Pastor Profile

Doris V. Madison, Pastor
 

Ordained as a full-member of the Virginia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church in 2001, I started as a student-local pastor in 1992 while attending Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia.  This change came as a call from God.

 It has always been my practice to be mindful of the responsibilities of a pastor to order the congregation.  It has also been my practice to encourage and equip the leadership to fulfill their responsibilities.  Responding to district and conference mandates are high priorities for me. 

If I am required to complete forms or documents for a particular purpose, I make every effort to meet the deadlines imposed.  It is the same with the congregation.  When reports are due I expect them to be completed and turned in at the appropriate time, or even before time.  Plenty of lead time is given to accomplish a task.  I do not expect the congregation to do what I do not do myself.  It has been my practice to lead by example and to follow up with others regarding a particular task to see if assistance is needed.

Gifts to a particular style of worship:  I love worship!  It doesn’t need to be any particular style (i.e., charismatic, taizé, traditional, blended, etc.); I am able to function fully in any style of worship of the Almighty!  It has been my practice to be mindful that coming to church is not just coming to church.  It is a time for the corporate body to come together to give praise and honor to God.  It is a time to acknowledge God’s goodness toward us, and, to assure those who are suffering that God is sensitive to their needs and will help.  It is a time to soak up and savor the power of the Holy Spirit’s presence as we worship the God of all creation in a deeply, moving way.  The Holy Spirit leads and gives direction for proper worship.

When I lead worship or participate as part of the worship experience as the preacher, it is God with whom I am concerned.  It is God who I worship and it is God who receives me, with all my weaknesses and shortcomings and is present to strengthen me.  My focus is how I can help worshipers to focus on God’s presence and not on the choir, music or even my preaching.  My intent is to have all of us come before God, confessing and receiving forgiveness and remembering with thanksgiving what God has done through Jesus the Christ.

Preaching style and quality:

Many times I have been told that I am a prophetic preacher.  When I muse that concept, I have to acknowledge that I do make every effort to speak the truth of the living Word, and place its relevance in the context of the congregation, the community and the world today.  I am a Bible preacher.  It is my intent, however, to always relate what the Bible says to what we as humans have a propensity to do by giving examples of what I have experienced or observed in everyday living.

By using current events and personal stories (not necessarily mine), I am able to make the Scripture come alive and to make it pertinent for us, today.  I have had persons say to me on many occasions, “You really do put us in the Scriptures!” or “Thank you for helping me to see more clearly.”  The quality of my preaching comes from what I fervently believe about the Word.

As one theologian has said, “I taste the gravy before I serve it.”  If I don’t believe what I am preaching there is no need in me preaching it.  What I have experienced with the Word of God, with God through the Living Word – even Jesus the Christ – is passed on in the proclaimed Word.  One of my professors, after hearing me preach in a chapel service, commented to me, “Doris, when you started preaching, I said to myself, ‘she really believes what she is preaching.’”   My response to her was, “I do! I do! I do, believe what I preach!” 

What I believe, deep within my being, is that Jesus the Christ is the Son of the Living God, and that He is the One who makes it possible for me to be in a relationship with the God of creation.  It is with this belief that I proclaim the living Word of God to God’s people, including those who have not known God in a personal way through Jesus the Christ.

Passions related to my ministry:  My utmost passion is “spiritual formation.”  It is so fulfilling when I can walk a person or congregation to the next level in their relationship with God, in Christ Jesus.  This is done through prayer, conversation, and challenging them to take a hard look at where they are spiritually, and what needs to be done to get things in order.

Another passion is Bible study.  I love reading, studying, and meditating on the Word of God.  It keeps me in line, challenges me, encourages me and convicts me at the same time comforts me.  The way I approach Bible study for myself is the same way I lead Bible study with others.

Another passion is worship.  It is so wonderful to be in worship, whether individually, or in a group setting, (i.e., retreat, training event), or in a worship service.  To worship God is to come into God’s presence and acknowledge God’s sovereignty.  It is this faithful God that I worship and love.  My deepest desire is to hear from God how I can most honor and worship God’s presence.

Another passion is for older adults who sometimes feel left out and unloved.  Keeping them useful and needed is a way of saying, “we need you and your wisdom to help us.”  It is a joy to see a smile on an older adult’s face when asked for some wisdom in helping in a particular situation, or to tell of some historical fact, regarding the church.

Another passion is children/youth.  Our children and youth are the church of today.  Christianity, I believe, is only a generation away from extinction.  On the other hand, however, I believe that God will not let it dissolve completely.  There will still be those who will not “bow to Baal.”  Now is the time, to impress upon our children and youth the significance of faith in the one and only, true, living God, who came among us in the man called Jesus.  It is now, that we have to live before our children, and challenge them, urge them, invite them, to seek to know God, in Christ Jesus for real purpose and meaning in their lives.  It is wonderful to see children and youth in worship and taking an active part, and to see them participate in Bible study.

It is a joy to be in a place where I can function in a way that God would have me.  Magnolia is a great place to exercise and practice all I believe about God, in Christ Jesus, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures.  God’s Holy Spirit will guide and direct us together as we endeavor to continue the work of Christ in a broken and hurting world.  All praise be to God our Creator!