Another Man of God
Scott Dudley seeks after Christ's own heart and sends us to do the same
by Jean Brown, FPCB Member
In I Samuel 17, a young boy named David heard the Philistine giant, Goliath of Gath, challenge the Israelites to send a warrior to defeat him. The young, unlikely hero said he would go. Removing the armor of protection that was too heavy for him, David armed himself with a sling shot, five smooth stones, and courageous faith to defend the Israelites "in the name of the Lord of Hosts." We know that David was not the warrior that Goliath expected. Yet God had plans for David's life which included defeating the giant Philistine. God made David a king with a family line that followed directly to Jesus Christ. David became known as a man after God's own heart. Scripture reminds us regularly that God sometimes calls unlikely and inexperienced people to impact His kingdom and reveal His power and glory!
This is the last in a series of articles about the 50 year history of our church expressed through the leadership and ministries of our four senior pastors. God has called extraordinary men and women of faith to lead us since 1955 with Frank Burgess, our Founder (1955-1972); David Dilworth, our Teacher (1973-1984); Dick Leon, our Builder (1986-2001); and now to Scott Dudley, our Sender (2002-present).
In 2001, by the power of the Holy Spirit, our senior pastor nominating committee discovered a young and unlikely gifted pastor to lead our congregation. The call of FPCB's fourth Senior Pastor was heard by Scott Dudley. Like young David, Scott's call became clear. While sitting on his couch holding a copy of FPCB's Your Voice Your Vision booklet describing the ministry ideas that could impact the Kingdom of God on the Eastside and beyond, Scott experienced excitement at the thought of leading a congregation with these kinds of ideas. He asked the question, "Is this a call from God?" Having just settled into a teaching pastor position, Scott himself was amazed at the unusual timing and improbability that God would call him to lead our very large church. It was so unbelievable to him that he soon realized it must be from God… and so it was. Scott, like David, is a man after God's own heart. David defeated Goliath "in the name of the Lord of Hosts." Scott came "in the name of Jesus Christ" instructing us to "seek first the Kingdom of God" following Jesus to the things that break His heart and sending us to respond in His love. Scott brings faith and vision in challenging a modern day giant – the giant represented by an indifferent post-modern culture in the most un-churched area of the country.
What "stones of faith" would Scott use to teach us about slaying this cultural giant?
Scott shares about Jesus Christ through the personal knowledge of what it means to be loved, forgiven, and transformed by the One who can and does. When he arrived in December 2002 with Christ's vision for FPCB growing in his heart, it was my privilege to serve on Session as an Elder for Planning & Evaluation. As part of Scott's initial orientation, time was spent in prayer and conversation about how best to grasp the magnitude of the vision and to consider the depth of his new flock. It was in these times that I grew to understand more deeply the vital importance of God's call to Scott in leading FPCB. Scott's vision, faith, intellect, and courage was calling us into the post-modern culture around us. He was being called to a place where actions speak louder than words, which ignited our next steps as a faithful congregation.
Jesus loves us!
From the moment the pastor's hand touched the water in Scott's infant baptism, he made happy sounds and people quickly surmised that Scott would be a pastor. Simultaneously, the Holy Spirit was quickening the heart of his father as he accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior the very next day. What a prophetic time in Scott's life and family. At age 5, Scott turned his thumb "up" in Sue Hinkel's Sunday school class indicating he had asked Jesus into his heart. Even at a young age, Scott loved words and memorizing Scriptures. With God's words written on his heart, more seeds of ministry and leadership were planted, unbeknownst to Scott, whose path then carried him far away from the church as he explored a life that included loneliness, fear, shyness, and living outside of God's plan. While pursuing his education, he became involved in a disappointing relationship. Returning home at the age of 19, Scott sought refuge from the painful breakup through reading, in this case, many books about Christianity. While meeting with an atheist friend for a conversation intended to make fun of Christians, the Holy Spirit altered the conversation into conversions of first his friend and then Scott himself. Scott discovered that Jesus loved him and had graciously forgiven his sins. Scott was clearly in touch with his sinfulness and knew he needed the forgiveness he did not deserve but was freely given. The transformation took time as Jesus put Scott in touch with people who continually pointed him back to his Savior. There was the roommate that Scott didn't want, but needed to help him overcome the worst of his shyness, the loving family that took him in during his internship at UPC, and the beautiful smiling colleague named Christina who pursued him at Stanford. Scott knows first hand the power of Christ's love and grace and the importance of sharing this Good News with others!
Jesus Christ forgives us!
The power of Scott's messages in sharing Jesus Christ find strength in the stories he shares from his own life. By sharing his own faults, sins, and failures, we are free to look at our own lives and receive the very love and grace Scott assures us we have in Jesus. By the stories he shares, Scott leads us to "the way, the truth and the life" we have in Jesus Christ. Scott clearly understands that the call, messages, and outcomes are not about or from him but all about Jesus Christ and His kingdom! He also knows that the most important position is on the knees of his heart in prayer, listening, responding, and giving God the glory in Jesus name.
Jesus cares about us and our broken world!
Scott talks openly and regularly about our broken world and about Christ's desire to redeem and heal us all. Scott knows first hand about broken hearts and the impact of pain and suffering on human lives. He has also traveled and seen suffering with his own eyes. From his life as a young student to his divorce, we learn that God had a plan to bring good into the circumstances of Scott's life. Romans 8:28 speaks to Scott's heart for he truly loves God and is called according to His purpose. Scott's broken heart acts as a catalyst for the broken hearted within and among us, guiding us to the broken world that so desperately needs Jesus Christ. The Jubilee vision of "turning outward through acts of service that show the community the real Jesus" responds to the things that break God's heart by drawing the brokenhearted to Him!
Jesus calls those after His own heart!
Scott is a man after Christ's own heart. Jesus fills and blesses Scott with love for this congregation. In the early days of Scott's ministry at FPCB, it was fun to watch his circle of movement in the Narthex expand. He started out as the hesitant "shy unknown" and has grown into the "shy extrovert" he claims to be. I remember clearly the first time Scott attended a committee meeting I led. When we closed the meeting in prayer, I asked everyone to hold hands. From the look on Scott's face, you would have thought I had asked him, all by himself, to face Goliath of Gath. He was visibly caught off guard! He wriggled his hands, drew in his breath, closed his eyes, and held the hands of the people on either side of him. In my heart, I prayed "O Lord, help us love and welcome this new senior pastor in such a way that he can expand his touch on this flock you have given him." God has answered that prayer joyfully as we find Scott leave his pastor's seat on Sunday mornings and going into the congregation shaking hands and welcoming people to worship. The genuineness of his greetings, warmth of his hugs, and even his ability to hold hands in prayer (occasionally) speak to the way that Christ is transforming a called pastor into a sending pastor.
Jesus welcomes us into Kingdom participation!
From the very beginning, Scott has shared the recurring motif in the history of this church of "making Christ known" to the community around us. Much like a King David sending armies into battle in the name of the Lord, Scott is our sending pastor. He sends us in the name of Jesus to show our broken and hurting world that Jesus wants to know and love His people through the lives and actions of His followers. The Jubilee event at Stevenson Elementary School with a "faithful army" attending to the needs of teachers, students, and families points to the power of being sent by a faithful leader who trusts and honors Jesus Christ!
Jesus wants us to celebrate and rejoice!
Scott also blesses FPCB with his family. His wife, Christina, uses her gifts of teaching and leading at activities such as Women at the Well. While loving and supporting Scott, and their three children, Holly, Jackson, and Lucy, she keeps things real, balanced, and the most fun! Scott's foundation in Christ along with the love of his family, his closest circle of friends, and this congregation keep the vision ever before him. At the close of our Jubilee 50th year, Scott was the first to encourage us to celebrate and rejoice in what God has done and continues to do in and through this congregation, Scott has grown to love beyond anything he could ask or imagine!