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Missouri Pastor Named CBF's Director of Ministerial Excellence Steve Graham, who has served as pastor of Second Baptist Church in Liberty for the past seven years, has been named the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s director of ministerial excellence. He will begin work at the Fellowship in late June. In the newly created position of director of ministerial excellence, Graham will be responsible for aspects of the Fellowship’s Initiative for Ministerial Excellence. He will relate to the Fellowship’s 71 peer learning groups, which provide ministers with opportunities for worship, study, discussion and fellowship. He will also work to identify, recruit and relate to teaching congregations that nurture recent seminary graduates. In addition, Graham will oversee development of a "Caring for Ministers" resource. "I am thrilled that Steve is joining the leadership development team," said Terry Hamrick, the Fellowship’s coordinator of leadership development. "He brings a wealth of experience and strong gifts for inviting ministers toward excellence." The Fellowship’s Initiative for Ministerial Excellence is made possible through funds from the Lilly Endowment Inc., which has provided CBF with two grants over the past three years. The goal of the initiative is to help sustain healthy ministers and deliver practical help to congregational leaders across the country. "I have had a longtime passion for not only the local church but for those that feel called to serve in the local church," Graham said. "From the beginning, CBF has offered hope for pastors, and the peer learning groups have been an integral opportunity for pastors. The very idea of tending to pastors – providing givers an opportunity to receive – is a humbling thought. I have such a great respect for them, and I know that there is a correlation between the health of a pastor and the health of the church." Graham has served on the Fellowship’s national coordinating council and is the convener for the Fellowship’s peer learning group in Kansas City, Mo. Steve is a member of the CBF of Missouri Coordinating Council and has been involved with the Fellowship since 1991, when he served on the first nominating committee. "Steve’s abilities as a friend and mentor are incalculable," said Keith Herron, pastor of Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City, and a participant in one of the Fellowship’s peer learning groups. "I can’t begin to describe how much I’ve learned from him about the fragility of our calling and how God uses us in a complicated world of faith, leadership, ego and shared glory in being God’s people." A native of Oklahoma, Graham earned a bachelor degree from Oklahoma Baptist University, a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a doctor of ministry from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. "Steve has a heart for pastoral ministry and is truly a pastor’s friend," said Doyle Sager, pastor of First Baptist Church, Jefferson City, Mo. "I have worked with him for several years, coordinating our peer learning groups as we share events and plan a major annual retreat. Steve ‘gets it.’ He understands the pressures of ministry, but he is also very much in tune with the mighty resources available to us – emotionally, spiritually and professionally." |
Giving to CBF of
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