Rev. 6/2008 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (U.S.A.) CHURCH LEADERSHIP CONNECTION 100 WITHERSPOON STREET LOUISVILLE, KY 40202-1396 Toll Free 1-888-728-7228 ext. 8550 Fax # (502) 569-5870 www.pcusa.org/clc/ Personal Information Form (Part I) General Information Part I Step 1 of 4 Name Blackshear Charles Stewart (Last Name) (First Name) (Middle Name) Preferred Phone (412) 361-3987 Alternate Phone (337) 230-9198 (cell) E-mail cblackshear@pts.edu Fax Street Address 6020 Stanton Ave, Apt. 30 City Pittsburgh State PA Zip Code 15206 Ecclesiastical Status (select one): Part I Step 2 of 4 PC(USA) Presbyterian Minister of Word and Sacrament PC(USA) Honorably Retired Minister of Other Denomination transferring membership to PC(USA) X_ PC(USA) Candidate Church Educator Elder Deacon Other Lay Professional Presbytery Membership: [For PC(USA) ministers and candidates] Presbytery membership or Presbytery of care: South Louisiana Ordination Date: / / / (Month/Day/Year) Candidacy Date: 06_/_05 /_2007 (Month/Day/Year) 1
Church Membership: (For lay professionals) Name of PC(USA) church of membership: City & State: Church PIN# Other Denominations For ministers of other denominations who have passed all 5 of the PC(USA) standard ordination exams, please provide the name of the denomination of current membership: Please provide the PC(USA) Presbytery that you are working with in the process of transferring your membership. Formal Education: Part I Step 3 of 4 Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Master of Divinity (MDiv) Graduating in May, 2009 University of Southwestern Louisiana Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Marketing), 1989 Continuing Education: n/a Part I Step 4 of 4 Personal information contained in Step 4 must be completed online. This is for office use only and will not be distributed 2
Personal Information Form Part II Step 1 of 6 Positions you would consider (Check only those positions with which you want this PIF matched. If you already have some experience for the position(s), check the Y column; if you do not have experience in that position(s), check the N column.) Experience Position Type Experience Position Type Y N Y N X_ Associate Pastor (Christian Education) Minister of Music (ordained) Associate Pastor (Youth) Mission Pastor X_ Associate Pastor(Young Adult) X_ Pastor-parish X_ Associate Pastor (Other) X_ Pastor (Solo) Campus Minister X_ Pastor (Head of Staff) Chaplain Pastor (New Church Development/Fellowship Christian Educator (non-ordained) X_ Pastor (Redevelopment/Transformation) Church Business Administrator Pastor-shared ministry (between a church and College/Seminary faculty another organization) College/Seminary staff Pastor (Tentmaker/Part-time) X_ Co-Pastor X_ Pastor (Yoked field) Designated Pastor Pastoral Counselor Director of Music (non-ordained) Presbytery/Synod executive X_ Executive Pastor Presbytery/Synod program staff Interim Associate Pastor Presbytery/Synod Stated Clerk Interim Ministry (Governing Body) Youth Director (Non-ordained) Interim Pastor Employment type you prefer: _X Full Time Part Time Open to Either Community types you would consider: _X_ Rural _X_ Village _X_ Town _X_ Small City _X_ Suburban Urban Inner City College Recreation Retirement N/A Church sizes you prefer: _X Under 100 members _X 101-250 members _X 251-400 members _X 401-650 members _X 651-1000 members _X 1001-1500 members _X More than 1500 members N/A 3
Primary Skill Choices: PIF (Part II) Step 2 of 6 Select up to 10 skills in which you have experience or training that you would like to use in your next position. Administration of Programs Adult Ministry Building Renovation/Property Development Choir Directing Community Ministries Conflict Management/Mediation Skills X_ Congregational Fellowship Congregational Redevelopment/Revitalization Counseling Curriculum Building Development of New Educational Experiences Evaluation of Program and Staff Facility Management Financial Management Governing Body Ministry X_ Hospital and Emergency Visitation Instrumental Music Leadership Development Leading Music Ministry Management of Building Usage New Church Development Older Adult Ministry Organizational Leadership and Development Pastoral Care X_ Preaching Project Management Rural Ministry Small Membership Church Ministry Staffing/Human Resources Strategic Planning Training Volunteers Urban Ministry Youth Ministry Administrative Leadership Budget Preparation Children s Ministry X_ Communication (Written/Oral) Community Service and Leadership Congregational Communication Congregational Home Visitation X_ Corporate Worship/Sacraments Cross Cultural Collaboration/Cultural Proficiency Defining Program Needs Ecumenical and Interfaith Activities Evangelism Family Ministry Fund Raising Group Process Facilitation Information Technology X_ Involvement in Mission Beyond Local Church Leadership of Staff/Volunteers Legal/Tax Matters Management of Equipment Resources Office Management X_ Organization /Administration Parliamentary Expertise PCUSA Polity/Constitutional Knowledge X_ Problem Solving/Decision Making Public Relations Scholarship/Publishing Spiritual Development Stewardship and Commitment Program X_ Teaching Transitional/Interim Ministry X_ Young Adult Ministry Geographic Choices: _X Suggest my name anywhere in the USA Training/Certification: Interim Ministry Training: Week 1 (Introductory) by (select one) PC (USA) Interim Ministry Network at (City/State) in (year) Week 2 (Advanced) by (select one) PC (USA) Interim Ministry Network at (City/State) in (year) Certified Christian Educator Certified Associate Educator 4
Work experience you have: (Please select only one) _X_ First Ordained Call 0 to 2 years 2 to 4 years 4 to 6 years 6 to 8 years 8 years or more Languages in which you are fluent: _X_ English Spanish Korean Mandarin Chinese Japanese Cantonese Taiwanese Other PIF (Part II) Step 3 of 6 Are you filing as a clergy couple? Yes No _X_ If yes, please enter spouse s name and PIF-ID# Are you a member of the Board of Pension s pension/medical plan? Yes No_X_ Are you willing to serve in a church or institution composed mainly of persons of another race/ethnicity other than your own? Yes_X_ No 5
Sexual Misconduct Self Certification PIF (Part II) Step 4 of 6 The following information related to sexual misconduct was mandated by the Sexual Misconduct Policy and Its Procedures adopted by the 203rd General Assembly(1991), and was revised by the 205th General Assembly(1993). Please check one of the following: _X_ I certify below that no civil, criminal, ecclesiastical complaint has ever been sustained* or is pending* against me for sexual misconduct; and I have never resigned or been terminated from a position for reasons related to sexual misconduct. I am unable to make the above certification. I offer, instead, the following description of the complaint, termination, or the outcome of the situation with explanatory comments. The information contained in my Personal Information Form on file with Call Referral Services is accurate to the best of my knowledge and may be verified by the calling and employing entity. I hereby authorize the entity to which my Personal Information Form is being sent to inquire concerning any civil or criminal records, or any judicial or proceeding involving me as a defendant, related to sexual misconduct. By means of this release I also authorize any previous employer, and any law enforcement agencies or judicial authorities or ecclesiastical governing bodies to release any and all requested relevant information related to sexual misconduct to the entity to which my Personal Information Form is being sent. _X I have read this certification and release form and fully understand that the information obtained may be used to deny my employment or any other type of position from the employing entity. I also agree that I will hold harmless the employing or judicial authority or any other entity from any and all claims, liabilities, and causes of action for the legitimate release of any information related to sexual misconduct. Signature Print Name Charles S. Blackshear Date * Sustained In a criminal court, "sustained" means that there has been a guilty plea, a guilty verdict or a plea bargain. In a civil court, "sustained" means that there has been a judgement against the defendant. In an ecclesiastical case, "sustained" means that there has been a guilty plea and censure imposed, or finding of guilty with censure imposed, or an Alternative Form of Resolution Agreement approved by a permanent judicial commission in the Presbyterian Church (USA) or an equivalent body of another church. * Pending In a criminal court, "pending" means a criminal charge before a grand jury, in the process of being prosecuted, or in a case which there is not yet a verdict. In a civil court, "pending" means a case in which there has not been a decision or judgement, In an ecclesiastical case, "pending" means an investigating committee is inquiring into an allegation or charges have been filed but have not been decided by a permanent judicial commission; or an allegation or charges are in an equivalent state or process in a church other than the PC (USA). (The following is taken from definitions in the General Assembly Sexual Misconduct Policy and its Procedures, Pg.13) "Sexual Misconduct is the comprehensive term used in this policy and its procedures to include: 1) Child sexual abuse, as defined above [refers to Policy]; 2) harassment, as defined above [refers to Policy]; 3) Rape or sexual contact by force, threat, or intimidation; 4) Sexual conduct (such as offensive, obscene or s language or behavior, unacceptable visual contact, unwelcome touching or fondling) that is injurious to the physical or emotional health of another; 5) Sexual Malfeasance defined as sexual conduct within a ministerial (e.g. clergy with a member of the congregation) or professional relatio (e.g. counselor with a client, lay employee with a church member, presbytery executive with a committee member who may be a layperson, a minister, or an e Sexual conduct includes unwelcome sexual advances, request for sexual favors, and verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. This definition is not meant to cover relationships between spouses, nor is it meant to restrict church professionals from having normal, social, intimate, or marital relationships; 6) Sexual Abuse as found in Book of Order D-10.0401b (see Accuser/Victim) 6
PIF (Part II) Step 5 of 6 Please list your work experience: (Please include position title, city, state, church size, community type, and dates from/to or number of years.) HEBRON UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Penn Hills, PA Seminary Intern June, 2007 present Worked in many areas of ministry and administration in the church, including preaching, teaching, working with young adults ministry, and assisting in Hebron s participation in the TwoGether Pittsburgh marriage enrichment program. POLARIS DIGITAL, LLC October, 2002 July, 2006 Lafayette, Louisiana General Manager Self-employed, provided quality high-resolution image scanning, large-format digital printing and short-run digital printing/copying. Clients included major advertising agencies, printing companies, universities and other various businesses. SATURN GRAPHICS, LLC January, 1998 - September, 2002 Lafayette, Louisiana General Manager Managing partner in a full-service digital prepress production firm located in Lafayette, Louisiana. BATON ROUGE PRINTING COMPANY, INC. October, 1994 December, 1997 Port Allen, Louisiana Electronic Prepress Manager Managed the prepress operations for a $5.5 million/year printing company. LOUISIANA GOVERNMENTAL STUDIES, INC. June 1993 to October 1994 Baton Rouge, Louisiana General Manager Managed most aspects of this publishing division of a governmental relations firm, including publishing two 400-page reference books, a legislative pocket directory, an in-depth study of gaming in Louisiana, and various support materials for issues management. Additional responsibilities included facilities management for Long-View Catering, an in-house catering operation supporting the governmental relations firm. 7
BATON ROUGE PRINTING COMPANY, INC. August 1991 to June 1993 Port Allen, Louisiana Electronic Prepress Specialist Was responsible for transitioning the company from paste-up galley type and camera-halftones to composed film negatives including scanned color separations, increasing productivity and turning the typesetting department into a profit center. IMAGE-4 PREPRESS, INC./MORAN PRINTING, INC. June 1990 to July 1991 Baton Rouge, Louisiana Color Prepress Director Directed layout and color separation production using personal computers during the early days of desktop color prepress production. GARAN, INCORPORATED June 1989 to June 1990 Kaplan, Louisiana Computer Graphics Artist/Network Administrator As an early adopter of technology, worked to adapted personal computers for use in silkscreen printing. Please list your other services to the Church or denomination for the past 10 years: Presbytery of South Louisiana Youth Sub-committee, 2002-2005 Co-lead Presbytery youth to Triennium, 2004 Grace Presbyterian Church, Lafayette, LA Elder, active 2002-2005 Chairman of Worship Committee Chairman of Planning & Leadership Committee Served on Mission Study Task Force Chairman of Pastor Nominating Committee Commissioner to Presbytery Senior High Youth Advisor, 2001-2003 Young Adult Sunday School teacher First Presbyterian Church, Baton Rouge, LA Deacon, active 1997-2000 Worked with Liberty Rescue Mission for homeless men Hospital Visitation team Capital Campaign communications team Millennium Bible project (congregation hand-wrote the entire Bible) Usher team captain Stewardship committee 8
For each narrative question, please limit your responses to no more than 1500 characters including spaces and punctuation). Please describe the characteristics of the church or organization you would like to serve, and the unique gifts, skills and experiences you would bring to the position: to: I seek to serve a congregation that is passionate about following Christ and has a desire worship God joyfully in a variety of ways learn and grow as disciples of Jesus Christ minister to those in need in the local community and around the world fellowship with one another as an extended family, and reach out to the unchurched through evangelism. I believe I can offer the church gifts of strong Biblical preaching and teaching, organization and genuine concern for people of all ages. In addition, I am convinced that my nearly twenty years in the business world many of them self-employed has provided me with tremendous administrative experience that will be valuable to the church. Even more importantly, this experience gives me insight into helping people understand the importance of God s Word in their everyday lives. During my service as both an ordained Elder and Deacon I served in many areas of the church. Please describe your present call and accomplishments: I am presently the Pastoral Intern at Hebron United Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, PA. Hebron is a 775-member church with a worship attendance around 500 each week. This internship has provided me with opportunities to preach a number of times at our three morning services, teach adult Sunday School and mid-week Bible Study as well as teach and minister among the young adults (20-somethings) of the church. I have worked with Vacation Bible School for two years, working with the fifth graders. During Hebron s recent capital campaign I served on the prayer and education team and was responsible for planning and implementing the church-wide educational effort that was part of the campaign, including Bible studies, small groups and adult Sunday School classes. Over the summer I had the opportunity to be involved with the pastors in pastoral care, visiting members in the hospitals, nursing homes and in their own homes. 9
Please describe your leadership style: Although often times the pastor is referred to as the shepherd of a flock, in truth there is only one Shepherd, Jesus Christ. I see those of us called to serve in leadership in the church more as Christ s sheepdogs, pointing the way back to the Shepherd who is leading us. Therefore, I believe in a team approach to leadership in the administration of the church with pastors and elders working together. The keys to teamwork are communication, organization and recognizing the unique gifts of each person. Following the example of Jesus, my task as a servant-leader is to help others discover their spiritual gifts and become servant-leaders. I am a firm believer that the session of the church, both the elders and the pastors, have a high calling not just to administration, like a board of directors, but to be leaders in the mission of the church. An important area of leadership for pastors is in the area of spiritual discernment, which is only possible within a lifestyle of prayer. I see one of my most important roles as a pastor to be the lifting up of the church to God in prayer and in turn seeking Christ s will for His church. Again, I do not see this role as imposing my desires on the church but rather seeking to point us all back to Jesus. What are the key theological issues currently facing the church and society, and how do they shape your ministry? Theological reflection should begin where the Apostle Paul began. In Acts 9:3-5, when Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, his response was Who are you Lord? Our understanding of God can only begin once we have been encountered by Him. In light of that encounter we try to appropriately understand who God is. I believe there are 3 theological issues that the church must face today. First, we need to understand who Jesus Christ is and what it means to call Him Lord and Savior. In John 1:14 we read, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We believe that God Himself dwelled among us in Jesus of Nazareth as the Nicene creed puts it, true God from true God. In Matthew 11:27 Jesus says, no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Only through our union with Christ are we reconciled with God and sent out to proclaim the good news of salvation. The second issue is our understanding of the Bible as the written Word of God. Divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures are God s written witness to His revelation and are the Church's only infallible rule of faith and life. As we read the Bible, the Holy Spirit bears witness by and with the Word in our hearts. The third theological issue, which grows out of the first two, is the question of how God calls us to live our lives. God's people are called to holiness in all aspects of life, becoming more like Christ every day, which is only possible because of the Grace of God and the working of the Holy Spirit in us. 10
Please enter up to six references here: PIF (Part II) Step 6 of 6 Name Relation to you Phone Address E-Mail 1. Rev. Dr. John Burgess, PhD, Seminary Professor, (412) 441-3304, 616 N. Highland Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206, jburgess@pts.edu 2. Rev. Dr. Doug Rehberg, Internship Supervisor at Hebron United Presbyterian Church, (412) 371-2307, 10460 Frankstown Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15235 3. John Jaschke, Session Liaison, 204 Waterford Dr., Lafayette, LA 70503, (337) 988-4141, jaschkej@bellsouth.net _X_ I hereby authorize those inquiring into my suitability to contact my references. Signature Print Name: Charles S. Blackshear Date: 03/13/2009 Rev. 9/2006 11
OFFICE OF THEOLOGY AND WORSHIP PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (U.S.A.) GENERAL ASSEMBLY COUNCIL Winter, 2009 Dear PNCs and presbytery colleagues considering Chip Blackshear for a pastoral position, Grace to you, and peace in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! I am delighted that you are considering Chip as a candidate for your pastoral position. I want to make you aware that Chip has been selected to be part of the Office of Theology and Worship s Company of New Pastors, which offers a network of formation, support and resources to new pastors as they make their way through their final year of seminary and into their first call. Company of New Pastors (CNP) is designed to establish new pastors in a set of life-long practices and spiritual disciplines that form a foundation for a vital life of ministry. CNP seeks to immerse new pastors in a way of living with God and with one another that will keep the passionate edge of ministry sharp for as long as they are pastors. Since we began this ministry in 2000, we have had a remarkable track record of successful transition of our participants into parish ministry! Funded in part by a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment, CNP offers a wonderful network of support to selected seminarians from their final years of study into their first four years of pastoral ministry. Participants are recruited by their professors, who meet with them monthly during the final half of their seminary program. After graduation groups are configured geographically, meeting regularly with a team of veteran pastors whose ministries display the virtues we are seeking to establish in those newly ordained. The purpose of these gatherings is to form a community of ongoing theological conversation, shared spiritual disciplines, and mutual encouragement and admonition. Years of working with hundreds of pastors across the PCUSA has taught us that pastors who maintain active habits of vigorous, sustained attention to the faith through theological dialogue and disciplined spiritual practice, together with like-minded colleagues, will be better pastors. And, their churches will notice the difference. We trust the habits CNP nurtures during these crucial first years in ministry will become lifelong patterns for our participants. As part of CNP, Chip has covenanted to practice the disciplines of reading Scripture, study of our Presbyterian Confessions, and to a life of prayer on a daily basis. In addition, Chip will participate in one to two CNP covenant group gatherings over the next few years, each lasting three or four days (no Sundays will be involved; there are meetings at approximately 8 month intervals). We have found these covenant groups to be essential, life-giving and nurturing times that greatly enrich the ministry of all involved. We are confident that churches privileged to call CNP participants, as well as the presbyteries in which they serve, will notice substantial and distinctive benefit in the quality of their work as pastors and presbyters, due to their involvement in CNP s support and disciplines. If you have any questions about what this program might require of you or of Chip please contact Karen Russell, Program Assistant for CNP at 888-728-7228, ext. 5401 or karen.russell@pcusa.org. You can also learn more about CNP at our website, www.pcusa.org/theologyandworship/whatwedo/newpastors.htm. In Christ s service, Quinn Fox Associate for Theology Director, Company of New Pastors 100 Witherspoon Street Louisville, KY 40202-1396 (502) 569-5334 (Theology) (502) 569-5331 (Worship) FAX (502) 569-8060 Toll Free 1-888-728-7228