Pastor Russ Neill
- Describe how you came into a relationship with Christ.
- List your hobbies and any other areas of interest apart from ministry.
Weekend mornings, Renae and I enjoy early-morning coffee on the deck if the weather permits. If weather does not permit, we’ll sit inside and enjoy conversation and simply being together. It seems to be our time to communicate about self, family, church, friends, and to plan for upcoming events. (We both like to be organized).
Renae an I have always tried to take a vacation every year, (she basically insists on it to get me away). We try to visit a location that has natural beauty and hiking trails that we can experience. This has always been, and continues to be, something we look forward to every year. We are by no means, hiking experts, we simply enjoy the activity and being out in the beauty of Creation together.
Describe your call to the ministry and what motivates you to stay in ministry.
As a youth, there were times that I “wondered”, if God had ministry plans for me. I was raised in a pastor’s home, so I was partially aware of the challenges and responsibilities. At the age of around 30, I began to “feel” like God had something more for me to do. I went through times of desiring more and times of struggling with what it might me. My family attended the Free Will Baptist National Convention in San Antonio, Texas in 1987. The moment I walked into the convention hall on that Wednesday evening, I knew that was the night God was going to finalize His call for me to enter formal ministry. At the conclusion of the evening service, Renae and I went forward, and I accepted His call.
I had been assisting “informally” at the Ozark FWB Church for a couple of years. After accepting God’s call to formal ministry, I continued assisting there, but, also did “pulpit fill-in” anywhere I was invited/asked to.
The First Free Will Baptist Church of Purdy was between pastors and I did some pulpit fill-in here. After a few weeks of that, the church inquired if I would be interested in pastoring full time. After prayer by Renae and I, and the church family, everyone was in agreement it was God’s will. I’ve been pastoring here since.
Of note; at the time, I was working in Bolivar and living in Ozark. While the church was looking for a pastor, the Agency I work for, (United States Department of Agriculture), was doing some “restructuring” and was in need of my position at Cassville, MO, (13 miles from Purdy). It ended up they transferred me to the Cassville office, purchased our house in Ozark, and paid to move my family to Purdy. There is no other explanation than God was in it from the beginning.
Describe your day-to-day spiritual life.
I try to “practice what I preach”. I tell the church family on a regular basis how important it is to regularly be in God’s Word and that our prayer life is vital. My “normal” routine, (I do like routines), is to get up early enough to do my personal reading/reflection and then have time for prayer and meditation before I go to work. Since accepting God’s call to formal ministry, I’ve read His Word though each year. I find it is of great assistance to me in my personal daily walk, my ministry to others, and also my ministry at the church.
I use a Daily Bread devotional as well. I’d like to be able to say I read them every day, but, there are mornings I miss.
How do you get spiritually refreshed?
Realistically, my refreshment comes from my daily time spent with God through reading and meditation on His word and my prayer time. I find it very difficult to attend “seminars” or other meetings as it is difficult to get away from work, home and ministry all at the same time. Renae encourages me to, but, I am not very good at it. God seems to allow my refreshment to come as it is needed.
I enjoy very much, fellowship with our church family during our regular worship meetings. It brings me joy to see our church family in fellowship with one another.
I also enjoy the times of individual fellowship with our church leadership as we do planning meetings for upcoming events and schedules.
I am very much of an introvert, (even though that seems strange for someone called into ministry of dealing with people). When I am able to “get alone”, it seems to be refreshing as well.
How do you balance your life between family and ministry?
Renae is very good about giving me needed “space and time” for sermon and lesson preparation. At the same time, we both realize we must have our time together. Our early-morning-weekends are generally used for this. I also try to not schedule anything for Monday evenings. This allows us to have this time together with, hopefully, limited interruptions. It is very difficult to balance. I believe God gives ministry couples assistance in this area and He certainly has given me an understanding wife in Renae.
How is Renae involved in your ministry?
She is just as involved in my ministry as I am on a continual basis. I rely heavily on her for keeping our calendar and schedules updated as they need to be. She is my encourager and my encouragement. There is really no other person I, as pastor, can talk too. And, there are some things I cannot even share with her. She knows and accepts this. Her willingness to plan/organize with the church and church family is of great assistance as it is not one of my strong points. I know that she prays for me daily and especially on Saturdays, (which is my primary sermon preparation day). Simply put, I do not believe I could do it without her.
How do the pressures of the ministry and expectations of the congregation impact you?
Others have said, and I would agree, that ministry, although normally enjoyable and certainly fulfilling, is the most pressure-filled “job” I can think of. It simply NEVER goes away. There is NEVER a time when it is not on your mind and in your heart. When one sermon/lesson is over, you immediately are thinking towards the next one. You are always “concerned” about who is in need, who will be at a particular service or why not, who/what/where/how/when, etc. Then, God reminds me that it is not my church, it is His. The congregation, although my responsibility as spiritual leader, is not my congregation, they are His. And, we are family and we are friends. I so appreciate this.
I am not gifted in administration, so the various committees can be a challenge. It is not that I do not care what the various church committees are doing, I just prefer, and am more comfortable in sermon preparation and preaching/teaching sermons and teaching Bible lessons. This is where I am most comfortable. The areas of church administration I would rather leave to others, but, as pastor, I have inherent responsibilities in every aspect of the local church. This, can be daunting at times.
I am blessed with our church family. They are not a “needy” family and are aware that my time is normally VERY limited. They do not require my involvement for every little thing. But, I hope and pray that they all know that I am available when/if they do need me for something or desire to talk.
What would you identify as your passion in ministry?
Every Christian is gifted with spiritual gifts, including pastors. God gifts pastors in certain areas for ministry as He sees fit. As a result, they have strengths and weaknesses. For me, my comfort zone and, as a result, probably my greater passion, is for the spiritual growth of our church family/members. I receive no greater satisfaction and joy as when I see a Christian grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is exciting to see a young person, (or older person for that matter), take on responsibilities of lay ministry and responsibilities in the church, and community. It is exciting to be able to see God working in individual lives and families and bless them for their faithfulness to Him. At the same time, it is heartbreaking, (as only a pastor can know), when a child of God fails to be faithful and strays from the “fold”.
Also, there can be no greater joy than getting to be involved in and leading another soul to salvation found only through faith in Jesus Christ and then follow Him in believer’s baptism. As pastor, I am blessed to experience this in a different manner and frequency than if I were not in ministry. What a blessing.
Anything else you would like to include (Anything you think people would like to know about you).
I can think of no other “job” I would rather have than pastoring the First Free Will Baptist Church of Purdy. As Paul addresses; God places a special place in the heart/soul of the pastor that cannot be adequately explained to anyone that has not experienced it. I am thankful to my heavenly Father for sending me to “our” church and I am grateful to “our” church for their support in the blessed 20+ years together. I look forward to many more years serving the Lord together as a church family.