| WHO IS MURRAY McCANDLESS |
| That's a fantastic question! Thankfully, God and I are still working on the answer. I was born in St. Louis, Missouri but only lived there for a few years (I really don't remember living there) before my family moved to Memphis. I spent most of my "growing up" years there (all of elementary school through about 7th grade) and have lots of great stories I can share sometime about my "boyhood". After that we were in the Nashville, Tennessee area for about a year before moving to Prospect, Kentucky in Oldham County. I went to Oldham County High School back when there was just one high school in that county. My family and I (mom, dad, older brother, and younger sister) were United Methodists and a part of a couple of church starts. My college years were spent at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana. During that time I started attending an American Baptist church and for the first time got excited about and invested in my faith. (My United Methodist parents weren't too thrilled that I had gone to a Presbyterian College and ended up an American Baptist - but God used all of this to bring me through the experiences I have had to the place where I would be available to be working with you today.) I sensed God's call to ministry there in a community of faith that did their best to love me even though I never wore socks with my loafers. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in German Language and Literature (another experience full of great stories!) I enrolled in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. What you need to know about that is this: I was in the last class whose degrees were signed by Dr. Roy Honeycutt. That was just before the fundamentalist takeover of the seminary. So the education I received there was much more moderate (some would have even listed a few of my professors as liberal) than the same degree program would be today. I'm thankful that I went to school there, though, because that is where I met my lovely wife, Mary Beth. We met in the Seminary Choir where she was a very serious Church Music student and I was a not-very-serious Master of Divinity student who looked at the choir as my one break in the day. It's a wonder we ended up together (more stories!) but God certainly had that planned. We married September 17, 1988, about 4 semesters before I graduated. I was ordained in to the ministry of the gospel while serving a student church in southern Indiana. Just so you know, Mary Beth grew up in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and went to Western Kentucky University were she earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. She was working on her Master of Church Music when we met and decided to set that aside for a time when I was called to a church in Terre Haute, IN as the Minister to Children, Youth and Young Adults. She continues to be a lifelong learner and hopes to soon be able to earn a Master of Divinity degree from a Presbyterian Seminary. We were in Terre Haute, Indiana for about three years (Mary Beth served a small Presbyterian Church as their Music Director while we were there) and then I was called to serve as the pastor of a church in Limon, Colorado. Five years (and twin babies) later we moved to Lakewood, Colorado and somehow ended up being called to co-pastor an American Baptist church in Brighton, Colorado where we served together for seven and a half years. My ordination is a Standard Ordination (nationally recognized by American Baptist Churches) and her ordination was a local ordination (locally recognized by that congregation - sort of like a commissioned lay pastor in the PC-USA). My strengths are in preaching, leadership, evangelism and church growth; Mary Beth's strengths are in worship planning and leading, spiritual formation, education and administration. We both have a heart for the local church. Our children, Hannah Elizabeth and Jesse Thomas, are 13 years old and in the 7th grade at TK Stone Middle School in Elizabethtown. Both are in band (percussion) and sing; both are involved in KYA and in Beta Club. Hannah is a competitive swimmer (year round with the Etown Dolphins and seasonally with the E-town High School swim team) and Jesse started playing golf this year and had his first year on the E-town High School golf team. Jesse also plays the guitar, is learning piano and is on his school's Lego League which competes in a Lego robotics competition in January. Both Hannah and Jesse are in this year's Confirmation Class at First Presbyterian Church in Elizabethtown where Mary Beth is the Coordinator for Family Ministries. While we were in transition from American Baptist life into Presbyterian life (another fantastic story), I went to auctioneering school and since coming to Kentucky have become a licensed auctioneer primarily for the purpose of doing charity/non-profit fundraising auctions. As I have gotten older and as my beard has gotten whiter I have had many encourage me to pursue developing as a Santa Claus mostly for the purpose of being able to do personal appearances for nonprofit charitable organizations - this winter I will have my first experience as a "Santa". I have continued to work in a variety of jobs (I was a morning "personality" on a country music radio station in E-town for almost a year) and have "landed" for a time as a front load driver of a cardboard recycling truck for Rumpke in Louisville. This job has been a true blessing for our family. And at least for now through the end of the year I'm with you on Sundays and am available for some pastoral care/hospital visits through the week. I'm still working my driving job full time - so I appreciate your understanding as we all try to discern what God is doing with you and with me! Like I said in the beginning - God and I are still working on this "who is Murray McCandless" question. |
