DEACON - CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACKET - Ryan Fields

or conduct weddings and funerals or visit the sick or administer the sacraments, but rather someone who does these things through the lens of caring for and overseeing the precious flock of God that has been entrusted into his pastoral care (Heb. 13:17). How might your wife characterize your conflict resolution skills, and abilities at building consensus? My wife would say that I remain calm and composed amidst conflict and that, when given the opportunity, I facilitate conflict resolution with wisdom and diplomacy. She would also say that my empathetic capacities help me to relate to "both sides" of the conflict and to help each party better understand the other. I also think my wife would say that I am gifted in working toward consensus; it is my default mode (vs. strong-arming or abdicating) and I have been blessed not only with excellent training in this area (e.g. I was blessed to take an excellent counseling class at TEDS on conflict mediation and have been exposed to the wonderful work of Peacemaker ministries) but also with numerous experiences resolving conflict and building consensus on staff and with ministry teams of the local church. How might ministry colleagues characterize your conflict resolution skills, and abilities at building consensus? I think my colleagues would say they have witnessed my strong intuitions about when and how leadership needs to be provided amidst conflict and my default to consensus building as a leadership style. I think they would also commend my tendency to lean into the wisdom and resources of other leaders (especially elders) rather than “going it alone” amidst conflict situations. I think they would characterize me as having a proclivity toward delegation and being a team player, which helps in building consensus. They would say that they have seen my conviction that true leadership is always servant leadership play out in coming alongside of others and patiently working with them until we come to a common vision about how to proceed. What are your special interests and hobbies? Besides pastoral ministry and theology, I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, camping, outdoor adventures (e.g. my wife and I aspire to seeing all of America's national parks over the course of our marriage, Lord willing), planning date nights for my wife and me, staying fit (running with my girls is often what you will catch me doing at the end of the work day or on weekends), watching a good movie that I can discuss with my wife and good friends, and learning the particular history of the place in which I live (among other things). Would you need special considerations because of involvement with other organizations or because of writing or speaking commitments? If so, please describe: My desire is to serve the church in two ways. Primarily I seek to serve the local church that I'm a pastor of, making sure that my priority is always feeding that flock with the Word of God, praying for it to become more like Christ, and caring for it in all the tangible ways that pastors should. Secondarily, I aspire to serve the broader church through occasional opportunities to preach/teach at other churches or ministry conferences and to publish things

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