Get to Know the Speakers...Pete Scribner

As we announced last week, Pete Scribner will be speaking at this October's conference. Here's your opportunity to get to know Pete a little:

What’s your wife’s name and how long have you been married?

• Erin and I were high school sweethearts who dated straight through college. We will celebrate the 20^th anniversary of our wedding this September.

How many children do you have and how old are they?

• We have a 15 year old son and an 11 year old daughter.

Share a little about your educational background.

• My undergraduate degree was in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Missouri (the-oldest-and-finest-journalism-school-in-the-world). It was my intention at the time to go into sports broadcasting.

• As for seminary, I received my MDiv from CovenantTheological Seminary in my home town of St. Louis, Missouri.

What were your favorite parts about your educational experience?

• Though I didn’t go into the broadcasting profession, I did enjoy the many events I got to cover for the NBC affiliate in Columbia, Missouri during my time at Mizzou.

• Upon graduation, I spent over eight years working for Enterprise Rent-A-Car.  After spending that time in the business world, attending seminary was a pure joy for me. The opportunity to grow in both my understanding and experience of grace was extraordinary. I wrote about this a few years ago.

How long have you been in your current pastorate?

• That depends on what exactly you mean by the question. I came to Calvary straight out of seminary in 2006. I served first as Assistant Pastor and later as Associate Pastor. Beginning in March of 2013 I was the only pastor on staff as Calvary searched for just the third Senior Pastor in her 70 year history.  In March of 2014, I was installed as Senior Pastor, the position I am blessed to currently hold.

Have you pastored elsewhere?

• No. I did have the wonderful opportunity to serve the church in a number of ways before and while I went to seminary. I was a Deacon and later a Ruling Elder at Greentree Community Church in St. Louis, and was also a part of the leadership group sent out from Greentree to plant what became Riverside Church.

What have been some of the best lessons you’ve learned in your role as a pastor?

• Perhaps the best lesson I have learned is that my goal as a pastor should not be so much to be incredibly impactful in the moment as it should be to be faithful in the long run. Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, love your neighbor as yourself, and leave the results to God.

What would you most like your church to be known for?

• In John 13:34-35, on the night he was betrayed, Christ said to his disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." In light of that, I guess that’s probably a good place to start: I’d like Calvary to be known as a place where we love one another well.

• Beyond this Christ-like love though, I would desire for our reputation to be one of Christ-like faithfulness to the word of God and Christ-like service to the community where he has sent us as his ambassadors.

What books of the Bible have been most impactful on your personal growth and ministry?

• Ephesians has been such a glorious book in terms of helping me to see the great grace of God.

• Having recently preached through Leviticus and then Hebrews, they are both high on my list right now.

• My favorite Old Testament book is probably Ruth.

Who are some of your greatest spiritual influences in these three categories:

1) Pastors/scholars/authors from the past

• John Calvin – Not only was Calvin’s mind brilliant, but his heart burned with love for the Lord, and that passion comes through clearly in so much of his writing.

• C.S. Lewis – There are certainly points at which I disagree with his theology, but I am often amazed at how well Lewis uses language and imagery to express Biblical truths.

   

      2) Current pastors/scholars/authors

• I would do well to mention all my professors at Covenant Seminary, but I was especially impacted by (in alphabetical order): Jerram Barrs, Bryan Chapell, Jack Collins, Zack Eswine, Jay Sklar and Mike Williams

• Kevin DeYoung and David Murray are two pastors in Michigan that I’ve been greatly blessed to not only learn from, but to get to know a little bit personally

• Tim Keller’s writings are full of practical wisdom

• Sinclair Ferguson is perhaps my favorite preacher to listen to (and not just because of the accent!)

3) People we maybe haven’t ever heard of…but would be blessed by if we had

• Tom Ricks – I tease Tom that before I met him, I always thought pastors were really “spiritual,” and I never would’ve thought that I could be a pastor if not for his example. In actuality, I mean this as the highest of compliments, because Tom humbly and boldly modeled to me the fact that he was in need of God’s grace, just like everyone else, something too few pastors are willing to do. Learning the truth that I didn’t need to be perfect to be a pastor was a crucial step in heeding God’s call to the pastorate.

• Leroy Cole – Leroy has served as a mentor to me during my time in Michigan. I pray that I might some day leave behind a legacy of faithfulness, kindness and love that approaches Leroy’s.

• Doug Graham – Doug has been a friend, a colleague, a mentor and an example to me as a pastor who loves the Lord, loves the Church, and loves God’s word.

Are there any books that you find yourself regularly re-reading?

• I love returning to Calvin’s Institutes for both its theological precision and devotional value.

• The prayers in The Valley of Vision never fail to nurture my soul.

If you could spend an entire day with one person of your choosing from the Bible (not including Jesus), who would you choose and why?

• The Apostle Peter. Perhaps in part because of his name, I have had an affinity for Peter dating back to my childhood. What really draws me to Peter though is the fact that I find him so incredibly relatable. He so clearly and frequently is less than perfect, and even so, the Lord sees fit to use Peter for the glory of God. I once did a study of the experiences of Peter presented to us in the Gospels and Acts, followed by a study of 1 Peter and 2 Peter. It was a fascinating experience to read the words of Peter and remember where he had learned the truths about which he wrote. I imagine it would be a great encouragement to delve further into these things with him.

If you could have been present at any event in the Bible, which event would you choose and why?

• I have always thought that the Transfiguration of Christ would have been unspeakably glorious to have witnessed.

What are some of your hobbies/interests apart from the Bible/theology?

• I love sports, especially (but not limited to) St. Louis Cardinals baseball and Missouri Tigers football. Genealogy is also among my hobbies. Most of all though, I enjoy coaching my son’s baseball team, watching my daughter dance, and spending time relaxing with my wife.