Hill Country Bible Church

Important Announcement

Posted: Nov 01, 2011 by Denny Henderson

If you were not able to make it to church this past Sunday, you missed a very important announcement.  Denny gave an announcement concerning a new direction that God is leading He and Bridget and their future ministry endeavors.  Below is a short recap of the announcement.

Statement Recap:

A little over 7 years ago Bridget and I moved down to Austin, Texas with a vision that was much bigger than us. The vision was to see a vibrant church be established at The University of Texas with a specific purpose to reach college students with the gospel of Jesus Christ and be a church that would intentionally disciple students to prepare them to be lifelong laborers for His kingdom.  Our desire was to play a role in laying a foundation for a church like I described that would continue for generations to come.

When we planted Hill Country UT with just a handful of 12 students we did not know what God would eventually do through the efforts of our founding families. Over the last 6 years God has been so faithful. We have been able to minister to literally hundreds, if not thousands, of students that have cycled through our church. Hundreds of students have come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ and even more have experienced life-transformation in the gospel.  It has been such a privilege to be part of God’s purposes here at the University Of Texas and our hearts have been made full.

About 8 months ago, God had impressed on my heart that He desired to do something new at Hill Country UT and in my and Bridget’s life.  I was not able to discern how exactly God was leading or what He was specifically communicating to me. So, I responded in the manner of the advice I give to others in counseling situations. The advice I always give is to discern God’s will in the context of Christ-centered community.  Discerning God’s will in isolation is rarely a good response.

Consequently, I approached our board of elders and communicated to them that I believe God maybe wanting to do something different in our life.  Since the board of elders act as my spiritual authority, I was convicted to humble myself and submit to their leadership and counsel. This led to a very long prayer process that was characterized by great transparency.  At times this prayer process was very painful. But God showed us much grace.   Our board of elders afforded me a luxury that most pastors will never be able to experience.  They walked along side of us, they prayed with us, they prayed for us and created an environment for authentic conversation to take place and allowed us the opportunity to discover God’s will.  This season of prayer led us on a journey that seemed to take us into the wilderness and back as we earnestly sought God’s will.  Bridget and I are so thankful to our board of elders for not just being Godly men and spiritual leaders, but great friends. We are grateful for the patience that the board has demonstrated toward us.

After 8 months of prayer, discussion and seeking counsel from both our board and outside advisors God has affirmed to us that He is calling us to a broader ministry scope.  He has placed in our hearts a strong desire to transition into an opportunity that will allow us the potential to have a life-long ministry.

Three weeks ago, I offered my resignation as the Sr. Pastor of Hill Country UT as to be obedient to the calling that God has placed on our lives. This decision has not been easy. There has been much wrestling with God and many nights of questioning the call that God has placed on our hearts.  However, we are confident that this is what God is doing in our lives and we are now asking for the courage to walk in faithful obedience.

I want to bring clarity to you this morning that my resignation is not effective immediately.  Our departure is not imminent.  We are not leaving tomorrow, we are not leaving next week, we are not leaving next month, and in fact we will be here through at least the remainder of the school year. However, we believe it is best for this church family to know that we are preparing for my final season as the Sr. Pastor of Hill Country UT. 

To also bring clarity about where is God calling us… After submitting my resignation to our board of elders I accepted a position at Sherman Bible Church in Sherman, Texas.  Now there is a bigger story to this.  Currently my father is the Sr. Pastor of Sherman Bible Church.  He has been the pastor there for about 6 years.  Over the last 6 years Sherman Bible has grown from a church that was smaller than our church to a church of about 2,000 folks and is continuing to grow. It has become a big church in a small community.

The position I have accepted at Sherman Bible is a succession planning position to take over my father’s work, as he gets closer to transitioning toward retiring from his current role. I am not immediately becoming the Sr. Pastor of Sherman Bible, but engaging in a strategically planned succession transition over the next few years.

The leadership at Sherman Bible has been very gracious. They have allowed me and our board to do whatever is necessary to ensure that Hill Country UT has a thoughtful, strategic leadership transition. They have not placed any time frames on us and are allowing us the opportunity to facilitate a transition that is right for Hill Country UT and a transition to be determined by our board. This is a very unique situation and we are thankful for it.

I do want to take this opportunity to remind all of us… Hill Country UT is not about Denny and Bridget.  It never has been. I am not the leader of Hill Country UT. I am merely the tool that God used to lay a foundation.  The leader of this church is Jesus Christ. The vision of this church was not birthed out of my heart, but Christ gave it to us. Therefore, this church is in very good hands.  Christ is the one who walks among the lampstands and this is His church.  He has complete control and He knows exactly what He is doing. He has showed Himself faithful to us since the beginning and He will continue to show Himself faithful ‘til the day He returns. 

With this submission of my formal resignation I would like to share our hearts. We are very passionate about the people, students and mission of Hill Country Bible Church UT.  Our hearts are very much still here, very engaged and are very much invested. Bridget and I have a deep love for the people and work of Hill Country UT. My intention is to help be part of the leadership transition process.  I desire to leave Hill Country UT in a very good place; therefore, by my actions I will leave no room for anyone to question my commitment and sacrifice to our church family as we move forward. I believe my greatest contributions to Hill Country UT will be during this season of transition. God is not done doing what He wants to do through this church and He will bring the right leader to lead this church for such a time like this.

With Great Affection,

Denny

****Following this statement, Pete Craycroft, chairman of the elder board, also gave a statement regarding the “go forward” plan.  In summary, the board realizes the emotional difficulty of this news.  They also recognize and affirm the calling on Denny and Bridget’s life. Pete explained that Denny will still be the Sr. Pastor of Hill Country UT until at least the end of the school year. The board has already reached out to a short list of candidates who are well qualified to take over the Sr. Pastor position. Once the new leader is determined a strategic transition and succession plan will take place from Denny to the new pastor. Lastly, the board asked the church to be in prayer and practice open communication with the board.  The board will also be giving periodic updates on the status of the transition.