This past Sunday morning, we announced that Dr. Jonny Gibson has been called as Tenth’s Stated Supply, the official title for an interim pastor in our denomination. Hopefully, this Tenth Press will give you a view of the process leading to the announcement.
On December 1, 2023, the Session created a Pulpit Supply Committee to schedule men to preach at the 9am, 11am, and 6:30pm services because Tenth was without a senior minister. The committee consisted of Ruling Elders Andrew Fletcher, Jim Sweet, and George McFarland; and Teaching Elders Enrique Leal and Tim Geiger (ex officio). We give much thanks for the Lord’s wonderful provision for the preachers who have served us for the past nine months. A special thanks to Dr. Peter Lillback and Dr. David Garner, from Westminster Theological Seminary, for their good counsel and for offering Westminster faculty to preach at the 9am and 11am services and to our pastoral staff who have filled the evening pulpit.
By the end of last year, the Session realized that we needed to explore options beyond the one-offs and asked the Pulpit Supply Committee “…to draft a possible job description for an interim senior minister and report back to Session.” By early 2024, the Committee was tasked to supply the weekly pulpit at the 9am, 11am, and 6:30pm services as well as to begin thinking about long-term options for the pulpit. We began to prayerfully seek the Lord’s will for Tenth in this interim season, by humbly looking to his Word and then by consulting the constitutional documents of our denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America.
As we looked at God’s Word, Session was convinced that we ought to seek a man of God, not only with gifts in preaching and teaching but also has a shepherd’s heart. As we looked to God’s Word for guidance in seeking stated supply, 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 impressed upon us the importance of calling a man with strong biblical convictions and gifts, as well as possessing great integrity and character.
Furthermore, as we looked at the Book of Church Order (BCO – one of our denominational constitutional documents), it gave us the following helpful information: BCO 22-5 states that, “In order to provide necessary changes in pastorates, a temporary relation may be established between a church and a minister called Stated Supply.” The advantages of hiring temporary stated supply over immediately seeking a senior minister were that it would offer the congregation time to consider candidates for the senior minister role, bring stability and direction for the church ministers and staff, provide a time of spiritual healing for the congregation, and set precedent for what we may be looking for in our next senior minister.
The Committee and Session looked at several different types of interims, full-time or part-time, who would assume primary preaching responsibilities along with providing counsel to our staff and Session. By late March it was determined that given our internal pastoral support, the committee would seek out a “preacher with a shepherd’s heart.” After several interviews, both for possible candidates as well as the names of those who could serve in such a role, along with consulting with services that offer help to churches, the Committee unanimously recommended Dr. Jonathan “Jonny” Gibson to the Session. The Session then also conducted several in-depth interviews, inquired into his Christian character through references, and sat under the preaching of God’s Word by Dr. Gibson. Moved not only by Dr. Gibson’s biblical preaching and Reformed convictions but also by his personal piety and shepherd’s heart, Session unanimously offered a call to Dr. Gibson to serve as our stated supply and he accepted. Dr. Gibson has also met with and was approved by his and our Presbyteries to serve in this capacity. His primary role will be preaching at the morning services, along with providing support to our staff and elders. He will also continue his teaching responsibilities at Westminster Theological Seminary during this time.
In closing, we believe and confess at Tenth, as the Westminster Larger Catechism Question and Answer 155 states, that it is “especially the preaching of the Word” that the Holy Spirit uses as an effectual means of salvation. In light of this conviction, we ask you to pray for Dr. Gibson, especially for the continued faithful preaching of God’s Word here at Tenth each Lord’s Day, that the light of the gospel would go forth, and that our souls would be nourished and comforted by it. “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4 ESV).
A previous version of this article referred to this position as Interim Senior Minister, rather than stated supply. The article has been updated to reflect the corrected title.