CANDIDATE: ORDAINED: August, 1980
Rev. Jim Lowe New Salem Baptist Church
158 S. Penn Ave. Louisville, Kentucky
Eminence, KY 40019
(502) 845-4185 BIRTH DATE: May 22, 1951
WIFE: CHILDREN:
Linda Lowe David & John (Adopted twins)
Birth date: 12-29-51 [born in Philippines 12-25-85]
INTERESTS: Golf, Fishing,
Music, Reading, PC Games, KY Wildcats!
MINISTRY OBJECTIVE
GOD
HAS GIVEN ME A DESIRE TO SERVE A LOVING CONGREGATION WHOSE BURDEN FOR PEOPLE
MAKES THEM WILLING TO DO THE FOLLOWING: (1) STRUCTURE THEIR METHODS AND
MINISTRIES IN WHATEVER WAY THE LORD SHOWS MAY BE NECESSARY IN ORDER TO REACH
TODAY’S UNCHURCHED PERSONS AND, (2)
CONTINUE THEIR OWN CHRISTIAN GROWTH IN ORDER TO BE USED TO SERVE AS MENTORS TO
OTHERS.
FORMAL EDUCATION
Master of Arts in Christian Education: 1980 Bachelor of Science: 1977 (Summa Cum Laude)
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Cumberland College, Williamsburg, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky -MAJOR: Religion -MINOR: Psychology
FULL-TIME MINISTRY EXPERIENCE
Senior Pastor: 400+ members - Pleasureville Baptist Church,
Pleasureville, KY (1994-2000)
Min. of Education & Youth: 1000+
members - Port Norfolk Baptist Church, Portsmouth, VA (>90-=94)
Min. of Music & Education: 800+ members - Fairview Baptist
Church, Rossville, GA (>83-=90)
Assoc. Pastor for Youth & Ed.: 600+ members - Sunset Lane Baptist Church, Little Rock, AR (>80-=83)
ASSOCIATIONAL LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE
Henry County Association, New Castle,
KY (94-00) - Discipleship Training
Director, Bible Drill Team Director, Chairman of Personnel Committee,
Sunday School ASSISTeam Member
Portsmouth Association, Portsmouth, VA (90-94) - Discipleship Training
Director, Youth Director, Missions & Ministries Committee, Boyce Bible
School Extension Committee, Picnic Committee, Age Group or General Officers
Teacher at Leadership Conferences, Sunday School ASSISTeam Member
Coosa Association, Rossville, GA (84-89) - Music Director, Discipleship
Training Director, V.B.S. Director, Age Group or General Officers Teacher at
Leadership Conferences, Officer in Local Minister’s Conference (President,
Vice-President, Program Chairman), Audio-Visual Department Director
Pulaski Association, Little Rock, AR (81-83) - Camp Committee, Camp Recreation & Music Director
ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN MINISTRY
Pleasureville Baptist Church (’94 -’00 Pleasureville, KY) : Led church to conduct successful ALay Renewal Weekend@. Began Children=s/Youth Bible Drill and produced annual State winners. Started and taught new S.S. class for 25-45 year olds. Led church to call its first full-time staff other than pastor [Associate Pastor for Children & Youth]. Promoted changing Wednesday format to all small groups: 1) on-going (Prayer Update, Promise Keepers, Ladies Only, Youth Ministry Team, Children=s Bible Drill, ABible Buddies@, Preschool Choir); 2) rotating studies such as AExperiencing God@; 3) goal of ministry related groups in future. Began APraise Celebration@ on Saturday P.M.; eventually led church to modify A.M. Worship from traditional to blended. Surveyed church to determine interest in additional A.M. service at earlier hour (Praise Celebration moved to 8:30 a.m. Sundays). As a result of additional Sunday A.M. service, church dropped P.M. service in favor of expanded ministries to: Youth (Mission study and action); Children (Choir / ATeamKID@); Preschoolers (AVeggie Tales@ Club); Adults (Choir Practice, APraise Team@ Practice, Discipleship Training). Encouraged church to pay off building loan early and make plans for new AFamily Ministry Center@ to be built in future. Produced weekly bulletins & monthly newsletter (in lieu of secretary). Supported mission team from among our congregation that started new “purpose driven” church in county. Served as mentor for four seminary students who are now pastors.
Port Norfolk Baptist Church (’90 -’94 Portsmouth, VA) : Began S.S. classes and oversaw enrollment growth of 200+ and average attendance increase of 70+ within two years (in previously declining church). Helped pastor organize/implement his doctoral thesis on AHelping A Plateaued Church Reset Goals and Restore Growth@ during this period. Began children=s ministry on Wednesday nights (enrollment grew from 8 to 25+ in first year). Began Discipleship Training ministry from scratch (grew steadily). On Steering Committee for area-wide, inter-faith crusade. Led church to three largest V.B.S. efforts in past 15 years, including tripling the amount per child ratio of missions’ offerings. Led church to acquire a 15-passenger van, office computer system, camcorder, video projector, and build elevator to bring into use 3rd. floor of education building. Led church to re-institute R.A.=s and G.A.=s and expand Adult missions activities. Assisted in operation of food closet, Senior Adult AXYZ@ Club, and Seamen's ministry at nearby international seaport. Led church to schedule and carry out successful ALay Renewal Weekend@.
Fairview Baptist Church (’83 -’90 Rossville, GA) : Organized puppet /drama team of youth, which was in demand for a variety of ministries and won awards in county and city Christmas parades. Helped begin local cable T.V. ministry through use of both taped and live broadcast of church worship services. Assisted with large, active Senior Adult ministry. Revitalized dying D.T. ministry by adding short-term studies to ongoing groups. Served on Steering Committee for area-wide tent crusade. Directed live nativity scene, musicals, dramas, etc. using various age groups (in charge of writing, staging, lighting, sound, and other production areas). Began and taught new S.S. class for Singles and Young Married (tripled in size in first year). Began Children’s Bible Drill ministry and produced State winners each year. Began audio-visual library in church and in Association and promoted their use. Edited weekly bulletin & newsletter. Led church to schedule and carry out successful ALay Renewal Weekend@.
Sunset Lane Baptist Church (’80 -’83 Little Rock, AR) : Assisted in design & building of Family Life Center and Sanctuary / Education space. Served on Steering Committee of area-wide crusade. Began youth choir / drama team to complement existing puppet team. Took on tour in Arkansas and Texas as well as taking part in local ministry opportunities (performances at nursing homes, annual Associational meetings, and State Penitentiary). Led youth to enter award-winning floats in county and city Christmas parades. Achieved age-graded classes throughout entire Sunday School. Scheduled and promoted use of Family Life Center within church and community (included organizing age-group team sports).
APPLICATION OF MINISTRY
I am excited to once again place a fleece before God and seek His will for my place of Service in His kingdom My family and I are prayerfully waiting for His answer, as is your committee. My current resume can help you see what I have done in ministry. In addition to those “facts”, I would like to let you know how I have carried out my ministry.
Preaching is more than the ability to be a good public speaker. Although human, we are called to be messengers of Almighty God. This means prayerfully delivering His message to the congregation C not ours. I allow God to motivate and guide my delivery of His message each week through a variety of styles. I often teach as I am preaching, in an expository manner. Other times I use a topical approach. I like to use storytelling, much as our Lord used parables. On occasion I may sing a song as the final point of my sermon. And I like to employ drama in some form, whenever appropriate (with help from others). The translation I use most often in preaching is the NIV. Overall, I tend to preach about 20-25 minutes, as I feel a lengthier sermon may limit the congregation’s time for other expressions of worship. It is my belief that churches should experience a vital time of dynamic praise and worship before hearing God's Word through the sermon. And I feel much better equipped to preach when I am already worshiping!
In the area of shepherding, my personal goal is to spend quality time with people in crisis situations (hospital, bereavement, etc.). This sometimes means spending a lot of time when I sense my physical presence is needed. With others, a brief visit may be the best. In either case, I attempt to be with the family and have prayer at their greatest moment of anxiety (just before going to surgery or before an initial viewing at the funeral home). Sometimes I spend most of the visit talking with people, and other times I am more of a silent presence. I try to be sensitive to each family=s need. In areas that aren=t crisis related, my goal is to visit people in nursing homes or Ahomebound@ as often as I am invited, or upon the suggestion of family or friends. I see part of my role as equipping the members to care for one another, and then to assist them when it would be helpful. In order to get to know a congregation and a church field, I like to visit persons (by appointment) in their work place and in their homes. My family will need social contacts as well, and we welcome Apersonal@ relationships. Our best opportunities to minister or witness have usually come after getting to know someone well. We would like to be a part of your lives, and you a part of ours. It=s hard to feel like you=re a family without spending time together!
In administration I am more of a Atask oriented@ person than just a A9 to 5" person and a Anight owl@ instead of a Amorning person@. I=ll spend daily time reading (newspapers, periodicals, etc.) to keep my preaching Arelevant@ to meet the needs of both members and Aseekers@. Other members of the staff may use different methods or schedules for carrying out their ministries. Having been a staff member too, I believe I better understand the needs of these vital ministers and seek to Aunleash@ their own creativity. I rely heavily on Adelegating@ responsibilities to staff or laypersons that are properly trained to carry out ministry. The pastor and people must become a Ateam@ that will minister best through each member exercising their spiritual gifts and personal creativity as led by God. This will require constant communication and a strong level of trust in one another, as well as in God=s leadership. But it allows each one of us to use our strengths and be personally motivated to serve God to the best of our abilities.
Evangelism should be the reason for everything we do in the local church. Some churches hold pastors accountable for all (or most) of their evangelistic outreach. Unfortunately, that is not biblical. In Ephesians 4:11-13 God laid out His plan for evangelism to involve all church members. I will certainly preach to draw men to Christ as well as to mature them in the faith. But I will depend on the ongoing Amarketplace@ evangelism efforts of church members to help me sow, cultivate, and harvest souls. Of the persons who have come forward during the invitation after my preaching, most were led to the Lord by me or by friends in their homes or other settings outside the church building. Their “public response” in church did not happen on the spur of the moment that day. I believe God greatly blesses this approach!
I hope this helped you get a Afeel@ for who I am. Jeremiah 29:11 says, AFor I know the plans I have for you Adeclares the Lord, Aplans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.@ It is my prayer that Jeremiah=s record of God=s promise will be carried out through your process!
PERSONAL TESTIMONY
As a result of growing up in a home with Christian parents, my walk with the Lord began at an early age. During a Spring Revival, just before I turned 9 years old, God spoke to my heart. Over the next few weeks I started to question my parents and S.S. teacher about things related to salvation. During Vacation Bible School I responded to the Holy Spirit’s conviction by asking for forgiveness of my sins and inviting Jesus to come in and take control of my life.
Since my family was very involved in church, it is natural that a lot of my memories are related to church. I was active in Bible Drill, even becoming a “State Winner” in my final year of youth eligibility. I usually led the music or “preached” in our church’s annual Youth Sunday service. By the time I was 16 or 17, I sensed that God may be calling me to some sort of ministry. Over the years my relationship with the Lord grew, especially because of His faithfulness during certain “trials and tribulations” that I went through. One of my most difficult times came when I was 21 years old.
I was engaged to a girl who was in a Christian singing group with me. Since her mother had a history of marrying and divorcing abusive men, her heart remained bitter and suspicious of men. So she influenced her daughter to break the engagement. After a couple of months, my former fiancee contacted me again and we did get married, although her mother did not come to the wedding. Over time their relationship seemed to heal. Around this time it became clear to me that God was calling me into the ministry. However this decision was viewed by the mother as interfering with her plans for her daughter to become a nurse, so she again caused friction within the relationship. Ultimately, her daughter became involved with a co-worker at the hospital where she worked and filed to divorce me so she could marry him. I tried to intervene by arranging counseling with our pastor in an offer to forgive and reconcile, but she was not willing. Under KY’s “no-fault” laws I had no options to prevent her from divorcing me.
After counseling with my pastor (and others in our Association) I discovered this did not biblically affect my calling from God. Most theologians clearly see the passage in I Timothy 3:2 about being the husband of “one wife” refers to the practice of polygamy that still existed in the 1st Century A.D. But many Baptist churches interpret that scripture to mean they should “disqualify” all divorced men from ministry as “adulterers”. Why wouldn’t Paul, a lawyer who uses words precisely, use the word “divorce” here (as he uses several times in I Corinthians 7) to avoid confusion in his advice to Timothy if that was the issue? If a church wants to apply I Timothy 3:2 to the issue of divorce, they should also include Jesus’ words to the Pharisees in Matthew 19:9, “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.” I Timothy 3:2 begins by saying a pastor must be “above reproach” or “blameless”. This does not mean “sinless”, a condition impossible except for Jesus’ life. It means one who bears no fault or “blame”. In this matter I stand “blameless”.
God then led me to my wife Linda, who has grown along with me and become a “helpmate” in both our 29 years of marriage and my ministry. We were blessed in 1986 by becoming adoptive parents of David and John, our sons. Through His grace we faithfully served wherever He called. Then, after nearly 20 years of full-time service in churches, another difficult and unexpected event occurred.
While pastor of Pleasureville Baptist Church, God confronted me at a D.C. Promise Keepers rally about my comfort with a “status quo” in both my home and ministry. That day He challenged me to view these things more from His eternal perspective. The resulting change in my vision led me to become more of a “renewer” than a “caretaker”. This new attitude brought increased involvement in missions, ministry, and evangelism from my congregation, and the church grew. But the growth upset a small group in the church who felt their “control” may be in jeopardy. After much prayer over this situation, I became convinced God’s plan for my ministry did not include my overcoming this and other deep-seeded problems in a church that was used to “changing pastors” every 3 years. So, after serving them for over 5 years, God led me to work out a mutually acceptable severance package and I resigned as their pastor. At that time I could never have forseen being out of the ministry for 3+ years, but God’s wisdom included the necessary time to both heal my family’s wounds and to prepare me for a new and vital ministry. As I work with your Search Committee, my family and I are now prayerfully open to considering that God’s plan for my life includes my becoming the next pastor of your church!
I believe God’s only plan of
eternal salvation is the blood atonement paid for our sins on the cross by
Jesus Christ. I believe the church is
designed by God as a local fellowship through which all Christians should seek
to discover and use spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit chooses to give them. I believe a church must be a place of
redemption and forgiveness (after sincere repentance has taken place) rather
than one that holds forgiven sin against members and thereby disables them from
meaningful service to God. I believe
the function of a church should be to focus on its present mission and future
vision rather than only looking back at previous times to determine how, when,
or where it will worship or to whom it will minister. I believe the role of the pastor/teacher of each church is to
equip members for their personal ministry [Eph. 4] and then to empower them to do
ministry. I believe Christians should
plan and expect to live their lives by asking, “What would Jesus do?” before
taking action on anything. And I
believe in the certainty of the coming again soon of the Lord Jesus Christ in
all His power and glory for His bride, the church.
SPECIALIZED
TRAINING AND SKILLS
120 Hours of Clinical Pastoral Training (in both hospital and nursing home) at Cumberland College
1.0 Continuing Education Units (C.E.U.=s) of Hospice Chaplain Training at Hutcheson Med. Ctr., Georgia
Office skills include using IBM compatible computer (45 wpm) with Windows 95/98, Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft Works and Word, and various office software applications from Broderbund, Compton=s, etc.
1999-2000 FINANCIAL PACKAGE
PASTOR=S ANNUAL SALARY : $19,654
MEDICAL and LIFE INSURANCE : $ 6,500
AUTO MILEAGE ALLOWANCE : $ 3,600
ANNUITY BOARD RETIREMENT : $ 2,866
CONVENTIONS & SEMINARS : $ 500
PERSONAL BOOK ALLOWANCE : $ 260
TOTAL : $33,380
1999-2000 BENEFITS PACKAGE
Parsonage: 3-bedroom, bath, kitchen with stove & refrigerator, central heat/air plus upstairs window unit
Utilities paid: area calling on parsonage phone, water, sewer, electric, gas, trash pickup, grass cutting
Time off: 3 weeks vacation; 3 weeks revival/conventions/seminars; all school and national holidays
REFERENCES
Rev. John Lott, Jr. (Lifelong Friend) Rev. Tommy Rucker (Former Deacon Chmn. / P’ville)
Pastor @ Eastern Parkway Baptist Church Pastor @ Covington Baptist Church
601 Eastern Pkwy., Louisville, KY 40217 3863 Eminence Rd., Eminence, KY 40019
(502) 495-2160 [H] / 636-1355 [W] (502) 845-7499 [H]
Dr. Wally Mantooth (Lifelong Friend) Rev. Kevin Whitt (My Former Assoc. Pastor / P’ville)
Pastor @ First Cedar Creek Baptist Church Pastor @ Harvest Community Church
754 Bellwood Rd., Bardstown, KY 40004 P.O. Box 236, Pleasureville, KY 40057
(502) 348-3832 [H] / 349-0744 [W] (502) 845-1614 [H]
Dr. Skip Hathaway (My Former Pastor in VA) Jim Clontz (Discipleship Training Director)
Pastor @ Newmarket Baptist Church Kentucky Baptist Convention
8309 Orcutt Ln., Newport News, VA 23605 P.O. Box 43433, Louisville, KY 40253-0433
(757) 868-3441 [H] / 826-5293 [W] (502) 245-4101 [W]
