Author Interview

The following is an interview of K.D. Weaver, author of one of CSS’ top selling new books, Chasing Chariots, by CSS publisher Wesley Runk. Discussed are: books he has previously published, his present ministry, Chasing Chariots, and Weaver’s teaching experience in Africa in 2007.

Have you ever been published before?

Yes. My other books include The Sophist, The Evidence of Things Not Seen, and When Thomas Met Abraham.

Have you written other Bible studies?

 I wrote a Bible study titled When Thomas Met Abraham. It dealt with the relationship between doubt (hence doubting Thomas) and faith (hence faithful Abraham).

Where does writing rank in your priorities?

Ever since high school, I have had a deep desire to write. In the past couple of years, I have been intentional to devote time and care to nurture the writing projects God has placed on my heart. Writing has become a ministry. I am so grateful that God has given me an opportunity to serve others in this way.

What other congregations have you served?

I served as the Associate Pastor of St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church in Bowie, MD for three years.

Have you used this Bible study in your congregation? What was the attendance? Were all present members of the church? Who else attended?

This Bible study came from a summer sermon series. At my former church (St. Matthews U.M.C.), we held a 7:30am worship service in our garden each summer. This worship service was usually more instructional in nature. When I preached this sermon series, the attendance ranged from eighty to one hundred per Sunday.

I have not used Chasing Chariots as a formal Bible study. I am looking forward to doing so.

What are your priorities in your ministry? (Example-preaching, teaching, visiting, church growth, stewardship, community, youth, etc)

Strong teaching and preaching must become the rock in which the Church is built. I am extremely disciplined about sermon preparation and Bible study preparation. I would like to become more strategic about long term planning in these areas.

Are you planning on additional Bible studies?

Yes, I am currently working on a Bible study, which teaches people how to meditate using six biblical passages. It will explore an explicit scriptural justification for meditation. I am also in the beginning stages of designing a Bible study that examines demons.

Who are your Bible heroes and heroines?

Jonah and Rahab

Are you married? What is your spouse’s name? Does your spouse work outside of the home? What does she do? Do you have children? What are the ages of the children? What are their names?

I have a fabulous wife named Lynnette, who works in the field of education. She tutors children in her free time. No, we do not have any children. We were married in July of last year.

Do you have community responsibilities?

I serve on the board of Martha’s Closet, which is an organization that provides food and clothing to the working poor.

Do you teach seminars, lecture at the library, or some other kind of teaching?

Yes, I have taught a few seminars on prayer and meditation for various church groups. Giving lectures on how to interpret the Bible are particularly enjoyable for me. Last summer, I had the opportunity to teach a Bible Methodology Seminar at the University of Africa in Zimbabwe.

Do you travel? Where do you travel? Would you like to do more traveling? Where would you like to go?

Learning new languages is a passion of mine. I participated in Spanish immersion programs in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. I have done mission work and pastoral training in Zimbabwe, where I picked up some Shona. I’ve also studied German.

Tell me about your church? Unusual history? How many members? How many attend? Do you have a short-term goal? A long-term goal? What is your best program? (Bible studies, music, youth program, church growth, outreach, mission giving, etc)

My church does have a somewhat unique history. It was formed in 1971 with the merger of an all White congregation and an all Black congregation. The church came together with the intention of becoming a multi-cultural church. (This is a tall order since less than 5% of the churches in our country are racially or ethnically diverse.) I am the first African American pastor of Glenn Dale United Methodist Church, which is a small semi-rural church in Prince Georges County, Maryland. I am proud to say that we are now starting to put in the hard, proactive work needed to create a church that is inclusive of all and more importantly reflective of the Kingdom of God.

Where do you think you will be in 5 years? Will you be at the same church? At a bigger church? Will you be attending school?

The United Methodist Church has an itinerant system. The Bishop appoints us to our church sites. Whatever church setting I find myself, I would like to foster a new perspective toward worship.

In five years I would like to be on a local or national speaking tour promoting what I have tentatively labeled as “Middle Eastern Christianity.”

Much of the cultural context which shaped how Jesus worshiped was been abandoned or forgotten as Christianity traveled across the globe. Put another way the “style” of how Jesus practiced his faith is not apparent in the way many Christians worship. If we were to really use the Scriptures as a window into how Jesus practiced his faith, then we would be exposed to a whole set of spiritual norms, sensibilities and postures that we have completely ignored.

I would like to start leading people to adopt a renewed Christian paradigm in terms of their worship. My book on Scripture based meditation should be published within the next five years. This book will be an entry point to begin this discussion.

What do you do best? What part of the ministry do you least like?

I love the preaching and teaching aspect of ministry. I also enjoy the visitation part of it and getting to know people in their different settings. I am not a big meeting person at all and could do without meetings all together.

Do you meet with pastors to study, write sermons, discuss common problems, plan for community events?

I am a part of The Young Pastor’s Network. Mike Slaughter at Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church, and Adam Hamilton at The United Methodist Church of Resurrection, created the network to mentor pastors under the age of 35. The network is also intended to assist young pastors in leading or planting churches with 1,000 or more in worship. Through the network, I have been able to connect with pastors from different parts of the country and pick their brains. Getting guidance and training from two leading figures in church growth and innovative worship has been invaluable.

I also participate in monthly peer group meetings with my local colleagues in ministry. Under the guidance of our Bishop, we meet, discuss and review new materials on the best practices for ministry. We also discuss and preview effective ministries that are happening in our region as well as around the country. I also have a coach assigned to me by my conference.

Do you use the Internet a lot for research, enjoyment, making contacts? Do you use the phone to reach people, keep in touch. Do you advertise in the newspaper, with a signboard out front of the church, do you have a website for the church, and do you have a personal website?

The internet is a great asset. I use it mainly for quick research.

Yes, my church has placed some ads in the local newspaper. We have a signboard. Within the last year, we have placed ourselves in cyberspace with a website. We are looking forward to using that more this year. This is truly a new day and most people search for a church by going on line and “googling” two key words: church and city.  

Tell us a little bit about your African experience.

I am a part of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church. My conference has a strong relationship with the Zimbabwe Conference of the Church. Every other year a handful of pastors from our conference are selected to lead a Pastors’ School, which offers continuing education to the pastors of Zimbabwe as well as other neighboring countries. In the summer of 2007, I had the opportunity to teach at the Pastor’s school, which was held at the University of Africa.

The University of Africa’s campus was beautiful. I was so blessed and humbled to share a Bible Methodology, which I developed.

I am also interested in your fascination with languages. How do you use them in your work?

Language is a significant part of the process that I use to understand the Scriptures. I use my perfunctory grasp of Biblical Greek and my rudimentary grasp of Biblical Hebrew to flush out a more textured understanding of the text.

I also use language as way to connect with people. For example, when I was given the opportunity to teach in Zimbabwe I immediately did some research on the language, which was Shona. I studied the language for about a month. When I arrived in the country I tried to speak Shona to the Zimbabweans. I was corrected by people in the airport, hospitals, and in schools.

As a result of some self-study beforehand and no fear of embarrassing myself by trying to speak, I perfected a few expressions by the end of one week in the country. When I preached at a church in the city of Mutare, I began the sermon in Shona. When I taught my class, I greeted them and open the discussion in Shona. When I ate with the Zimbabwean pastors, I exchanged simple dialogue with them in Shona. I made a connection by extending my hand to them first and not expecting them to come to me (in English). I love learning languages because it constantly reminds me that being multi-lingual is the essence of evangelism. A church that is willing to try to communicate with people in their own language and context is a church that will grow and reach the lost and unsaved.