In your opinion, what is Christianity?
Christianity is an identity given to those who have accepted God’s free gift of Salvation provided through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross; God manifested in flesh.
What does it mean to be a Christian?
A Christian is one who has an interactive, personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
What has being a Pastor taught you?
Being a Pastor has taught me that God loves people and desires the best for them and to be a successful Pastor one has to have that same heart.
How is Rock Spring different from other churches you have attended?
Rock Spring’s uniqueness is that it allows people, without prejudice, to be themselves and to develop as God sees fit. Rock Spring does not try to fix anyone; we just walk with them through life.
As someone who has been ‘burned’ by other churches, I am a bit nervous about visiting Rock Spring. What information or advice can you give me to ease my fear?
The only advice that I can and have offered to people who have been burned by the Church is “come and see; I promise you won’t be burned again.”
What aspect do you look forward to most when attending church?
I look forward to interacting with the people and to sharing in whatever they are going through at this particular time in their lives.
What is going through your mind when you’re preaching?
I, like every other preacher, am thinking about how I am communicating God’s message to His people. I want to do my best and to make sure that the heart of what He is saying is getting through in spite of my human inability to do so.
If you could get only one thing through to people in your messages, what would it be?
The one thing that I hope to get through each time I preach is that no matter how deep we are in sin, no matter how far away we seem to be away from Him, God loves us and is anxiously waiting for us to give Him any kind of sign that we desire Him in our lives. Simplified, this is that our sin is no problem for Him; He has already dealt with it for us.
On what level and in what way do you hope to influence those who attend Rock Spring?
I wish to influence people on every level by being transparent and letting them know that perfection is not what God is looking for in us. What He does want, however, is for each of us to be ourselves, enjoy our lives and that in spite of what seems to be wrong with us, He wants to use us to make Him famous.
Do you have any thoughts for those who listen to the messages online but may not have visited the church yet?
The thoughts that I have for our online congregation is that Rock Spring is made up of people just like them, who are going through the same things that they are, and that each message is designed to offer hope and, if put into practice, will work.
What is your passion?
My passion is to make God famous through the messages that I preach, through my writing, and in and through the real relationships that I have with people who know Jesus and especially those who don’t.
How did you come to be a Pastor at Rock Spring?
I was an ordained minister when I came to Rock Spring; becoming a Pastor/Elder was a decision that God and Pastor Mike made with very little help from me. All I really had to do was accept and submit to their authority.
What are your thoughts on being a female authority figure? Some denominations have a real problem with that and often quote scripture to back their opposition. How do you handle that?
I believe that being an authority figure, male or female, must be looked at and handled very carefully. In order to be in authority, we must be able to submit to authority. As far as what the opposition has to say, I really don’t spend much time dealing with their views. The primary thing is to know whether or not God has called you to that position. If you are sure that He has then, the opposition is the one who has the struggle to adjust to where God has put you. The Word of God is very clear on how God views any subject, but quite frequently people misunderstand to whom God is speaking and what is actually occurring culturally when Scripture was and is speaking. God never brings strife and division on the scene, our prejudices and world views do this.
[ Expanded Q & A | Q & A with Pastor Mike | Back to Meet Our Pastors ]