WOODHAVEN’S INTERIM PASTOR

MIKE THOMPSON

Rev. Michael L. Thompson assumed his role as Woodhaven’s Interim Pastor and Head of Staff on December 14, 2009. 

In November, Rev. Thompson concluded more than twenty-four years as Pastor of United Presbyterian Church in Cleburne, so he is well-acquainted with the disruption and sadness involved in saying goodbye after a long and successful relationship between a minister and congregation. 

A 1978 graduate of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Rev. Thompson served churches in Hammond, LA and Marlin, TX, before beginning his long tenure in Cleburne.  He received an undergraduate degree from Eastern New Mexico University in 1970.

Mike Thompson has been, and remains, very actively involved in leadership positions in Grace Presbytery, serving as Moderator of Presbytery in 1999 and Moderator of Presbytery Council in 2003.  He served as a member of the Stewardship Committee and more than one term on the Committee on Ministry, and was elected to be a Commissioner to the General Assembly in 1999.

Asked to describe the “Perfect Presbyterian Church” Rev. Thompson declared it “would have as its center a strong sense of community and a shared vision for ministry around the person of Jesus Christ.  It would be a community of faith that experiences laughter and tears, values tradition and new possibilities, nurtures one another and offers genuine hospitality to the stranger, expects much from its members and forgives much.” 

Believing that Woodhaven strives to demonstrate many of those characteristics, the Interim Pastor Search Committee was convinced that Mike Thompson and Woodhaven were a great match for each other.  “Mike brings some unique gifts, including stimulating preaching, timely pastoral care, and quality teaching,” reported Tom Chasser, Moderator of the Search Committee.  “All of these are very important to the members of Woodhaven,” he added.  Through graduate work and experience, Rev. Thompson is a skilled listener and communicator, and for many years has served as a consultant to churches and pastors and has led workshops in Conflict Management Training.

For the time being, Rev. Thompson will maintain an apartment near the church and will commute to his home in Cleburne, where his wife, Karen, is a practicing CPA and managing partner of the Cleburne office of Auldridge Griffin, P.C., a Fort Worth public accounting firm.  At some point, they plan to find a new home somewhere on the south side of the Metroplex and within a reasonable commuting distance for both of them.  Rev. Thompson plans to specialize in interim ministry for the remainder of his active career, and has received interim ministry training and other preparation for this.  Typically an interim pastor remains with a church in transition for one to two years until the church is ready to call its next installed pastor.

A Pastor Nominating Committee was elected by the Congregation on June 13, 2010, and is engaged in the process of seeking a new pastor for the church.