New faces
The LCA SA-NT District extends a warm welcome to the four new graduate pastors assigned across our region. They shared their hopes for their new roles and their feelings about the Church today in a Q&A with Together magazine.
ROLAND ADAMS (pictured far left)
Assigned to St Johns Trinity Renmark & Holy Cross Paringa, SA
What influenced you to enter into ministry?
There were many influences that led me to ministry. From those around me who guided me with wisdom, to the call of the Holy Spirit who never stopped calling me. Before beginning study at ALC I had been part of LYWA for many years where I had worked with several pastors and those at St Luke’s Parkwood.
What are you looking forward to in your new role?
There are many things that I am looking forward to in my new role as a pastor of the LCA. Bringing the love of Christ to people, both in the Church and community.
What excites you about the church today?
One of the things that excites me about the church today is the opportunities we have to bring the love of God to the wider world, there is an opportunity for helping others to reach out with God’s love to those around them.
What are your hobbies or interests outside of the Church?
There are many things that I like to do, from playing computer games, to gardening to reading. I find that I travel between many different hobbies, and I look forward to trying out many new hobbies.
PHILIP BENTLEY (pictured second to left)
Assigned to Greenock Parish, SA
What influenced you to enter into ministry?
A myriad of individuals influenced my entry into ministry. I have had a very varied work career. I taught as a high school teacher for just over 22 years in many varied locations, I have also been employed as a police officer and have had prior service in the British army. Regarding service in ministry, I had been both a street chaplain and a licensed lay minister in the Anglican Church of Australia for several years and had been in the process of discernment for Holy orders in the diaconate at St James Cathedral in Townsville.
After moving to Mount Isa I became a member of St Paul’s Lutheran Church. The incumbent SMP pastor suggested that I consider becoming a pastor in the LCA. I initially attended ALC in 2016 but was called to back to St Paul’s Lutheran Church to assist the Pastor. I remained in Mount Isa for 3 1/2 years. During that time, I was licensed for both Word and Sacrament by Bishop Paul Smith, and I placed on an SMP formation programme. I returned to ALC to continue both academic and formation studies to become a general Pastor in the LCA.
What are you most looking forward to in your new role?
I am looking forward to meeting and serving God’s people in a new congregation. I am excited about being able to bring others to an encounter with our God who is revealed as a God of love. I am looking forward to meeting and making new relationships with others. I look forward to the ministry as pastor, being able to feed and lead congregations by partaking in and administering God’s gifts through the Sacraments and the preaching and teaching of the Gospel through God’s word.
What excites you about the church today?
The idea of change excites me. Every time there is a change in history, there’s potential to gain and potential to lose. I believe the potential to gain in the church is greater than the potential to lose. Why? As despairing or as cynical as some might be (sometimes understandably) over the church’s future, we must remind ourselves that the church was Jesus’ idea, not ours. It will not only survive our missteps and whatever cultural trends happen around us. It is true to say that the church does not always get things right, but Christ has an incredible history of pulling together Christians in every generation to share his love in a fallen and broken world.
What are your hobbies or interests outside of the Church?
I like to play the acoustic guitar. I also like to keep fit through cycling and middle-distance running. I am also interested in Christian apologetics.
STEPHEN NOBLETT (pictured second from right)
Assigned to Southern Flinders Parish, SA
What influenced you to enter into ministry?
For as long as I can remember (and at my age that is quite a long time) people have suggested to me that the ministry is a path that I should have considered taking. However, until a few years ago I was unconvinced of this and thought that it was not something that I felt called to.
I was quite happy in my previous role where I would write financial plans for people and put together investment strategies for them. Then God stepped in and made it clear that he wanted me to head in a different direction. He did this by allowing me to make some errors that were totally uncharacteristic and made me question what was going on. It was then that the idea of entering the ministry became a real and attractive option. Amazingly once I made the decision to go down that path all the errors stopped!
When God steps in I have found that it is far more beneficial to accept what he is telling you than to argue with it!
What are you most looking forward to in your new role?
Helping people to grow in their faith and trust of the Lord Jesus Christ so that in turn they can also help others to grow in their faith. We never stop learning and discovering more about the amazing love of God and the message of forgiveness for our sins that comes through Jesus’ death on the cross. This is something that we can never fully comprehend, but it is something that we need to be constantly reminded of. How can you not look forward to constantly reminding people of the amazing love that God has for each and every person?
What excites you about the church today?
The opportunity that the Church has to bring the certainty of Christ into the uncertainty of life today.
When we look back at where we were 12 months ago and then wonder where we will be in 12 months’ time, we see that there is so much uncertainty. But when we look to Christ who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow we have something that world can’t give – it is something that many people are looking for even if they don’t know it yet.
What are your hobbies or interests outside of the Church?
I enjoy trying to play golf (and usually standing too close to the ball – after I have hit it) gardening (especially growing fruit trees) and reading. I also enjoy watching Test Cricket and AFL (especially if Port are losing).
JOSEPH THEODORSEN (pictured far right)
Assigned to Top End Lutheran Parish, NT
What influenced you to enter into ministry?
Well, I’d say primarily the call of God! I was born and raised in the Lutheran Church, and faith in Christ has been something that I have held very important in my life for as long as I can remember. I had been in quite a few different jobs over my adult life, and they never seemed to be much more than a way to earn money.
A few years before coming over here, I became more involved in the leadership at my home congregation, Hope Community Lutheran Church in Geraldton, WA. It was during this time that the congregation suggested that I should look at becoming an SMP to serve them. I pursued this, but it didn’t seem to be the right thing for me.
After a year or so of leading, and through much prayer and discussion with my wife Maricel, and encouragement from the congregation, we discerned that God was calling me into the ordained ministry to serve the wider church.
What are you most looking forward to in your new role?
This is a tough one to answer! I think simply being the vessel of God to bring His Word and Sacraments, forgiving people their sins, and continually reminding them of the wonderful promises of God given to us in Christ Jesus. What an incredible privilege this is!
What excites you about the Church today?
That God is not dead! He is alive and continually working in His Church to bring people to faith and give the assurance of salvation to those who believe. As we live in this world as the body of Christ, speaking his words into the lives of those around us, the Holy Spirit works through this, bringing the many to faith. And as we gather around His Word and the body and blood of Christ, He continually strengthens us in faith toward Him and in love toward others. What an incredible truth this is!
What are your hobbies or interests outside of the Church?
My family and I love to go exploring, 4W-driving, and camping in God’s beautiful creation. We hear that there will be no shortage of possibilities up in the NT for this! We are also keen fishers, and can’t wait to hopefully latch on to a few nice barra up in Darwin.
I’m also a bit of a movie buff, and love to experience many different films, particular in the Sci Fi, Action, and Fantasy genres.
Image: The new graduates were ordained in December. L-R: Roland Adams, Philip Bentley, Christopher Johnson (QLD), LCA/NZ Bishop John Henderson, James Luk (transitioned from Specific Ministry Pastor to General Ministry Pastor), Stephen Noblett, Joseph Theodorsen. Photo: Evalina Katarzynski
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