You
know how in life there are people, and then there are “those” people… the special (and sometimes hard to come by) types
who have this uncanny way of holding your attention. Perhaps it is their
abundance of perspective, or maybe it is their deep seeded passion… regardless,
there is something about them that manages to surprise, inspire, challenge and
humble you in a remarkable kind-of way. Well, I think most would agree with me
in saying Sid Batts is one of “those”
people.
Sid
graciously sat down with me earlier this week and allowed me to bombard him
with questions (one of my all-time favorite activities)! He also gave me
permission to share our discussion with you. So here is a grab-everything-I-could-in-one-hour snapshot into the man behind
the pulpit.
Sid
Batts is a well spoken, well dressed Ivy League scholar who enjoys spending his
free time playing golf and studying social and cultural theory. In addition to
being published himself, he is an avid reader, touting Malcolm Gladwell as one
of his favorite authors due to Gladwell's “amazing ability to see around the curve and
to synthesize ideas.” It is not surprising to learn Sid was president of the
student body in high school, that he has delivered commencement addresses and that
he strives to know all 3000+ members at First Presbyterian Church by name.
The
neat thing is that this chic pedigree is only part of what makes Sid Batts one
of “those” people. Balancing his impressive list of accomplishments is an
authenticity, a warm-heartedness that makes him very approachable. Within
seconds of hearing Sid speak, “southern” is obvious – both in terms of his
accent and in the ways of his heart. Since graduating from seminary, he has led
churches in North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. He loves Gulf Coast cooking (oysters
and shrimp being his favorites), and much to the delight of one lucky bidder at
last Friday’s First Night auction, he makes a mean seafood gumbo. Sid does not
carry a blackberry or smartphone device, “deliberately,” although he will admit
to texting on occasion. He is the proud father of two girls, Meredith and Emily
who live in Charleston and Atlanta respectively. He can hardly go five minutes
without mentioning his wife Cathy, and his face lights up when the topic of his
grandson even starts to crest the conversational horizon.
Q) What
makes FPC different from other places you have worked… and from other churches
in general?
A) There
is a unique sense of loyalty here. First Presbyterian members truly love this
church and they hold a deep reverence for those who came before them. Like a
lot of Presbyterians, we are a group that strives to do things well; you don’t
see many half-baked ideas coming out of here. But we are also doing a good job
of taking some of the ‘headiness’ out of Presbyterianism and adding ‘hands’ and
‘hearts’ to our ministry.
Q) What
would you say is our greatest strength?
A) First
Presbyterian Church is a big enough tent that it can support a real diversity
of membership. There is so much action here… it is truly like a 40 lane highway!
Our members bring their own unique ideas and talents to the table and then pick
a lane and go. Whether they like 8:30, 10:30 or the Rejoice worship service… maybe
they enjoy volunteering at Hot Dish and Hope, at our Wednesday night suppers or at the winter emergency shelter. Whatever the interest, there is truly something
for everyone at FPC.
Q) How
about our biggest weakness?
A) I
mentioned our size and the diversity of our membership as strengths, but these
two things can also be weaknesses. We love that people find their lane in our
40 lane highway, but we also need to make a point of changing lanes periodically.
I think we need to continue looking for ways to mix things up… we need to
cross pollinate in order to build our internal community.
Q) In
professional environments we are often advised to “leave work at work.” Does
that apply to people in ministry and if so, is it advice you try to abide by?
A)
I live it, I love it, but I try to keep it from being all-consuming. I deliberately
turn email off at certain points in the day, which is why I don’t carry a
blackberry. I try to avoid staying engaged 24x7 with everything that is
happening at the church. And I have learned to compartmentalize. Typically, it
is after I have taken the time to get away and clear my head that I feel like I
am serving and leading at my best.
I
should also note that the only reason I am ever able to turn work off comfortably
is because we have an incredible staff. Martha has been with me since I came to
First Pres, almost 10 years ago. Our leadership team has also been together for
a long time. I feel like we do a good job of blending our strengths and our
weaknesses; having a strong team is critical!
Q) Is
there a lot of pressure on you (and your family) to be perfect all the time?
A)
I want people to feel like they know me. I don’t want them to think I am
something or someone I’m not, which is why I try to be the same person up in front
of the congregation as I am in the privacy of our home. Like in every
profession there are stereotypes you have to deal with… just look at bankers
and politicians today. I can remember times in my life when those types
of things bothered me, but I quickly learned the value of knowing who I was. You
kind-of have to negotiate all of that stuff within yourself and identify who
you are at your core. The same has always been true for Cathy and the girls. We’ve
had the good fortune of living in communities where people accepted us for who
we are, but we’ve also never shied away from encouraging the girls to be ‘normal.’
Q) Like
any job, I’m sure there is a “business” element to what you do. Is it hard for
you to separate the financial and political elements of your job from the spiritual
elements?
A)
This goes back to what I said about not letting my role here be
all-consuming. My personal experience is also that larger churches tend to have
less of the politics and drama than smaller churches. The way our session is
structured helps. Rotating people in 3-year cycles can slow things down at times
but it keeps us from having to deal with over-controlling entities who are
trying to drive a single agenda.
Q) You
are a great orator. Have you always been comfortable speaking in public?
A) Thank
you, that is nice of you to say… and yes, I think I have always been fairly
comfortable speaking in public. There are certainly times when I know what I’m
trying to say is not working. I am also not great at going off-the-cuff, nor am
I really in a position to do so very often. But for whatever reason I've never feared public speaking.
Q) Can
you tell me the process you go through in writing a sermon?
A)
Typically I try to come up with one idea each week. I pull from the Lectionary,
which is a collection of scripture that follows the liturgical cycle. I like to
use that as a guide, and if we follow it we should end up going through the entire
Bible every three years. For the most part though, I do try to grab hold of one
compelling idea every week. On Monday I will start collecting an assortment of things
in a folder: study guides, event handouts, inspiring comments and so forth. On
Tuesday our worship planning committee will meet to select all of the hymns and
confessions and anthems. Our hope is that come Sunday morning, people will be
able to see one thematic element woven through every part of the service. When I leave the office on Wednesday, I take what
was decided in worship planning and everything I have collected throughout the
week home with me. Then I block out all of Thursday, about 10 hours of
uninterrupted time, to write the actual sermon.
Q)
Do you rehearse your sermons? In front of Cathy?
A) (Laughter) I used to rehearse them for Cathy
but after a while I realized she has her own schedule and responsibilities to
worry about. Plus, what an entire congregation is going to hear on Sunday
morning should not be solely dependent on whether my wife thinks it’s a good message
or a bad message. That being said, I do think it’s important to hear what
something sounds like prior to delivering it to a congregation. A lot of times
I will print my sermons and drive around with them in my car. If I come to a
red light or just have a moment in the day I will read them out loud, to
myself. I also try to wake-up by 4:50am Sunday
morning and read through everything again. That way I can be at the church by
6:00am ready to go.
Q) FPC
has obviously gone through a tough couple of years in terms of the economy and
the Great Recession. Can you talk about this from your perspective?
A) The
financial burden we’ve been experiencing here at First Pres is definitely
unprecedented… and we are not alone; everyone is struggling. You may not be
aware of this, but back in 1997 we raised about $6 million dollars to build the
Life Center. In 2003 we discovered the walls of our new facility were
cracking, and after a series of inspections and surveys realized we had a
major design flaw on our hands. Because of a calamity of errors, the entire
building essentially needed to be
rebuilt. We had a preservation fund and some money to pull from but in the end
it cost us about $4 million. This was in 2005. We got a great Life Center out
of it, but it meant we were not prepared to handle anything else. Then the
Great Recession hit in 2008.
It
has been painful, but we will get out of this. The big paradox in all of it is
that the church, in the last couple of years, has really become the type of
church we always thought it should be. We used to be a ‘Sunday Church’ and now
we are a 24x7, 40 lane highway kind of church.
Q)
If you could offer one piece of advice to new members, what would it be?
A)
To jump in! There is so much going on here and our members are incredibly resilient.
I want them to apply that resilient spirit to getting involved.
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