An Interview with John Lentz
Members of the Discernment Task Force interviewed many Forest Hill members and friends over the summer, including several staff members. Here’s what Barb Hansen and Peg Weissbrod learned when they interviewed John Lentz in September, 2011:
What role does church play in your life?
“Church is of central importance to me, not because it’s my profession and pays my salary, but because it’s an institutional expression of my faith. It energizes and underpins everything I do. It’s the lens I see my world through. It fills my life with meaning, community, intellectual stimulation, moral agitation, and comfort. And it’s where I want to raise my family.”
What first attracted you to Forest Hill?
“I’d been Associate Pastor at a church in Virginia for 5 years, but when the Senior Pastor left they were going to call a Senior Pastor, and I thought, “I’m 34-it’s time to have my own church.” But I hadn’t been looking very hard. Deanne and I were really just waiting for something to come to them.
“Deanne saw the search committee’s ad in Presbyterian Today magazine and showed it to me, saying ‘I think this is something you want to take a look at.’ I remember the ad had an outline of the church and described Forest Hill as this dynamic, challenging, socially engaged, church in an inner-ring suburb- it gave me a sense that this was not the usual Presbyterian church. It seemed to have a sense of having identified its future–and a bit of a swagger-and I was intrigued.
“So I called the number-but I was the first to contact the Pastor Nominating Committee. They had literally just started and weren’t ready to start interviewing yet. But we were on our way home from vacation in Minnesota and since the church was kind of on the way, I asked if I could stop in for a look.
“And I still remember how I felt the first time I saw the Sanctuary. I was standing in the Narthex looking through the glass partitions at the bright space with all of its windows and I just fell in love with the space.
“So then we continued home, and I didn’t hear anything for months and months. By the time Leanne West [from the Pastor Nominating Committee] finally called me, I had flown down to Florida to interview for a different position. And my brother Andy, who was house-sitting for us, told Leanne I was in Florida interviewing at a church and I guess Leanne kind of panicked and said ‘But I HAVE to talk to him!’
“But she finally got a hold of me, and we came for an interview, and really loved its location and mission in the community. I was drawn to the reality of the 50-50 racial breakdown….I didn’t feel called to an inner city church, but I really liked that Cleveland Heights was a buffer in between the inner city of Cleveland and the wealthier suburbs.”
Was there a time or a moment when FHC provided exactly what you most needed at that time?
“Oh, so many times-it’s hard to choose just one.
“I do remember one time that happened early on in my ministry that’s always stuck with me. Ned Edwards was back in town and I had invited him to come back and preach at Forest Hill. But I was having a really low week–feeling ill-equipped to lead Forest Hill, really lacking confidence, and I felt as though Ned still “owned” the church.
“Right at my lowest, Linn Obery called and said he wanted to have coffee with me. And he came in and we talked and it turned out that the reason he stopped by to see me was to reassure me-to make sure I knew–that I was exactly the right person for Forest Hill Church. It really lifted my spirits and gave me confidence. And that’s why I think it’s always the people at Forest Hill Church that make it as great as it is.”
When asked to choose from a list of words describing what he values most about Forest Hill, John chose:
Community, Forgiveness, Transformation, Relationship, Spiritual gifts, Hospitality, Creativity, Freedom, Integrity, Mystery, and Renewal
What makes you proud to be part of Forest Hill?
• When people outside the church–even outside the presbytery–say, “Oh, Forest Hill Church, that’s a really dynamic church;”
• When our reputation and standing in the community causes people like the City Manager of Cleveland Heights to come over to his house to talk about issues;
• When he preached at the National Cathedral in Washington DC and more than 60 Forest Hill members showed up;
• That Forest Hill can attract and maintain top quality staff–for example, Clover and Anne. They are both strong and gifted leaders - truly outstanding. He is proud of his relationship with them because it is rare to have such collegial, supportive and fun relationships with other staff members;
• That Forest Hill has had only three Senior Pastors since World War II; and
• When he realized how grounded the young people in our congregation are after getting to know them better on their mission trip to Washington, DC.
If you could wave a magic wand and make Forest Hill exactly as you want it to be, what would you do?
“I’d get rid of the pews in the Sanctuary and do something really respectfully architectural with our wonderful sanctuary space.” John said he’d turn it around so that the Narthex wasn’t cut off from the rest of the church, and enclose the Courtyard to be the main entrance–a really welcoming space to walk into instead of the long narrow Fellowship Hall hallway.
Other physical changes would include having a video screen available for worship–he wouldn’t want it up all the time, but he thinks our worship could be enhanced occasionally by visuals . And he would like to see our building even more handicap-accessible.
He also wants to see Forest Hill home to an even more diverse community in terms of race. “We have good intentions but haven’t reached the tipping point yet.” He would never want to lose any of our current staff, but he’d love a racially mixed staff.
“Welcoming, accessible, innovative, diverse”-those are the markers of a great church for John. And he said “I think we’re definitely on the right trajectory. We have a great mixture of different ages in our lay leaders, and I’m proud of how we cooperate. But I’d like us to get even better at being welcoming and inclusive and inviting so newer members feel this is their church as well.
Why do you give your time and money to Forest Hill Church?
“Because I’m at my best when I do–it’s fun–and I want to be part of a community that claims Jesus as its model. Plus it’s a way to support the community, especially when the church is clear about its needs and why it’s asking.
Education, his social life, worship, entertainment, friendships, softball, all his relationships come from Forest Hill—without Forest Hill, there would be a huge void in his life and his family’s life. He said, “I would want to be part of Forest Hill Church even if I wasn’t on staff here.”
Describe the one thing we need to keep “doing or being” in the next ten years.
“I think it’s absolutely imperative to continue emphasizing small group spiritual formation. People want to belong to something, and small groups are where people get that sense of belonging.”
He said he’s been talking about the journey inward and the journey outward from his very first day here, but things really kicked into high gear when we hired Clover and moved from a generalist Associate Pastor to a specialist Associate Pastor.
What do you believe FHC is being called to become?
“I think we’re called to become kind of a hybrid church–one that respects tradition but is open to innovation and inclusion and moving away from institutional terms like reformed or ….I mean, the music Anne Wilson chooses, and the way she mixes in all different types of music, that’s a perfect example of our new hybrid way of being.
“I also think we’re called to become even more permission giving, less institutional, less committee driven. We need to take bigger risks in order to build energy and attract new members.
“There’s a significant market share of church-goers who attend large, conservative churches not because of the theology but because of the exciting stuff that goes on at those churches. So we want to offer exciting programs but keep providing progressive theology.”
He wants people to come to Forest Hill who are young at heart, interested in pushing boundaries, intellectually and spiritually engaged, who want their faith to be focused on personal transformation and social transformation. He wants Forest Hill to be the magic wand that makes this happen.
“I think this can happen without radical change, as long as we stay on the path we’re on but focus on growing our membership, and increasing turnover– people between the ages of 20 and 30, the singles and the married without kids, I want them to feel they belong here. We need to find out what draws them here, what they’re looking for.”
What does you want to become?
“I want to be wiser and more content. Not that I’m not very content at Forest Hill, but I’m still hungry for more growth-I’m just not satisfied yet. And I want to be absolutely as honest and transparent with the congregation as I can possibly be. There are times when members from other faith backgrounds get frustrated with our representational style of Presbyterian governance. And things like the pilgrimages can sometimes seem elitist for people who can’t afford to go on them. So I want to be open and honest and welcoming and inclusive as possible.”
What do you think are the biggest issues facing Forest Hill right now?
“The biggest issue right now is NOT money,” John said, “because that will sort itself out. The biggest issue is the viability and vibrancy of Cleveland Heights.” He believes that if Cleveland Heights fails and our core membership moves away, that Forest Hill Church could disappear as well. He sees our future tied to Cleveland Height’s future, and Cleveland Height’s future tied to the City of Cleveland’s future.
Plus, he said it’s hard to change a church like Forest Hill where people are happy and vital, but he stressed that we can’t grow complacent and rest on our laurels. “We need to discern ways to merge long-time church members with new un-churched members-those with no past church experience at all.”
In the same vein, he thinks our inter-generational events and relationships need revitalization. He said we need new ways of bringing people together. “The old traditional ways aren’t working as well as they used to–we need new ideas to get different groups of people together.”
Another issue he thinks we face is the idea that each church has to be all things to all people. He’d like to see area churches collaborating with each other, sharing resources and programs.
John summed up his optimism for Forest Hill’s future by noting that we’re not cutting edge, we’re not new age, we’re not really pushing any envelopes, but we’re willing to try new ideas–and allow him to try new things-because we live out of a value of trust.
“We’re at a good crossroads now, where we can feel the tension between honoring the strength that’s found in continuity and the need to always continue innovating. And I’m looking forward to Forest Hill’s future as evangelically open-minded, progressive church that transforms lives and then transforms society.”