After a four-year absence, Steven Long has returned to Grand Canyon University, energized by the opportunity to develop and equip emerging pastors in his new role as executive director of the Flourishing Pastor Network.
Long has been eager to rekindle and fortify partnerships with churches, theological institutions and seminaries who yearn to cultivate more pastors under their residencies through the initiative, supported by a $9.9 million Lilly Endowment.
“I think you need to have a servant's heart,” Long said inside his office at Grand Canyon Theological Seminary, the College of Theology's graduate school. “We're not there to gain something; we're there to serve their needs, so you have to listen. What do they need? How can we support them? I think if you allow them to win, then we all win. But it's a servant leadership approach. How can I help you?”
When GCU received the Lilly grant last fall, Dr. Jason Hiles, College of Theology dean, thought Long would be an ideal fit for the executive director position because of his “pastoral heart, love for the Lord and strategic wisdom.”
Long served as a counselor, university development counselor and university development manager at GCU for seven years. That covered assisting students through recruitment, academic programs and retention, as well as developing and strengthening partnerships with churches, Bible colleges and community organizations.
Long also serves as a pastor at Calvary Chapel FourteenSix, scaling back his duties to a part-time role after serving as executive pastor for three years before his appointment at the seminary. He was executive pastor at Radiant Church in Surprise, Arizona, for three years and founding senior pastor at Ridgeline Church in Waddell, Arizona, for nearly a decade.
“We have worked hard to instill trust among local church leaders, and Steven embodies our posture of “serving the local church” in deeply personal ways,” Hiles said. “He has become an ambassador for our work with faith-based leaders and their congregations at a moment when GCTS is emerging as a trustworthy partner in providing well-formed ministry leaders in the Valley.”
Long said he wants to strengthen emerging pastors' relational skills. Prospective pastors are savvy at technology but struggle to connect face to face.
“Ministry is like this: it's across tables, it's around food,” Long said. “It's not exclusively online, although there's a component I think is important there.”
He also wants to focus on emotional intelligence, as well as character and virtue formation.
“How do you train somebody to walk into a hospital when somebody is dying, and to have what we call the ‘ministry of presence,’ just to be there like Jesus was there?” Long said. “To extend love, peace and grace and to comfort the family. I don't know how you could do that in a local seminary because you can't manufacture that.”
One of the most valuable resources of the Flourishing Pastor Network is helping develop students through meaningful pastoral experiences, he shared. Under the guidance of mentor pastors, students start to integrate into their assigned churches, learning their DNA and culture. That enables the student to gain practical experiences for up to 1 ½ years in that church. It is the equivalent of a medical student entering a residency.
GCU leads a network that includes four other theological schools – Northwest Nazarene Divinity School, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary and Trinity Anglican Seminary – as well as Made to Flourish, a parachurch group designed to empower a growing network of pastors.
“We have designs and plans to bring on more seminary partners, and so we're excited about how this might grow into a very national movement,” Long said.
Based on a spike in students during September, Long believes the university's seminary has a chance to market its distinction as an effective provider of education and its ability to bolster its partnership with local churches in developing future pastors.
This reinforces the servant leadership principle, bringing people into alignment and shared spaces.
“GCU can seem large and complex to outside stakeholders,” Hiles said. “Steven’s unique ability to connect operational teams and local Christian leaders in ways that serve the needs of both parties makes him an ideal ambassador for the seminary and the university.
“As we work to serve the leadership needs of local congregations, I take comfort in the fact that Steven is providing internal leadership and coordination that enable us to excel in deploying young pastors into ministry roles.”
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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