| 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 14 years old and will be in the 8th grade in the fall at T.K. Stone Middle School in Elizabethtown. Hannah is enjoying choir and as a voice that is sweet and soulful. Jesse will be joining her in the fall in choir. He, too, loves singing, writing songs and plays several instruments including guitar (electric and acoustic), mandolin, a little banjo, bass and piano. Both are involved in KYA and in Beta Club. Hannah is a powerful, determined and competitive swimmer (year round with the E-town Dolphins and seasonally with the E-town High School swim team). Jesse is on his school's Lego League which competes in a Lego robotics competition in January. Both Hannah and Jesse were confirmed this year 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 fund raising auctions. I currently call the bids every Tuesday night at an auction barn and work occasionally as a contract auctioneer for other auction companies. 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. 2008 will be my second year as a professional Santa. I have continued to work in a variety of jobs while between churches. Having been on both sides of the pulpit has given me an appreciation for what my congregation experiences. I was a morning "personality" on a country music radio station in E-town for almost a year, drove a school bus, delivered newspapers, pizza and drove a front load dumpster garbage truck in Louisville until March of '08. Since then, the Lord has seen fit for me to be with the church on a 3/4 time basis, but my heart is here full time. It is so good to be back not only in the pulpit, but to have my heart and mind engaged in ministry without the distractions of a full time job outside of the church. It's an incredible journey, one that is far from over. The church is experiencing a new chapter in its history and I am joyful to be a part of it. Thanks for stopping by this page. |
