Chuck Swindoll is taking up a brand new function on the Texas church he based, however he's not retiring.
The favored radio persona is stepping down as lead pastor of Stonebriar Neighborhood Church in Frisco, Texas, to tackle the function of founding pastor, the congregation introduced in a press release this week. Jonathan Murphy, a professor of pastoral ministry at Dallas Theological Seminary, will be a part of the employees as senior pastor and assume “full accountability for all of Stonebriar's ministries and operations,” the assertion mentioned. Swindoll will function chief preaching minister “in accordance with his wishes.”
Swindoll, 89, just isn’t retiring, the church mentioned. He led Murphy for a number of years.
Swindoll's voice is heard day by day world wide on his Perception for Residing transmission. He based Stonebriar in 1998 after serving as pastor of First Evangelical Free Church in Fullerton, California from 1971 to 1994. He additionally served as president after which chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary.
“We imagine that the Lord preceded us on this determination from the start,” the church mentioned in a press release. “Two years in the past, when a few of us elders gathered for prayer, we talked about contemplating Jonathan as a candidate for the long run function of senior pastor. After we approached Pastor Chuck with the concept on the time, we have been delighted to find that he had mentored Jonathan for a number of years and he enthusiastically agreed that Jonathan can be an excellent match for the place.
“We then despatched Jonathan a letter of intent and he fortunately set his expectations to turn out to be our Senior Pastor sooner or later. In March 2024, Pastor Chuck and your entire senior group, after prayer, unanimously determined that now was the time for Jonathan to step into his new function.
The church additionally launched a video of the 2 males discussing their mentoring relationship.
God's “hand is concerned on this subsequent step,” Murphy mentioned.
Their distinctive relationship, Swindoll mentioned, “may be very uncommon.”
“I by no means felt” the competitors, Swindoll mentioned.
“We serve the identical Lord,” Swindoll mentioned.
Murphy was born in Northern Eire and grew up within the Canary Islands. He holds two levels from Dallas Theological Seminary.
Picture credit score: Stonebriar Neighborhood Church web site / stonebriar.org
Michael Foust has coated the intersection of religion and information for 20 years. His tales appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Right this moment, The Christian Put up, and Leaf chronicle, and Toronto Star and Knoxville Information-Sentinel.
