For our recent church magazine which we sent to every household in our community, our communication staff did a Q&A with each of our pastors. An excerpt of each appeared in the magazine with the full responses available on our website.

If you’d like to read the responses from any of our pastors, you can click their name below. My response are listed below.

Mike Ramsdell

Sharon Reid

Caesar Rente

How many years have you been in ministry and what churches have you’ve served?
10 years.  Four years at First UMC Cleburne serving as the Youth Pastor.  In my seventh year here at Mansfield.

What do you see as your strength/passion/gift in ministry?
I love teaching.  It’s the driving force in my life.  I love the experience of seeing someone growing in their faith, pushing aside their previously held boundaries and stepping into a “fuller” life.  I think teaching has incredible potential to do just that.  It’s what I look forward to doing each week.  I also love the opportunity to connect individually or in a small group with others.  Serving as a mentor to staff and others is something I really enjoy.

What led you to be in the ministry?
When I began to sense a call to ministry, it was a big surprise to me.  My father continues to serve as a United Methodist Minister.  Growing up in that environment, I knew a lot of what happens “behind the scenes” in the church and in a minister’s family.  I saw the amazing blessing, but I also saw the challenges.  I did not see myself following that path, but in high school, I began to feel a strong calling towards this life.  Hearing that call affirmed by so many others who knew me and believed in me is a big reason why I am where I am today.  The support of my family, friends and mentors inspired me to pursue what felt like a challenging path.

What has been harder as a pastor than you thought it would be?
I’m not sure this will be real interesting to people, but I think I would say developing the disciplines needed to teach and preach on a regular basis.  There is a ton of behind the scenes research, learning, reflecting that goes into crafting a message each week that is difficult to explain, but it does require you to build certain disciplines into your life.  As I said, I love teaching.  I love preaching, but in order to do it well, it really forces you to be diligent in taking good care of your own emotional and spiritual health.  I did not expect that to be as much of a challenge as it is.

Do people treat you differently when they find out you are a pastor?  If so, how?
HA!  Absolutely!  I think people have an expectation that pastors live perfect lives and expect that same perfection from everyone around them.  They don’t see pastors as imperfect people just like themselves but as people who live their entire lives on some pedestal.  The reality is I’m just like everyone else.  I have the same hopes and dreams.  I experience the same worries and fears, and like everyone else, I’m doing my best to live my life as a follower of Jesus every day.  And like everyone else, I have good days . . . and I have bad days!

What is your favorite part about being a pastor?
The opportunity that people allow you to be a part of their lives.  That is by far the thing I love more than anything about being a pastor.  Being given the honor to speak into people’s lives, to share their celebrations and their sorrows, and to walk with them as they grow is a huge honor that I treasure.  In the context of our church family, one of the unique opportunities I have is the chance to connect with and encourage kids.  It warms my heart each week to see the kids at the end of the service who just want to give me a hug or tell me about something they did that week.  Nothing tops that!

How does being a pastor affect your family?
For my own family and from my own experience, I can say that growing up in a pastor’s family has had a tremendous positive affect on my life.  I see that in my children as well.  They are surrounded by people who love them and are so willing to pour their lives into my children.  I appreciate that more than words can express.  I think the biggest challenge that being a pastor places on families is just the element of time.  On weekends when most families have some extra time to spend together, I’m often fairly busy, but we try to be sensitive to that in the way we plan our week and set aside time just for our family on the weekends when we can.

What is the hardest thing you’ve had to do as a pastor?
It’s hard to be with people in the midst of really difficult experiences.  The death of a loved one, especially the death of a child, is a really emotionally challenging experience.  It’s not hard in the sense that it requires great skill.  Anyone can do it.  It’s hard in the sense that you love people, you care for people and when they hurt, you hurt as well.  As challenging as it is, I know that those moments are often the ones that most quickly send me to my knees to say again, “Thank you, God, for the honor of loving and sharing life with your people.”

What are your hobbies, passions and interests?
Running has become a great passion of mine over the past two years.  I ran the White Rock Marathon last year and plan on running the NY Marathon this November.  I’ve connected with both of these events to not only accomplish a physical challenge but to also raise money for ZOE Ministry, an organization our church is partnered with that works with orphans in Africa.  Many days, running is my sanctuary, allowing me the chance to clear my head and my heart and refocus on the things that matter most in life.  Many teachings have been crafted and fleshed out while I’m out pounding the pavement.

What would surprise people about you?
I’m kind of a home body.  I like spending time with people, but I’m not a big “party” guy.  I love being home with my kids, kicking back in my recliner and reading a good book.  I’m not always comfortable in a big group of people who I don’t know real well.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
In high school, I really gave a lot of consideration to going into coaching.  Basketball was my sport of choice in high school, and I was lucky enough to play basketball throughout my high school days.  I saw myself as someone who might be able to motivate and lead.  In some ways, what I do today is very similar to that original idea I had for my vocation.

If you weren’t a pastor, what do you think you would be?
I have no idea.  I really can’t imagine doing anything else with my life.  I’m sure a big part of that is that I have always been around the church, both as a child and now as an adult.  I feel very blessed to be able to serve as a pastor at FUMC Mansfield.  I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life.

What do you see as your greatest accomplishment either personally or professionally?
I think I would have to say it’s having the chance to serve at this great church.  I’m proud to be part of this church family, to serve alongside our pastoral staff and the other great leaders we have in this church.

Do you have a favorite scripture passage?
There are several that really guide my thinking and work as a pastor.  I love John 10:10, Jesus’ words there where he says, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”  I believe that will all my being.  Living in the ways of Jesus is the best way to live and the way we were meant to live.  I love the words of Paul in the opening chapter of Philippians where he says, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.”  In my own life and as I share life with others, I need to be reminded of that promise.  God has started something.  He has planted a seed, and he is going to see that through.  God does not abandon the good work that he has started.

Holy and loving God, we pause this day to remember the tragedy that our nation experienced on September 11th, 2001.

Most of us Lord, cannot escape the memory of that Tuesday morning

We remember where we were,
we remember what we saw,
we remember how we felt,

We remember…
the shock and horror that left us paralyzed,
the fear that gripped our hearts and seemed to hold the world hostage in the weeks that followed.

We remember with sadness the terrible loss of life that resulted from senseless and evil acts of violence.

and we return to that grief today Lord,
to honor those whose lives were tragically cut short,
to give thanks for the heroes whose instincts may have told them to flee, but whose training and courage sent them into burning buildings to save and preserve life.
And to remind ourselves Lord that in our most perilous moment of need, we turned to you…

And in that turning Lord,
You grieved with us.
You cared for us.
You held us close.
You comforted those whose loved ones were lost.
And in each moment that has followed that terrible day, your spirit has been working to bring healing to these shared wounds…
And to restore what we cannot live without, our fervent hope in you and in your promise that good will prevail in the end.

We remember Lord that lesson that we learned in those horrible days.
that evil cannot stop the force of good,

and so as people of faith,
people of hope,
and people of love,
we commit ourselves again to your dream of peace for our world.
Use us as your people to see this dream come true.
In the name of Jesus we pray. AMEN.

Today I’m excited to announce the launch of Miles for Hope, year two!

One of the top five experiences of my life happened December 5th, 2010 when I had the opportunity to participate and complete the Dallas White Rock Marathon. The achievement of a personal goal was rewarding, but far beyond that, the chance to run in celebration of so many individual’s generosity and to bring hope to the orphans our church have adopted in Africa was extraordinary.

Our church set a goal in 2010 to raise $250,000 over the course of three years to help transform the lives of 1,000 orphans. Last year, we raised over $25,000 in the first year of Miles for Hope.

How could we possible top that?

This year, we have 11 runners instead of just one!

And, to raise my only personal stake, I will be running 2 marathons this fall.

Again, I’m asking for your support.

If you would like to make a donation, there are two ways you can do that.

1. You can make a check out to “First United Methodist Church” with a note in the memo line that says, “Miles for Hope,” and drop that by the church at anytime.
2. Go to www.hoperunners.org to visit our online fundraising site. On this site you will not only find the list of this year’s runners, you can read a bit more of their story, and make a donation to any of them as well. If you would like to visit my individual page and hear more of my story, you can click here.

I’m honored to be running for hope again!

In his book, “Why: Making Sense of God’s Will,” Pastor Adam Hamilton engages the question we looked at this past weekend, “Why do my prayers go unanswered?” He finishes that chapter with the following quote from World War II Admiral Chester Nimitz.

This quote did not make it into my sermon for this weekend, but I thought is was an excellent reminder today of the meaning of prayer. Admiral Nimitz described his own prayer life in the following way.

I asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was made weak that I might learn to obey. I asked for health that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

Here is the prayer that we used to end this past weekend’s message. To listen to the sermon online, please click here or visit or www.firstmethodistmansfield.tv

Wesley Covenant Prayer

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.