Pastor, church find redemption through relationship
___By Marv Knox
___Editor
___FORT WORTH--Western Hills Baptist Church and Charlie McLaughlin think their relationship symbolizes God's grace and redemption--for both the Fort Worth congregation and its new pastor.
___Western Hills called McLaughlin, divorced and still single, as pastor late last year, after more than two years of soul-searching without a pastor.
___Both parties approached the idea cautiously.
___"It took me awhile to give them my resume," McLaughlin recalled. "I had to ask myself, 'Do I feel comfortable enough being single and going to pastor a church?'"
___He enjoyed his job as associate director of Texas Baptists Committed, a political advocacy group created to support the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He also enjoyed living in San Angelo, where he had raised his daughters, and teaching a Sunday School class and a weekly Bible study at Southland Baptist Church.
___And he had to think and pray about re-entering the pastorate, five years after his divorce, he acknowledged. Finally, he submitted his resume.
___"It was one of those resumes that struck us as appealing," recalled Bill Nash, chairman of the search committee. "But we hoped we wouldn't go there. It's not often a Baptist church calls a single, divorced pastor."
___Actually, the committee had talked about the possibility of calling a divorced pastor.
___"But we thought it might be a divorced and remarried pastor," Nash said, noting the church understands no one, even a pastor, is perfect, but God redeems and redirects lives.
___"It was easier to deal with the divorce than the single situation," he said. "We're a family-oriented church. We hadn't thought about our pastor still being single."
___The committee checked on McLaughlin. "People told us, 'You won't regret it,'" Nash reported. So, they decided to listen to him preach and talk to him about the pastorate.
___"We knew the sermon was for us--this is what you get," Nash remembered. "He wasn't trying to put up a front or anything. We went to lunch, and he gave us information on his background."
___The committee also provided information on the church's background, including the situations that left it pastorless for more than two years.
___"We talked openly several times," McLaughlin said. "Most people who know me know I have a pastor's heart--that I like people, that I want to help them grow, help them through their troubles."
___Both Nash and McLaughlin recalled talking at length about the divorce, the healing that followed and his readiness to serve as pastor again.
___"All of us make mistakes; we have sins," McLaughlin conceded. "But a divorce makes your past more public."
___The Western Hills committee particularly was interested in how McLaughlin had handled his life after divorce, Nash said.
___He enrolled in clinical pastoral education at the Baptist Health System in San Antonio, both learning more about himself and how to improve his helpfulness to others. He served families in crisis as a therapist in the drug and alcohol unit.
___"Another thing that spoke volumes was that his daughters (Melissa, 18, and Janna, 21, both now students at Howard Payne University) chose to live with him," Nash said. "This had something to say for him. We felt he had dealt with the divorce responsibly. He knew his strengths and weaknesses."
___And he had to share them with the Western Hills membership, Nash added, noting the committee promised complete openness with the congregation.
___"He would need to talk to the church, and he did," Nash said. "That was the hardest night of my life. But he stood with integrity. He was able to talk in such a way that the church was able to hear redemption. God doesn't put us aside just because we make mistakes. God is a God of redemption.
___"Our church had been through real struggles too. We had been through pain and had to realize we were going through pain--and to look at someone who had gone through pain, and we saw redemption.
___"That was a kairos moment--God's timing."
___McLaughlin also sensed God's timing. "The church offered me a second chance at being a pastor," he said. "I found out my skills and what they wanted were a pretty good match.
___"And being divorced and single, they wanted to make that an attribute. It's an example of God's grace and restoration. That's what the gospel is about."
___In the early weeks before McLaughlin could sell his home in San Angelo and move to Fort Worth, McLaughlin's singleness provided an unexpected blessing, Nash said.
___He stayed with church members in their homes. "That really helped him bond with the church," Nash observed. "I watched that and said, 'This is special.' You could see the connections he's making."
___McLaughlin stayed with 10 to 12 families, he estimated. "I had the unique opportunity to get to know these people in their homes. Discussions lasted longer into the night than normal, and they started earlier--at breakfast. It quickened the time frame of getting to know people."
___Looking ahead, both McLaughlin and Nash said they believe the church's unique situation will strengthen ministry to people who have suffered.
___"We want to reach out to people who feel left out, who don't feel included in church," Nash stressed.
___"We're thinking about a workshop for people who have gone through divorce and are living in apartment complexes here," he said. "We can help people and follow up with divorce recovery. It's just a way of saying, 'Let's go help, whether they choose to be part of our church or not.' We want to minister to people who have pain and may feel excluded in life."
The Baptist Standard
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