Hey there! My name is Oliver Parsons and I’m excited to be taking this class this fall.<\/p>\n
I live in Kelowna, BC but am originally from Cranbrook, BC, which is located in the East Kootenays. I moved to Kelowna in order to be closer to my (now) wife. We got married last March! When I finish this course, I will be almost halfway done the program. This has been a hectic fall for me as I just recently got a 25 hour position at a church in Kelowna. Before that, I was working full-time in a nonprofit coffee shop. and serving in my church. Now I will only work one day at the coffee shop while I get plugged into the new church I am working at. The title of the position is “Connections Pastor” but the role is similar to that of a discipleship or associate pastor. My wife and I are excited about this new chapter as we have been praying God would provide an opportunity to step into a church in a bigger role. This felt like a great fit and we are certain God directed us here.<\/p>\n
I will be totally honest, the concept of strategic leadership totally aligns with where my head is often at. I am a big picture thinker and am often “zooming out” of situations as I consider the bigger issues and questions. Strategic leadership feels a little bit like that – zooming out from the small tasks and details in order to give oversight or direction for the big things. I have some experience doing this but not a ton. In fact, I have very little experience with this when it comes to organizations. I tend to think most deeply and most often about the church (capital “C” Church as well as my local church). I am excited to learn more about this topic and integrate it into many different settings.<\/p>\n
Here’s a few other things you should know about me.<\/p>\n
Over the last year of working in an amazing coffee shop (called “Third Space”) I am officially a coffee snob. In fact, I often take my own coffee equipment around with me because churches, schools and friends’ homes typically don’t serve great coffee. As with anything, when you get used to a certain standard it is hard to go down again. It’s become an interesting problem for me.<\/p>\n
I also play a lot of disc golf. Some people call it frisbee golf, and many people laugh at the sport, but it is such a great sport. I played in two tournaments this year and try to play at least once a week. I play lots of other sports but most of them aren’t very memorable so no point in mentioning them.<\/p>\n
Finally, my wife and I have recently gotten interested in the concept of “ethically sourced” things such as clothes, coffee and other consumable goods. We have tried to be a little bit more conscious of what we are buying and how it affects people around the globe. The more I learned about coffee – and the terrible wages most coffee farmers are getting – the more I started to care about this topic. Often times, our mindset in North America is “out of sight, out of mind” but I think Christians should hold ourselves to a higher standard. I have found that buying ethically sourced goods is a practical way of caring for, or loving, other people. Looking forward to connecting more with you as we go along!<\/p>\n
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