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Getting to Know You
Hello Oak Grove! I am your new pastor and am excited to be here. Since my first visit to Oak Grove UMC, I have thought, "This is a dream
job!" You have a beautiful, charming building; friendly, faithful people; and a prominent location where we can be a bright, shining
beacon to a world that needs the good news of Jesus Christ. I hope you will call me "Bob" or "Pastor" or (if absolutely necessary!) "Reverend
Symanski," and I pray that we will have a faithful and effective ministry together.
It seems self-centered to write about myself, but I think you must be curious to know who I am. If you will allow me to being with this self
introduction, I promise to spend a lot more time listening to you and learning who you are. The question is, what should I say about myself?
Usually one of the first questions we ask when meeting someone is, "What do you do (for a living)?" Well, you already know that answer. And
besides, I'm not sure that our jobs really say everything about who we are, anyway.
In many professions, a person's credentials are important to know: before a doctor performs brain surgery on us, we like some assurance
that she or he has been well trained in a reputable medical school and authorized by the appropriate medical boards to perform their work. That's why
your doctor's office is probably covered with diplomas and certificates. Even though I can boast an excellent education at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke Divinity School and an ordination in The United Methodist Church, the diplomas and certificates
I've achieved mean nothing without the cross of Jesus Christ.
I can tell you about my family, about how I am married to Sheri West, about how I became a father for the first time at 44 years of age
last February to a son named Scott. I can tell you about my brother the cardiologist at the Sanger Clinic at Carolinas Medical
Center, about my sister who played volleyball and basketball on scholarship at Catawba College in Salisbury. I can tell you about
my parents who are retired and live on a farm in Pennsylvania, about my nephew who was Pennsylvania state champ in the pole vault
and has multiple Big East and ACC championships at Virginia Tech.
I can tell you about all of these things, and yet I think what is most important for you to know about me is that I love Jesus, that
I believe he died on a cross and was resurrected to save the world, that I believe Jesus invites all people to live every day
in a dynamic and ever-deepening relationships with God and one another, and that I want nothing more than for everyone to discover the joy, freedom
and (yes) responsibilities of living out the new life Jesus offers us.
I hope this article tells you something about who I am and the influences that shape my work as a pastoral leader. I look forward
to our time together getting to know one another and striving to live out faithful lives as Christian disciples.
- Bob
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Oak Grove United Methodist Church
6440 Old Statesville Road
Charlotte, NC 28269
(704) 596-4084
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