ministry. God’s call placed upon the life of the pastor can help one remember who they are and whose they are. It keeps us from ever thinking that this is our ministry or our church exclusively and reminds us that we are in the hands of God. Pastoral leadership must be rooted in God’s call to ministry placed on the life of the minister.

Connected to this is the importance of understanding one’s call as a foundation for leading through difficult times, is understanding the classical offices of the pastor: prophet, priest, and servant-king. While Pastor Mark was skeptical of the image of shepherd-king, because it implies one person responsible for leading a helpless herd, every area of pastoral leadership was rooted in the classical offices. As we talked about leading through preaching and worship, pastoral care, discipleship, and administration these three concepts kept coming up as ways of understanding the role of the

The first was a stronger emphasis on prayer. In my opinion, effective pastoral leadership is impossible without a deep prayer life. As we spoke about maintaining differentiation prayer was not the focus of our conversation, but remembering our call to ministry and the ongoing discernment of call to a particular place. While these are impossible without prayer the lack of the emphasis being on prayer first and foremost is perhaps an area of difference between Pastor Mark and myself. The second area of contention was an overlooking of the leadership of the pastor in worship. The leadership of the pastor in worship, especially overseeing the liturgy, is a key for effective discipleship through worship. Pastoral leadership must be intentional in its overseeing and leading in worship as a key component of shaping a