Pastoral Transition

Dan Summerlin Announces Retirement

January 29, 2023

Dear Lone Oak Family,

This morning in our worship services, I discussed plans for my retirement from full-time pastoral ministry. My last Sunday as your pastor will be Sunday, May 28. I have come to this decision after several months of prayer and seeking God’s guidance for the future of my ministry and for the future of the church. Before I accepted the call to come to Lone Oak, I told the search committee that I never wanted to be an “old pastor,” but I wanted to spend the final quarter of my life teaching, mentoring, and helping younger pastors in ministry. I intend to do that. To be clear, no one at Lone Oak has asked me to consider retirement; this comes at the Lord’s direction and my decision. I have said many times when we know something is God’s will in our lives, we need to act upon it, and I believe with all of my heart this is God’s will.

I know many folks will have questions about the timing of things and how the transition will work. I have anticipated some of these questions and have attempted to answer as best I can. Our team has set up a webpage to keep you updated, and you’ll find answers there.

Eileen and I are so grateful to the Lord and to you for more than twenty years of fruitful ministry here at Lone Oak. Our church is strong and healthy, and I believe the best days for Lone Oak First Baptist Church lie ahead. Please join us in praying for God’s will to be done and for Him to be glorified in the weeks to come.

Serving Him together,

Dr. Dan Summerlin
Pastor

Frequently Asked Questions

Our church is strong and healthy. Now is exactly the right time – when the church is growing and when things are going well – for the church to consider a new pastor to come in and build on a firm foundation.
The church is financially healthy. We have no debt currently, and giving for all purposes has increased substantially in the last several years.
We are strong in volunteers for serving all of our ministry programs. More people are involved in missions and ministry than ever before. Keep on serving the Lord and His church!
We are growing. We have had an influx of young families – new folks of all ages and stages of life, actually – and we’re baptizing new believers all the time. In fact, if you’ve been looking for a church home and you haven’t joined Lone Oak yet, do that as quickly as you can and be a part of what God is doing through our church.

On the afternoon of Sunday, January 29, a Leadership Team comprised of the Deacon Officers, the Chairmen of Trustees, Finance, and Personnel Committees, as well as Bro. Dan, Hank Garner, and Mark Swadley, began meeting to formalize a series of recommendations to the church regarding the formation of a Pastor Search Committee, arrangements for an interim pastor and “pulpit supply” once Bro. Dan’s time is finished, and other details that will need to be covered.
The administrative committees (Trustees, Finance, and Personnel) will continue to oversee their respective work, and the Deacons and the Church will be informed of progress – as we typically have.
Bro. Dan will continue in his role through the end of May 2023. Hank Garner, our Executive Pastor, will continue to lead the daily operations of the church beyond Bro. Dan’s departure.

In accordance with our constitution and bylaws, the Pastor Search Committee will have full responsibility for seeking out and recommending a new senior pastor. That process will be determined by the committee after it begins to meet, and the committee will have sole discretion over its work. The committee may choose to seek guidance from Bro. Dan about any number of candidates for the role, but the responsibility and recommendation to the church will rest with the committee alone.

According to our bylaws (Section 3.1.C), “When a vacancy in the pulpit occurs, a Pastor Search Committee consisting of ten church members shall be elected. These ten church members shall consist of five church members-at-large, the Chairman of the Deacons, the Chairman of the Personnel Committee, and three church members chosen by the deacon body. A person who begins serving as a member of the committee by reason of his/her office shall continue as a member even after his/her term of office ends.”
Paraphrasing the process here from the bylaws:
- On Sun., Feb. 12, 2023, every church member will have the opportunity to submit by ballot the names of up to seven (7) church members to be nominated to the Pastor Search Committee. This will take place in a called meeting to be held at the end of each of the two morning worship services that day.
- A Ballot Tabulation Committee will be formed to count the nominations and contact the fifteen (15) most commonly nominated men and women to inquire about their willingness to serve on the committee if elected.
- On Weds., Feb. 22, 2023, in the regular monthly business meeting for February, those present will vote by ballot for up to five (5) of the nominees. Every church member present is eligible to vote.
- After that election, the Deacons will select three additional church members to add balance to the committee and ensure that as many age groups and life-stages are represented – men and women.
- Once the committee is fully-composed, there will be ten (10) members.
The committee will begin meeting in early March. The committee will determine how to organize itself to proceed into the search phase on its own timeline thereafter.

The Master Plan for future building and growth approved in May 2021 will proceed unaffected by this transition because the building plans were never built upon Bro. Dan’s decisions – always on the Building Committee’s research and considering what would be best for the church. Construction on “Phase Zero” to put infrastructural pieces into place is expected to proceed in the spring and summer as approved by the church in September 2022. Construction on future phases will be brought to the church at the appropriate time.
Bro. Dan encourages every member to continue praying for and giving sacrificially to the TO EVERY GENERATION campaign so that cash is available right on time for use in funding the project.

The search committee and the process. Pray for wisdom and unity.
For Dan – thanking and praising the Lord for the good work and fruit the Lord has given us during Dan’s leadership.
Our next Senior Pastor. Pray for him and his family as God stirs their hearts to come to us. Pray for their transition to us and their future ministry with us.
Our congregation. Pray that we will be open to this new chapter in our church’s future. Pray that individuals, families, and ministries will be in a healthy place to embrace this upcoming change. Pray that people would engage with, pray for, and embrace God’s plan for Lone Oak FBC.

Dan Summerlin Announces Retirement

Frequently Asked Questions

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