The Search

The Pastor Nominating Committee gave an update to the congregation on the process undertaken by the PNC so far in our search for our next Senior Pastor.

The Pastor Nominating Committee gave an update to the congregation on the process undertaken by the PNC so far in our search for our next Senior Pastor.

The Pastor Nominating Committee gave an update to the congregation on the process undertaken by the PNC so far in our search for our next Senior Pastor.

The Co-Moderators of the Pastor Nominating Committee have shared an update on the Past Search Process, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at how they are approaching discernment and specific items for you to spend time in prayer over. Read the update here.

Read the Update

The Pastor Nominating Committee gave an update to the congregation on the process undertaken by the PNC so far in our search for our next Senior Pastor.

The Pastor Nominating Committee gave an update to the congregation on the process undertaken by the PNC so far in our search for our next Senior Pastor.

The Pastor Nominating Committee gave an update to the congregation on the process undertaken by the PNC so far in our search for our next Senior Pastor.

Dear HP Pres Church Family,

We want to thank you for the honor and privilege of serving you, our congregation, during such a tender time of leadership transition. The grief and loss of our beloved senior pastor, Bryan Dunagan, is still very real for us as individuals and as a group within our PNC. Even still, we know and receive the charge from you to discern who God is calling to be our next senior pastor.

That journey is well underway. We have met 20 times with over 60 hours of training and togetherness, learning from ECO’s wise council and from former HP Pres PNC members. From this fruitful time together, we have determined five phases on the path to finding our new senior pastor:

• EQUIP Phase: PNC receives training
• ENGAGE Phase: PNC hosts focus groups
• EXPLORE Phase: PNC pursues potential candidates
• ENDORSE Phase: PNC presents nominated candidate
• EMBRACE Phase: PNC onboards new pastor

We have completed phase one: EQUIP. We are currently transitioning to the ENGAGE phase, where our focus turns to you, the congregation, for input on the qualities and attributes you feel are important for our next senior pastor.  This is a vital part of the process, and we encourage you to attend one of the many focus group engagements so that your valued voice can be heard. For more information on upcoming focus group opportunities, scroll further down this page.

We anticipate this ENGAGE phase to be in process over the coming months, providing ample opportunity for you to share your thoughts with us. If you are unable to attend any focus group meetings, you may email us using pastor.search@hppres.org to communicate your ideas, concerns, or encouragement.

As a PNC, we plan to communicate regular updates to the congregation as we move through these phases, but we also want to convey the importance of confidentiality during this entire process. Thank you for your understanding on this matter and please know we will likely not be able to respond to all your inquiries.

Our biggest ask from you is needed in every phase of this journey, and that is prayer. Will you pray that as a group, we will remain Jesus-centered, scripture-rooted, and spirit-led in this process, hearing God’s voice above all other voices?  For each PNC member, would you pray for extra measures of unity, discernment, protection, wisdom, and joy? And would you also please pray specifically for the person whom God is calling to be our next senior pastor?

Each one of us on the PNC is honored and humbled to serve you in this role, and we are as eager as you are to discover the man or woman God has chosen to lead us next. Thank you again for your confidence, your support, your patience, and your prayer cover; we are all in this together.

Your PNC Moderators,
Charlie Davis & Kelsey Phillips

The Pastor Nominating Committee gave an update to the congregation on the process undertaken by the PNC so far in our search for our next Senior Pastor.

As part of the search for our next Senior Pastor, the Pastor Nominating Committee is conducting the following focus groups throughout our church family:

• Acts Too Class
• Anchor Table Leaders
• Ascent Table Leaders
• Becoming HP Pres
• Bell Class
• Choir
• Community Group Leaders
• Connections
• Contemporary Service
• Current and Past Deacons
• Current and Past Elders
• Disciples Class
• Early Childhood families (0-Kinder)
• Family Life
• Highland Kids Teachers (1st-6th)
• HP Pres Executive Staff
• HP Pres Outreach Ministry
• HP Pres Staff
• HP Pres Students
• Hundley/Poole Class
• Journey Class
• Marriage Prep Leaders
• Prayer Teams
• Trinity Class
• Vine Class
• Young Adult
• Young Singles

Meet The Pastor Nominating Committee

On Sunday, April 28, at the end of our 11 am Sanctuary service, there was a Congregational Meeting to vote on nominees to serve on the Pastor Nominating Committee. Learn about the committee below:

Kurt Alexander

Kurt and his wife Melissa have two children, ages 4 and 7. They became actively involved at HP Pres soon after they moved from Atlanta to Dallas in 2014. They have served in a variety of capacities over the years, most recently with Kurt serving as an Elder and ONC committee moderator.

Carol Chapman

Carol has been a member of HP Pres since childhood, and she and her husband, Patton, have been worshiping and serving together for over 43 years. They have three grown children and seven grandchildren. Carol’s areas of activity have included serving as Sunday School Superintendent, Early Childhood Moderator, Circle Chairman, VBS teacher, the Prayer Room, Austin Street Center Volunteer, Women’s Retreat Co-Chair, book studies, and welcoming people to HP Pres as a cart driver.

Charles Davis

Charles and his wife Sally have been members at HP Pres for 18 years. They have two adult children. Charles has served as Deacon Moderator & Vice Moderator, as well as being on the Deacon GriefShare team. In addition, he has served on the Officer Nominating Committee, on the Board of The Day School as board chair, and in recent years as a table lead for Teach Me to Pray. Charles is currently an Elder serving on the session, actively involved in the Ascent Men’s Ministry, the Listening Prayer Team, the Crisis Prayer Team, and is serving on the Columbarium Committee.

Jed Melson

Jed is a lifelong member of HP Pres. He is married to Jen, and they have four boys, ages 3 to 12. He has served as an Elder, on the Operations Committee, on the Start Here team, and currently teaches in the Highland Kids ministry. Jed and Jen have been in multiple community groups over their marriage, most recently leading ones for newlyweds.

Aaron Murff

Aaron has been married to his wife, Hillary Murff, for 17 years, and they have four children. Aaron and Hillary have been active members of Highland Park Presbyterian Church since they joined in 2018. They have loved serving together, teaching Sunday School in the Highland Kids Ministry, as well as in Marriage Prep.

Austin Neuhoff

Austin has been a member for over 20 years. He is married to Pauline, and they have four adult children. Austin has been active in serving refugees in the Dallas community since 2010. He first started through the Sanctuary Ministry at HP Pres with the Lost Boys of Sudan and has been helping refugees from Eritrea, Iraq, Somalia, Bhutan, and other countries. He and his wife have enjoyed being an “older couple” as part of a young married couples community group for the past few years.

Kelsey Phillips

Kelsey is married to Chandler Phillips, and they have three children in 6th through 8th grade. Kelsey has been a Covenant Partner for 20 years. She enjoys serving in leadership and teaching roles with Anchor, Teach Me to Pray,  and The Prayer Project prayer teams. Kelsey is currently on the session in her second year as Elder.

Neil Rambin

Neil joined HP Pres in 1980. While active in leadership in the young singles ministry of HP Pres he met his future wife, Nelene. Together they have two grown sons. Neil has served in various capacities including as a deacon, elder, committee moderator, adult Sunday School teacher, and Clerk of the Session. He currently serves as a member of the session’s Vision Committee, as a Sunday morning greeter for the 11 am Hall Worship Service, and as a member of the ECO Texas Presbytery Governing Council.

Bailey Schaufele

Bailey joined HP Pres in 2017 with her husband, Paul. Bailey and Paul were married in June of 2014 and have three children ages 4 to 7. She is currently serving as a deacon and helps lead Re|Engage and Highland Kids Sunday School classes. Bailey is active in the residential real estate community and enjoys playing tennis and spending time with her family.

Alisa Sell

Alisa and her family moved to Dallas in 2008 and joined HP Pres in 2009. Alisa and Clay have three adult children. Currently, Alisa serves as an Elder, as well as on the Columbarium and Vision committees. She has served as a deacon, a table leader for both Anchor Women’s Bible Study and the new member’s classes, a VBS teacher, a Confirmation Mentor, and on the Highland Students committee. In addition, she and her family have mentored five international SMU students through a joint venture between SMU and HP Pres.

Ashley Shull

A lifelong member, Ashley was baptized, confirmed, and married at Highland Park Presbyterian Church. She currently serves in the Highland Students ministry and in Anchor. A Deacon since 2021, Ashley is married to Vance, and together, they have three children in 1st through 9th grade.

At the end of our 11 am Sanctuary service, on Sunday, April 28, there will be a Congregational Meeting to vote on nominees to serve on the Pastor Nominating Committee. The slate of nominees, their biographies, and photos will be added here in the days ahead.

As part of the process of searching for our next Senior Pastor, we want to hear from you. This Congregational Survey will help our future Pastor Nominating Committee have important information during the search. Thank you for your participation.

As of Monday, March 4, the survey has been closed. Thank you to the 1,200 people who took the survey.

Update as of February 21, 2024: Recommendations are closed. Thank you for your prayerful and thoughtful submissions.

The Slate Making Task Force is seeking recommendations from the congregation for members of our next Pastor Nominating Committee. Let us know about people who may be a good fit by submitting names through the button below.

Prayer for Submitting Names

Father, I pray that you would fill me and guide me through your Holy Spirit as I recommend people to serve on the Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC). I entrust the whole process to you. I pray for supernatural wisdom and discernment for the Slate Making Task Force.  I ask now that they may select a PNC that is prayerful, dynamic, diverse, and attentive to your voice while leading to call the next Senior Pastor of HP Pres. Lord, we want to abide in you as we seek to lead all generations to find and follow Jesus for the flourishing of the city and beyond. In Christ’s name,  Amen.

Requirements to be on the Pastor Nominating Committee:

• Agree and adhere to ECO’s Essential Tenets.
• Have been a Covenant Partner for at least three years.
• Deeply committed to prayer.
• Active and spiritually invested in the ministries of the church.
• Able to work effectively on a team.
• Possess a sense of spiritual discernment.
• Possess unique and diverse spiritual gifts.
• Isn’t a current member of the staff at HP Pres.

The due date for submitting recommendations is February 20, 2024.

Our Session formed a Slate Making Task Force (SMTF) consisting of three Elders, three Deacons, and three Covenant Partners who are not serving as either Elders or Deacons. The primary role of the SMTF is to gather recommendations from our congregation for the Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC), narrow down the recommendations to 9 to 11 covenant partners representing every part of life at HP Pres, and present them to the congregation for an affirmation to form the PNC. The PNC will then begin the prayerful work of searching for our next Senior Pastor.

SMTF Members

Laurie Connell	Justin Eastburn (moderator)	Cole Evans	Carrie Green	Anne Lindsey Hunt
Guy Kerr	Michael Miller	Tim Roberts	Angie Vaughan

On January 19, the Session gathered together at their annual retreat to celebrate where God has taken us, and to seek where he is leading us in the future. Read the update, titled “The Path Ahead – Part One”.

On Sunday, January 8, Elders shared an update with the congregation, thanking them for their unity and support, and requesting prayers for the upcoming Session Retreat, which would define the Search Process

Jay Lee, Executive Pastor, is appointed Head of Staff by the Session of HP Pres, and sends an update to the congregation about the next steps taking place to care for our congregation and plan for the future.

Here are four easy ways to support the future of our church by praying for the Pastor Nominating Committee.

• Pray for wisdom and discernment when they consider and assess potential candidates
• Pray for unity and trust between one another as they begin to build a strong community with each other
• Pray for protection from pride, division, and fear
• Pray for openness to different perspectives and deep awareness of the movement of the Holy Spirit

“The job of the Pastor Nominating Committee isn’t to find somebody to fill a job position, but to discern a call. Discerning a call is different because it involves lots of time in prayer, listening to the Holy Spirit, and finding agreement between the diverse group of people on the PNC, our future Senior Pastor, and their family. When that happens, it’s the most incredible thing. It’s a process that works but takes time. The best way to support our elected PNC is to pray for them, be patient, and trust that God will use them to discern the right next person to lead our church.” – Martha Hooper, former PNC member

The truth is, only God knows. But based on the timetable that was needed to find our last two Senior Pastors, our hope is to have someone in place in 2025. This date could move up or back based on how God leads our future Pastoral Nominating Committee. Please continue to be in prayer for this process.

The decision to follow past precedent for developing a Slate Making Task Force to select the Pastor Nominating Committee was made for three reasons:

1) It is a process that the church is familiar with and one that has led to the formation of strong PNCs in the past.

2) Utilizing an SMTF allows for broader congregational engagement in the search process.

3) Given the size of our church and the number of potential candidates, the process of receiving nominations, evaluating candidates, conducting interviews, and forming a diverse and effective team is a sizable task. While our governance policies and ECO would permit the GCC or Session to directly nominate the PNC, it was determined that it was better to have a task force give greater focus to this task so as to allow the GCC and Session to give their focus to shepherding the congregation through the season of transition.

Pastors and staff do not serve on the Slate Making Task Force or the Pastor Nominating Committee but can provide advisory roles. Jay Lee, as Executive Pastor, can designate staff to assist the SMTF and PNC as needed.

The Pastor Nominating Committee is a committee of the congregation. As such, the congregation’s affirmation of the nominees is not a rubber stamp, but a governing responsibility. Furthermore, as a committee of the congregation, the PNC is responsible to the congregation and Presbytery, not the Session. It is expected that the Session will receive the names of the nominees to the PNC prior to them being announced publicly, but the Session does not approve the slate before it is presented to the congregation.

There is no age requirement for the next senior pastor. The profile preferences will be set by the Pastor Nominating Committee with input from the Session and the Church Health Assessment. And yes, women can be candidates for senior pastor. Our ECO Essential Tenets clearly state that we believe both men and women can serve equally in any ministry or office of the church, including Senior Pastor. In fact, to this end, we have charged the Slate Making Task Force to ensure that all PNC candidates not only ascribe intellectually to this Essential Tenet but can also confidently affirm that they will consider qualified candidates equally without regard to gender.