Man of the Word: Pastor Rob
By Amanda Livingston
As I knock on the door, the man looks up and beckons me inside his office. I see bibles and commentaries scattered on his desk; his laptop is opened to a bible program that allows him to look up the meanings of words in their original language. “Just finishing up a thought,” he tells me. His fingers move quickly over the keyboard and he pauses to read what he has written. He mouths the words and moves his hands as if he were speaking to a crowd. I smirk because I know he will use some of those hand motions when he preaches his message tonight to his youth group students.
About the Man
Pastor Rob Lawrence has been involved with church ministries since his late teens, starting with volunteer positions in 1996. In 2001, after graduating from Cornerstone University, he began working in ministry full-time at the Lakewood Youth Center in Lake Odessa, Michigan. Since then, Pastor Lawrence has gone on to serve as Associate Pastor to Living Gospel Church in Lake Odessa and is starting his own ministry called Legacy Ministries.
About the Job
“Putting a job description down is like nailing jell-o to the wall.” A pastor’s job requires many different hats, and Rob is no exception to this. Being in full-time ministry Rob will do anything from preaching a sermon Sunday morning to counseling someone on Wednesday afternoon to organizing weekend retreats. In addition to all of that, he will occasionally play worship music for the youth group and help with other local ministries.
And for nearly every aspect of his job, Rob is required to do some writing. When preparing for a Sunday morning sermon, it can take up to 15 hours to write everything that he wants to say. “It’s like a research paper,” Rob comments. “It doesn’t seem like a lot, but with other responsibilities, it can take a while.”
Some of those other responsibilities are emailing members of the church congregation and youth group students. He does this in order to stay in touch and make sure that those he ministers to feel loved and accepted. Also, with starting a new ministry, Pastor Lawrence has been busy writing mission statements, purpose statements, and retreat curriculum. “Writing is a big chunk of my job. It seems like I am constantly writing.”
About the Words
“I know I could be a better writer. I think anyone could say that.” Pastor Lawrence is humble about his own writing and states that he, like many other pastors, has a variety of writing problems. Because many of the words he writes are eventually spoken to a congregation or a group of people, Rob has a tendency to switch between first-person and third-person and have run-on sentences. He also realizes that his transitions and word choices could be improved upon.
“Writing is a love/hate relationship. I hate it when I have to write something I don’t want to, which goes for everyone, I think. And I love it when I can do what I want to do with it.” His private journal is one thing that he loves to write, but because of all of his other writing needs lately, he has not had as much time as he would like for it.
While we talk, youth group students enter the office asking various questions. Rob tells them that their questions will be answered during the announcement portion of the youth group. Another student enters asking if Pastor Rob can fill out a recommendation for him for a mission trip this summer. Rob agrees.
“So,” I ask, “what sort of writing do you hope to do in the future?”
“I would like to write a book.” He replies. “I don’t know if it will happen, but it would be nice.” Rob sighs and picks up the recommendation form that the student left on the table. “But I guess I will start with this,” he says with a smile.
To find out more about Rob’s ministry, click here: Legacy Ministries
To read more about Rob’s youth group, click here: Overdrive Student Ministries
