Senior Leadership Update

We’re excited to announce an update to our Senior Leadership Team! Beginning June 1st, Jason Earle, Faith Schiller, and Brian Kingrea will serve on our Senior Leadership Team (SLT). We are very grateful this team will continue the legacy of shared leadership at DRCC, and are confident that their complementary giftedness and strong leadership position our church for an exciting season of growth and ministry.

Pastor Mike Bernoi will be retiring on June 30th after faithfully serving on our staff for the past few years and helping to lead us through a season of transition. We are grateful for Mike’s compassionate and Jesus-centered pastoral leadership. Mike and Verna will continue to be an active part of our Damascus Road community. Join us in thanking Pastor Mike for his love and dedication to our church!

The Senior Leadership Team and the Elder Oversite Team are holding a town hall on May 22nd at 6pm to answer any questions you may have about this transition. Please join us in-person at Damascus Road. 

Read the Senior Leadership Team Bios and FAQs to learn more:

Jason Earle

Jason Earle

Jason and his wife, Stephanie, have called DRCC home since joining the team in 2017. He loves making vision and strategy a reality while galvanizing teams and leaders to pursue their God-given calling. Jason is excited about assisting with expanding DRCC’s impact in our local communities. Jason is invested in the next generation, serving faithfully in student ministry and discipling his own kids, Caleb and Hannah. One thing to know about Jason is that he is still celebrating the Eagles Super Bowl win!

Brian Kingrea

Brian Kingrea

Brian and his wife, Kay, have been a part of Damascus Road for five years. With over 25 years of pastoral ministry, Brian loves walking with folks through leadership development, pastoral care, and gift discovery. He gets excited about multi-cultural ministry and seeing every believer discipled to be more like Christ. One thing to know about Brian is that he is a Lt. Paramedic in the Fire Department with a specialization in crisis intervention and stress management.

Faith Schiller

A Chicago native, Faith became a Marylander last year to join the DRCC Team! She’s passionate about engaging young people in the life of the church, building multi-generation ministry strategies, and helping everyone wrestle with the doubts, tensions, and nuances of life and belief. Faith is a proud auntie, a committed friend, and a seminary student. One thing to know about Faith is that she loves houseplants and brought 30+ plants with her from Chicago!

FAQs

What is the Senior Leadership Team (SLT)?

DRCC has three leadership circles: Elders, Trustees and Staff. The Senior Leadership Team (Senior Staff) is responsible for leading mission achievement, vision casting/teaching, strategic planning, leading the church staff, keeping our leadership circles aligned, and shepherding the congregation. The SLT operates under the oversight of the Elder Overseeing Team (EOT). 

• Jason Earle will continue serving faithfully as our Senior Executive Director, overseeing the vital areas of operations, finance, HR, campus developmentfacilities, and local and global missions work.

• Faith Schiller will serve as our Executive Pastor focusing on Teaching & Experience. She’ll continue to lead our teaching team and shape our weekend experiences both in-person and online, and direct a comprehensive digital and communications strategy.

• Brian Kingrea will serve as our Executive Pastor focusing on Community Life & Care. He’ll lead our efforts in family ministries, pastoral care, group life, and build cohesive discipleship alignment across our church.

Who’s ultimately accountable in a multi-leader model?

One of the benefits of a multi-leader model is that the responsibility of leading a church is shared and that the different giftings of leaders are maximized. It also allows for even greater discernment and collaboration for significant decisions. Shared leadership and teaching have always been a core value at Damascus Road. 

Clear roles are important for effectiveness and to avoid unnecessary conflict. The Human Capital Committee (HCC) along with senior staff and the Elders have created role definitions and a process for conflict resolution. 

Ultimately, the Elder Board is responsible for the spiritual health and fulfillment of the vision. Amongst the staff Senior Leadership Team (SLT), there are areas of individual ownership as well as areas of joint ownership as they lead the church under the oversight of the Elder Oversight Team (EOT).

Why do we believe this is a New Testament model?

Shared leadership is demonstrated throughout Scripture. It starts with our Trinitarian God- Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Three persons of the Godhead with distinct roles to fulfill the same mission and living in perfect unison and community. 

The Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 is a good example of a significant decision that impacted the health of the Church and clarity of the Gospel. Multiple voices contributed to the discussion and decision. There was no single leader that made the decision and multiple leaders communicated the decision.  “Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.” (Acts 15:22)

Most of the Apostle Paul’s letter begin and/or end with greetings that indicate he is joined by men and women in writing and delivering the messages. It rarely rests solely on only his Apostolic authority. 

Ephesians 4 and other chapters in the New Testament (1 Cor. 12, Rom. 12) make it clear that Jesus is the Head of the Body and every part is needed in order to fulfill the mission and grow to full maturity. 

“He (Jesus) makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” (Eph. 4:16)

Isn’t it more standard and easier to have a Senior Pastor?

Most people are more familiar with the Senior Pastor model given it’s the most prevalent structure. Naturally, some people like knowing there is one person accountable, or at least the appearance. As we see in the Old Testament, the Israelites wanted a king like the surrounding nations. The human heart tends to desire a “king” and we’re tempted to put ourselves or others on the throne but it’s important that we all ensure that we’re continually placing Jesus as King over our lives. As Scripture makes clear, there isn’t one part of the Body with greater importance. We each have a role to play and desire to best utilize the different giftings. 

In a shared leadership model, it encourages greater collaboration yet doesn’t need to dilute accountability or decision making effectiveness. With clear lanes of responsibility, there can be effective accountability. The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) has clear individual lanes of responsibility as well as a select few areas of shared responsibility (strategic planning, vision casting, accomplishment of organizational goals). The SLT is accountable to the Elder Oversight Team and HCC (Human Capital Committee). 

Will we still have a shared teaching team?

We will continue to maintain a team teaching approach on Sunday mornings. This has always been a value at Damascus Road. We believe that the Church benefits from hearing from a variety of voices. A content development team meets regularly to plan message series and to ensure continuity across messages and communicators. Some series will contain just a few voices while other series may contain more.