An Interview With…

Connections Pastor Danny Franks recently caught up with Brier Creek AM’s new Campus Pastor, Danny Franks.  We asked Danny to take a few minutes and explain exactly what this transition means.

Danny: Danny, thanks for taking some time for this interview.  I suppose the first question is, do you think it’s strange to interview yourself, and a follow up: won’t people be confused?

Danny: Well Danny, I don’t think it’s strange at all.  After all, I’ve been talking to myself for years, so it was just a natural next step to document it. As far as the confusion, our readers are lucky that you’re speaking in italics.  And just for future reference, we can probably do away with that whole “Danny:” thing, because you’re going to get tired of typing it after a while.

That’s a really good point.  So let’s talk about your new role.  On March 15 it was announced that you’re assuming the duties of Campus Pastor at the Brier Creek AM Campus.  Does that mean that you’re stepping down from being Connections Pastor?

Not at all.  Like all of our Campus Pastors, I’ll be serving a dual role.  I’ll still oversee Connections Ministry at the Summit, but we’ve been really fortunate to bring in reinforcements.  Adam Moore has been working with our Connections team for over a year now, and he was recently promoted to part-time status as Associate Connections Pastor.  His one-sentence job description is to keep me from having a heart attack on Sunday morning.  So far, so good.

Did you mean to say, “Associate to the Connections Pastor”?

I’ll make the jokes, pal.  Adam is taking on a greater teaching role with Starting Point, overseeing the SP table host team, and managing much of the paperwork throughout the week.  He’s fueled by Starbucks and just got married a couple of months ago, so we decided to pay him the big bucks.

You mean he got bumped up to minimum wage?

Exactly.

What about David Thompson, the former Campus Pastor?  Was he canned, or what?

David is a man of many talents.  In addition to being a former NC State basketball standout, he oversees the pastors and staff who run the age-graded ministries of the Summit, from preschoolers to Young Pros.  He’s still going to be doing that, just on a multi-campus level.  He also helps with staff development and a myriad of other things.  You’ll still see him around campus.

So is there any truth to the rumor that you won the Campus Pastor position after schooling Thompson in a staff arm wrestling competition?

I categorically deny that vicious untruth.  It was actually a brownie bake-off, and he sadly underestimated the power of my Toffee Crunch ChocOverloads.  Sucker.

So what does a Campus Pastor do, anyway?

As little as possible (laughs hysterically, even though the joke was lame).  No, seriously…all of our Campus Pastors are responsible for helping to create an identity for their particular campus, to lead the way in reaching the surrounding community, and to serve as a go-to guy for the attendees of that campus.

So you’re saying you basically make announcements.

Yep.

Cole Mill Campus Pastor (and I might add, your boss) Rick Langston has been quoted as saying that your blog posts sometimes run a bit long.  Do you think that this interview has been compelling enough to bring people back for part two tomorrow?

Langston blogs about once per lunar cycle, so I’m not sure he’s the best guy to be calling me out.  Besides that, I don’t see that it matters.  Part 2 is already scheduled to post in the morning, because that tentative post on the Christological implications of Hebrews 7 just wasn’t coming together like I’d hoped.