The Council of Delegates of the Christian Reformed Church, the 60-member ecclesiastical board that works on behalf of synod in between meetings of synod, approved Lee Carter, a member of Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Lansing, Ill., as the next director of the congregational support ministry Thrive. Rev. Lesli van Milligen is retiring from that ministry at the end of the month. Carter will begin May 19.
Al Postma, executive director, Canada, for the CRCNA, introduced Carter at the Council’s May meeting, one of three interviews for leadership transitions that the Council conducted over three days. (See also Darrell Delaney Becomes Director of ReFrame Ministries and Lora Copley Is Approved Candidate for Banner’s Editor-in-Chief.) Explaining that leadership prioritized the work of seeking a successor to van Milligen as soon as they were made aware of her retirement intention in January, “We determined that if we were diligent in our processes we could present a name to this meeting,” Postma said. He told delegates there were 27 total applicants with five people interviewed in early April and three for a second round of interviews May 4-5, following the prescribed search process that was similar to the ReFrame director search. “The final candidate that this team would like to present for interview and approval is Lee Carter … most recently executive vice president for scriptural engagement with Bible League International. We think Thrive will be well served into this next chapter with Lee as director," Postma said.
Council of Delegates members Dave Spoelma and Joan DeVries, who served on the search team, interviewed Carter on behalf of the Council. Carter said he was born and raised in a Christian family in Montana and was first introduced to the Reformed faith when he connected with a Presbyterian Church in America church after college, while he worked with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Billings, Mont.
He said learning the Westminster Shorter Catechism’s description of mankind’s purpose—“to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever” is one of the reasons he loves the Reformed tradition. It prompted him to ask, and then work toward, “What does a life built on the joy of God look like?”
When he moved to Illinois from Montana he connected first with a Reformed Church in America congregation and then a CRC, where he said he “found a lot of deep resonances in the Heidelberg Catechism and Belgic Confession with the Westminster.” The Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, and Canons of Dordt make up the three forms of unity that express the shared faith of the Christian Reformed Church.
Carter believes his experiences in engaging the Bible across multiple backgrounds of Christian tradition give him a good perspective for now working as an ‘insider’ with one denomination. “With five years on staff with InterVarsity, on two campuses in Montana discipling young adults, and 21 years with Bible League International, when I think of the whole (span) of my career with global scriptural engagement and contextual ministry in parachurch spaces, we still had a focus of the local church as anchor,” Carter explained. “The primary mission we (as Christians) are entrusted with is in service to the local church.”
Responding to a question about building a team encountering exhaustion, budget cuts, and significant change, Carter said, “I want to learn the stories of the individuals. Ministry is hard, and sometimes very painful. I try to invest in the relationships in the team—let’s be friends first, not casual as defined by culture, but in the deep covenantal way as described in John 15. … Building leadership for mission is primarily spiritually formative: listen to God and care for one another as we are called to in Christ … while at the same time shepherding the team toward a common mission. That starts with empathy and a sense of ‘we’re friends on mission together.’”
Carter said he sees a leader’s role to be clearing the path for team members, to “encourage and support them so their hopes can come to fruition.” Part of Carter’s hope is to forge deeper collaborations with Resonate Global Mission, ReFrame, and World Renew, the various agencies of the Christian Reformed Church. “I’m eager to see how the deeper agency collaboration can be a support to the denomination,” especially with the focus ahead on church planting and renewal.
Carter plans to relocate to the Grand Rapids area this summer. He’s an avid reader who also loves walking, hiking, golfing, and learning French.
About the Author
Alissa Vernon is the news editor for The Banner.