Reverend Lance Williamson
Part A – Program Rationale and Design
A.1 Overall character and purpose: What does a church do when there is a healthy relationship between pastor and congregation, but the two have become so comfortable with each other that creative tension no longer exists? What if the church becomes so complacent that it is in danger of becoming "lukewarm" like the church in Laodicea (Revelation 3:16)? Evergreen wants to stay in relationship with Pastor Lance and rekindle the fire of purposeful ministry and mission. We see a sabbatical as a time to reflect, redefine and revive our roles as players on the same team.
We envision a three-and-a-half-month sabbatical with two distinct components - one for the pastor and the other for the congregation. We see this two-pronged approach as critical to the success of the sabbatical as a purposeful time of renewal for both parties, resulting in a vibrant relationship for many years to come.
Pastor Lance will use his time for rest, spiritual renewal and professional development. The plan includes recreation time for him to participate in two activities he loves, sailing and growing dahlias, with people he loves: his wife, his children, his extended family and close friends. He has scheduled time alone with God for reflection, prayers and spiritual refreshment. Lance will grow professionally through work with a leadership coach and by visiting with pastors who have successfully implemented the Purpose Driven Presbyterian model in their churches.
Members of Evergreen's congregation will also work with the leadership coach to rediscover their roles as partners in ministry. Leadership training will start months before the sabbatical, culminating in the summer away from Lance, giving them a chance to put into practice what they have learned.
The sabbatical will give both Lance and the congregation a time away from the familiar habits that have developed over the past twelve years and will provide an unparalleled opportunity for growth and renewal.
A.2 Rationale: When Pastor Lance came to Evergreen in June of 1996, the church had been through a difficult few years. After the beloved organizing pastor's retirement in 1991, there was an interim pastor, a called pastor who left after fourteen months, and then another interim.
Enter Lance Williamson, a young pastor with a young family. It was a time of hope for the congregation. Lance's arrival began a period of stability and spiritual growth for Evergreen. Under his leadership, worship is central to the life of the church, strong relationships have formed and new programs and worship services have been added. Lance has worked tirelessly for the church, as preacher, musician, moderator of Session, comforter of the sick, teacher of classes and in all of the other roles of a small church pastor. His devotion to the congregation and its members has never faltered.
While Lance's time at Evergreen has been positive, the congregation has increasingly been content to let him shoulder much of the work of the congregation. The church has become more and more pastor-centered. Although the congregation has grown in faith and dedication to the Word, the program work of the congregation has been done by a relatively small number of persons. In this atmosphere Lance has had difficulty delegating responsibilities. As part of the sabbatical, Lance will examine his own management style with the help of a leadership coach to see how he can empower others to participate in ministry. The opportunity to visit other churches, talk to other pastors, and observe other congregations will also be a benefit of the renewal program.
In 2005, Evergreen participated in the "40 Days of Purpose." It was a time of significant spiritual revival for our church. The session adopted the "Purpose Driven Presbyterians" model for the church. Session committees were organized around the five purposes: worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and mission/evangelism. The leadership training will help congregational leaders rekindle a vision of what it means to carry out these purposes. The sabbatical will provide Lance the opportunity to visit Purpose Driven Presbyterian Churches to gain insights into their successful implementation of the model.
The time is ripe to redefine roles and redistribute the workload at Evergreen. A time of sabbatical will let the congregation put leadership principles into practice. The sabbatical will give Pastor Lance a much-needed time of rest, time to pursue his "heart sing" activities, and time to explore how to continue his work at Evergreen in a deeper way.
A.3 Process: The congregation has been favorable to the idea of a sabbatical for several years. Our Presbytery has also been favorable to the concept, sending a letter to the churches to endorse the idea. In Dec 2007, Evergreen's session approved a sabbatical for Lance for summer 2009, and approved the formation of a team to write a proposal for the clergy renewal program. A significant portion of the spring 2008 leadership retreat was spent in lively discussion regarding the benefits of a sabbatical, for both church and Lance, as well as addressing members' concerns. The congregation has been engaged throughout the proposal process, receiving information through newsletters, a web log, and discussions at meetings.
A.4 Pastor’s activities and timeline: In early spring, the church and Lance will begin work with a leadership coach who specializes in sustainable leadership development. The plan calls for three joint sessions with Lance and church leaders – two before and one after the sabbatical. The coach will meet separately with the church and with Lance during the summer away.
The sabbatical will begin mid-May. After six days at home to unwind, tend the dahlia garden and ready the house for an extended absence, Lance and his wife, Brenda, will travel to Ohio for five days of intentional time alone with God at a retreat center operated by the Pastors Retreat Network. The purpose of the retreat is to reconnect with God and receive his word, individually and as a couple.
From the retreat they will travel to England to continue the slower pace in a narrowboat on the canals of England. A week traveling at three-and-a-half knots through the countryside and villages will give them time for reflection. They will be joined by Brenda’s parents (Bud and Barbara Fisk). A few days touring England will round out the fortnight there.
After six days back at home in mid-June to check on the garden, unpack and repack, Lance and Brenda will make their way to the Bahamas for a week on a sailing catamaran, joined by two other couples (Glenn and Tami Malone, Ken and Theo Graves). This is a repeat of two very successful sailing trips with these friends in the past, although this is a new destination for all. It is a joy to experience God’s creation with friends who recognize the author of the beauty.
From the Bahamas, Lance and Brenda will travel to the British Virgin Islands, where they will be joined by their children (Alyssa, 23 and Forrest, 22) for some family sailing. This will be a time to reconnect as a family, as their recent schedules have taken them all over the world and there has been little time for all to be together.
As the sailing comes to an end and Brenda returns home, Lance will stop in Florida for a week and a half of visiting pastors who have successfully implemented the Purpose Driven Presbyterian model in their churches. He has a number of contacts in the Purpose Driven Presbyterians network from attending their annual conferences.
At the end of July, Lance will return home to a dahlia garden coming into full bloom. The typical week in the month of August will find him meeting with a pastor from a Purpose Driven Presbyterian church in Washington, working in the garden, taking a day-sail in Puget Sound, visiting Pacific NW dahlia shows, and attending area churches on Sunday. The cadence of the non-structured days will be a time of rejuvenation before returning to the work of the church.
Lance will travel to San Francisco for a session with his leadership coach in late August to reinforce lessons learned. The sabbatical will end on Labor Day weekend.
A.5 Pastor’s statement: Three things make my heart sing: serving the Lord as a pastor, boating and growing dahlias. The clergy renewal program will provide an opportunity to grow in each of these areas. The renewal program will allow me to step away from the daily commitments of pastoring a small congregation and focus on allowing the Lord to refresh my spirit through prayer, God’s Word, reflection and recreation. The years I have spent at Evergreen have been great. Yet, I have allowed people to lean too heavily on me for direction, comfort and support. I need to change my management style. The work with the coach and the time apart will help me examine my style of leadership. It will be helpful to have a single coach to work with both the congregation and me as we move into a desired future. Visiting with Presbyterian pastors whose churches use the Purpose Driven model of ministry will highlight best practices.
The renewal program will allow me time to spend time boating with family and friends, working in my dahlia garden and visiting other dahlia gardens throughout the Northwest. These activities help me to experience the amazing power of God through God’s creation. The miracle of two dahlias producing a “new” variety is awe-inspiring. The power of the wind and waves reminds me of how insignificant I really am; and yet, the God of the universe cares deeply about me. The sabbatical will cause a symphony within my soul.
This time of renewal will be very good for Evergreen. A time of focused coaching and training before the sabbatical will equip the church’s leaders with the skills and confidence to oversee the church during the sabbatical. Other than the sermons, the elders and deacons will lead all aspects of the church and its ministry. The congregation will experience leadership and pastoral care provided by the laity. This intentional time apart will help Evergreen to move into a preferred future—one where purposeful ministry and mission are led and owned by the entire congregation.
A.6 Congregational statement: We love our Pastor but we are a pastor dependent congregation. Lance puts others first and neglects himself, which is probably why we like him so much! Lance has run every aspect of two services for over three years. Lance is rarely absent and has been known to preach even while ill. We offer a service on Saturday night with another on Sunday morning. Lance has given his entire weekends to trying to make this schedule work for three years with enormous personal sacrifice.
Our "40 Days of Purpose" campaign was the most significant revival we have seen at Evergreen; it was our wake up call as a church and followers of Christ. Evergreen again needs revival. We need to rethink the role that Lance plays as our pastor. We need to rethink our purpose as a church in the Graham community. How can we meet the needs of the large portion of our community who do not attend worship services and have little or no connection with any church?
Our hope for this sabbatical is to 1) give Lance time for renewal & relaxation, 2) give Evergreen members time to evaluate our roles and responsibilities, 3) give Lance time to reflect and redefine his role as a pastor in a small Presbyterian congregation, 4) give Lance time to consider his next steps with the Purpose Driven Church model, and 5) give Evergreen leadership the responsibility for church operations. The objective would have Lance returning rested, healthy and excited; equipped and prepared to lead our revival.
A.7 Covering pastoral functions: The leadership coach is key to the congregational component of the renewal program. The coach, Jerry Straks, comes with an impressive resume of sustainable leadership development in churches and corporations. He will work with the elders and deacons to develop both spiritual and organizational leadership abilities. Because increasing the capacity of church leadership is a thrust of this program, we will not hire an interim pastor. We will create a part time position to coordinate the caring ministries. This person will work with our deacons to make sure that the needs of the congregation are met. Currently, this function is performed by our head deacon and is a volunteer position, but with the increased responsibility and hours, fairness dictates that the position be compensated. To cover the preaching, we will have a number of visiting pastors. This will give the congregation an opportunity to hear a variety of messages and styles. Members of the congregation will lead the other aspects of the worship services. For our office administrator, who oversees the day-to-day operations of the church, we have budgeted an increase in hours and hourly wage. The Clerk of Session will be the person ultimately responsible for resolution of any confusion or conflict. To commemorate the leave-taking, we will send Lance off with a commissioning service on his last Sunday. During the sabbatical, each of the functional areas of session will hold an event (i.e. mission activity) in order to keep the congregation engaged. A celebration event at the end of the sabbatical will welcome Lance back and provide an informal time of sharing experiences during the sabbatical. Lance's return will coincide with our annual fall kick-off.
A.8 Communication
Prior to the sabbatical, the congregation will be kept informed through a web log (blog) set up for that purpose, the church newsletter, and meetings. During the sabbatical Lance will use the sabbatical blog to keep the congregation informed and share insights from the renewal program. The blog has a place for readers to post comments, so the insights can flow both ways. Many in the congregation are used to using electronic communication, so it is natural to use this media. Once the sabbatical is completed, Pastor Lance and several of the church's elders will teach a six-week class on learnings and insights from the renewal program.
Part B – Congregational Information
B.1 Church history
On Christmas Eve, 1981, Rev. Elden Unruh and twenty plus others met in his home for Evergreen's first service. In February of the next year, the group began meeting at the Graham fairgrounds. The church was officially chartered by Olympia Presbytery PC(USA) in February 1984 with 54 members. Through the support of Olympia Presbytery and others related to the Presbyterian Church, enough money was raised to begin building on the current site. July of 1988 saw a joyful procession of church members as they walked from the fairgrounds to their new home on the top of the Graham hill. Many of those early members still call Evergreen home. In 1994 Evergreen completed an expansion of kitchen and classroom space, and added a sanctuary. In 2005 Evergreen became a Purpose Driven Presbyterian church, following an intensive study that involved a number of small groups, as well as a sermon series.
B.2 Membership and attendance:
Evergreen has 121 members. The average attendance for Sunday worship is 80; on Saturday it is 15.
B.3 Names and tenure of the last four pastors: In the two decades since that first meeting, Evergreen has had three called pastors: Elden Unruh (July 1984 - June 1991), Mark Hilditch (June 1993 - August 1994), and Lance Williamson (1996 to present). During the transition times between called pastors, Evergreen had two well-loved interim pastors, Wayne Keller and Ron Snelling.
B.4 Ministries of the church: Evergreen has been devoted to mission throughout the world and community since its establishment as a new church development. This devotion is exemplified by support from the congregation as a whole and by the work of individual members.
On the denominational level, Evergreen participates in One Great Hour of Sharing, the Peace Offering and Christmas Joy. We have used our portion of the Peace Offering to help children and families in the community. We have sent workers and money to the New Orleans disaster recovery program, and have also taken special offerings to benefit other worldwide disaster recovery, such as tsunami relief.
The whole church gets enthusiastically involved in Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan’s purse. We have a special relationship with Video Ministries, a mission program which supports pastors in Chile. We support higher education with financial contributions to Whitworth University in Spokane, WA. We have a sister church relationship with a small church in Kake, Alaska. Our congregations keep each other in frequent prayer. We purchased an on-demand water heater for their church, sent contributions for their community efforts, and have sent, and will send, mission groups there to work in the community.
In our own community we have supported a Presbytery-established Cambodian ministry. We support Habitat for Humanity of Pierce County and the Graham Food Bank with dollars and volunteers. We provide Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets and gifts to needy families in our area. To help other needy persons we have joined with Love INC in their service. Our members mentor high school students as they work for their community service credits. We are in the process of becoming a designated emergency shelter in case of natural disasters in our area.
We offer programs for both youth and senior citizens of the church and the community. We join with other churches in the area for a family fun day in the summer. Our building is used four days a week for Scout programs. Evergreen and its members are truly dedicated to serving others.
Part C – Pastoral Information
C.1 Pastor’s Education
Sheldon Jackson College (Sitka, Alaska) 1977 Associate of Science.
Washington State University (Pullman, Washington) 1980 Bachelors of Science
Fuller Theological Seminary (Pasadena, California) 1986 Masters of Divinity.
C.2 Ordination and pastoral positions
Ordained by Presbytery de Christo, Presbyterian Church (USA). October 5, 1986
Pastor - Trinity Presbyterian Church, Cliff, New Mexico. Sept 1986 – June 1988
Associate Pastor - First Presbyterian Church, Moses Lake, Washington. June 1988 – Dec. 1991
Campus Chaplain - Sheldon Jackson College, Sitka, Alaska. January 1992—June 1996
Pastor - Evergreen Presbyterian Church, Graham, Washington. June 1996 – present. (12 years)
C.3 Other information
For the past two years Lance has written a blog about issues facing the church, both local and national. He has a following of fellow clergy bloggers,and was even picked up by a national church news service for his coverage of a conference he attended. He is an accomplished guitarist who works hard perfecting his art and introducing the church to new music. He has served on General Council in two separate Presbyteries. His current Presbytery involvement includes the Pastor and Congregational Care team and the planning team for the annual Presbytery clergy/spouse retreat. Lance’s community involvement includes local ministerial associations, coaching youth sports, the Graham Business Association, and Habitat for Humanity.
