Rev. Leigh Brown

 

"My call is to help the church to grow in faith and in numbers. My gifts are particularly in building relationships, in small-group work, pastoral care, leadership development and administration. I also want to bring the church into relationship with the community and the world through service and social activism."

 

 

"I am most familiar with traditional United Methodist worship, but I also enjoy other worship styles. ... I have led many types of worship services, including contemporary, Celtic, contemplative, emerging and even a blues service. We have also incorporated contemporary music into all our services. ... It is important that worship be inclusive, but I am careful to make changes slowly, after careful consideration. I am mindful of the needs of the congregation."

 

 

"My preaching style incorporates humor and storytelling along with Biblical interpretation. My goal is to make the Scripture readings relevant to the lives of the congregation."

 

 

"I think it is important for me and for all church leaders to remember that there are many images of God and more than one view of Christology, and that no one has the definitive answer on these matters. While I will hold firm to my faith with regard to important issues, such as God's love and forgiveness being available to all, I understand that Christians experience God's love and the salvation of Christ in different ways, and that some traditions of the faith are more important to some than to others. I believe it is my role to strengthen the agency of others through listening and encouraging others to explore their own faith. I am open to other theologies, and feel I must incorporate both traditional and contemporary liturgies into worship. While my theology is fairly liberal, I have a strong Christology. That is, even my own beliefs and preferred style of worship do not fit into any one descriptive category."

 

 

"The role of the church is primarily to make disciples of Jesus Christ, reaching out to the lost and the lonely. While this is the most important task we have, it is also the most difficult to accomplish in our culture, particularly in an established church. The church also exists to help people grow in their relationship with God and with each other through worship, education and fellowship, and to provide opportunities for people to serve the world, bringing justice to other human beings and to all of creation. In other words, God, community, justice and service are the most important areas addressed by the church. Worship and education enhance the individual's relationship with God, as do spiritual practices such as prayer. Service is how we do God's work in the world. Mission work is important in growing our faith as children, youth and adults. I believe that service alone is not enough, however. We must work toward justice, toward changing the systems of domination and oppression, in order to bring about God's kingdom on this earth. Jesus gave us many glimpses into what this kingdom would look like. My future will be to bring seekers and the unchurched into the church, to help church members grow in discipleship and leadership, and to work for justice in the community."