Liberty University

CHAPLAIN AUTUMN WILSON: BACKGROUND AND INTERVIEW

A paper submitted to Dr. David Hirschman
In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the course LEAD 635

Liberty Theological seminary

By
WILLIS WAINRWIGHT

Lynchburg, Virginia
Sunday AUGUST 25, 2013

The Pastor I interviewed is my Chaplain onboard USS SHILOH CG-67, Autumn Wilson, from Atlanta, Georgia. Chaplain Wilson has been in church ministry practically all her adult life. She has served churches in Atlanta, Florida, Rhode Island and Yokosuka Japan. She has served in the traditional setting as a choir director and as a youth pastor. She has a B.A. degree from Georgia State University in church ministries and received his Master of Arts in Religious Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Autumn has heart for missions, both locally and internationally, and sees herself finishing her career in the mission field overseas where she currently reside at in Yokosuka Japan.

Observations

Chaplain Wilson is a transformational leader. The mission statement onboard ship is KNOW the Lord, Grow in the word, and Go into the entire world preaching his name.’ She has a passion and enthusiasm for those locally and internationally. Locally, she is a familiar face at the on base community center; knowing everyone that works there by name and many of the regular visitors. She knows about their marriages and kids; the things that they are interested in; and their goals. Internationally, Autumn is heavily involved in working with international missions. she has personally came to Japan to help out a country who truly don’t know God and have to seek him out in private here.
Another aspect of the transformational leaderships shown by Chaplain Wilson is how she leads the members of the church. she wants those to follow where God leads them. When I approached Autumn about doing a meet and greet at the church, she wholeheartedly agreed with it. she encourages and follows up with me every week to see what she can do to better the ministry.

When it comes to disciple making, Chaplain Wilson believes in developing ministries that brings the people in the church together to share life. She believes that the Christian faith has to be lived out in practice. Her main discipleship method is Growth Groups and Bible Studies. Growth Groups are groups of church members who get together to discuss the latest sermon, get to know each other, and help each other in their Christian walk. Each group has a leader and is hosted at someone’s home. We have men’s, women’s and youth Bible Studies. Each one has a different format based on the teacher. Chaplain Wilson’s format is reproducible for Pastor’s that have great personalities. Chaplain Wilson is a people person and has a great charismatic personality. Pastor’s that are a little more reserved and intellectual would probably be more organized and traditional.

Interview

1- Tell me about your call to pastoral ministry. My call to ministry started at an early age. I believe I was around the age of eight. I took an interest in reading and studying the Bible. I served in different ministries that my church offered to the youth. To fast forward some, during my sophomore year of college I had a dream of me in a pulpit looking out at all of my family and friends. I decided at 23 the work in ministry because that’s where I felt God calling to. 2-Which pastoral responsibility do you enjoy the most, and why? I wouldn’t really consider it a responsibility but I enjoy sharing the love of God with all people. I feel that God blesses us so that we may be a blessing to others. Also, the second commandment that Jesus gave was for us to love our neighbor as thyself. We live in a world where there seems to be a lack of love. So I want to share the gift that God has so graciously blessed me with.
3-Which pastoral duty do you enjoy the least, and why? I would have to say the administration aspect. I’m very organized but I don’t want to get consumed with task that shifts my focus from ministry. 4-Describe the amount of time you spend in an average week in sermon preparation. On average I spend about 12 hours preparing sermons. 5-Describe the amount of time you spend in an average week in administrative responsibilities. On average I spend about 20 hours on administrative responsibilities. 6-Describe the amount of time you spend in an average week in personal devotions and prayer. I spend anywhere from 12-14 hours on personal devotions and prayer. 7-What is an area of pastoral ministry you wish you had been taught in school? I wish I had been taught more practical ministry. 8-Describe your ordination council. Within my denomination there are two levels of ordination. Candidates seeking ordination must undergo a process of five years with the Board of Examiners. In the second year of the process candidates are ordained as Deacons and in the Fifth year candidates are ordained as Elders 9-What is one piece of advice you would give to someone aspiring to become a pastor? The one piece of advice I’d give to someone aspiring to become a pastor is to be sure that God is the one influencing their decision to do so. Often times we’re pressured by others to pursue an occupation.
Chaplain Wilson loves to tell us every week ‘to be shiny and tasty” and quotes the Matthew 5:13-16: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
It is her favorite verse and essence of his ministry.