I was raised in a Catholic family but church was never a big part of my life. I found a faith of my own at a church camp in Malibu, Canada. When I returned home I became immediately involved in a dynamic church plant in Seattle, WA. I loved the innovative approach to worship and outreach I experienced there, but I never felt comfortable with the theology or the leadership culture of the church.
In 2004, now in Washington DC, I found myself stuck in a job that I did not like and wasn’t particularly good at. Unsure of what I wanted to try next, I took an on-line “strengths finders” test to see if that could help shed some light. I don’t remember exactly what the results of the test were but I remember thinking, “huh, that’s kind of what a pastor does”.
It wasn’t the first time I had felt this itch to pastoral ministry. In fact, when I first became a Christian as a teenager, I actually prayed, “Ok God, I will follow you, but I am NOT becoming a pastor.” Ha! I should have known!
So I enrolled at Wesley Seminary in Washington DC, where I fell in love with the study of the Bible and theology as well as church history, Christian ethics and pretty much every other subject that was offered. The various approaches to these things allowed me to explore and ask questions that simply were not welcome in the churches I had been a part of up to this point.
But there were a few classes that were a little bit more of a challenge for me. Classes that taught worship and liturgy and church organization and polity were all pretty foreign to me. And I wondered why it was that these people who showed such creativity and innovative thinking when it came to the Bible and theology seemed so stuck when it came to worship and institutional organizations.
Thus began a lifelong quest to find places where I could explore creative and innovative ideas in theology, biblical interpretation AND worship, liturgy and church organization.
At some point in Seminary someone handed me a couple of books, and they changed everything for me.
In his writings, Brian McLaren became for me a partner in my quest. At last, somebody else was asking all the questions I had been asking, and some I hadn’t even thought to ask yet! And the best part? He was right up the road! So I reached out and introduced myself and thus began a relationship that has fed my soul and informed my ministry ever since.
I spent two years as pastoral intern for young adults at Cedar Ridge Community Church in Burtonsville, MD, where Brian McLaren was senior and founding pastor. I learned all that I could from him and the rest of the staff there. I was young and idealistic and made plenty of mistakes. But I also learned and grew and gained confidence. At the end of my time at CRCC Brian sent me off with these encouraging words:
“Jason scores high on every indicator – personal character and
integrity, personal maturity, spiritual depth and sincere love for
God, people skills and compassion, intelligence and wisdom, Biblical
knowledge and interpretive skill, theological sensitivity, and
endurance.” — Brian McLaren
At the end of seminary I had offers to join the staff of existing churches and I thought about it, long and hard. But I wanted to put some of the ideas that were running around in my head into action and so I gathered a group of friends and we started New Leaf Church in College Park, MD.
I spent over 6 years as pastor of New Leaf Church and it was, to date, one of the most inspiring, challenging and rewarding experiences of my life.
Of course, the other inspiring, challenging and rewarding experience of my life has been being a husband and a father. I am married to Dr. Tara Drozdenko who has a PhD in Physics and currently works for The Outrider Foundation. Together we have a 13 year old son who is our pride and joy. He is funny, creative, and has the biggest heart of anyone I have ever met.
The most difficult decision I have had to make in my ministry was to leave New Leaf Church to join the pastoral staff as Minister of Community at First Baptist Church in Madison, WI. I was at First Baptist from 2012 to 2020 and it was a challenging and inspiring experience that taught me all new things about church and organizations and diversity and serving the broader community.
The most exciting project I have worked on at FBC was called Common Table. It was an alternative worship service that drew in young adults and young families. It wasn’t quite contemporary but it definitely wasn’t traditional. It was its own unique thing, and it is beautiful.
On June 9, 2020 I accepted a call to be Pastor of Underwood Memorial Baptist Church in Wauwatosa, WI. Underwood is a beautiful, historic church with a long history of work and activism in the community, and I am blessed to be their pastor.
In the Spring of 2023, I am scheduled to receive my Doctor of Ministry in Creative Leadership from Central Seminary. During my coursework, I have studied organizational change through the four frames theory of organizational leadership, the significant issues facing the contemporary church in this post-aberrant time, and how the tools used in design thinking can be applied to change in the church. This work culminated in the writing of my dissertation studying churches that are looking for new ways to use their buildings and properties in these new times.
Rev. Dr. Jason Mack 