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General Letter of Reference for Gary Moore

I am writing a letter of reference for Gary Moore, at his request, based on my experience with Gary at Grace Community Church in Marblehead, MA. We are a relatively small church, so our activities and needs are unique to a church in an upscale community with a 200-year history. We were a Baptist church for many years and then switched to non-denominational some years ago. We had a long time preacher as well. Unfortunately, in our case, there was not a planned retirement; instead there was a major split between the elders and our pastor that resulted in the pastor and the elders all leaving the church at the same time, which left us adrift and fairly small (about 60 members). We were in real danger of falling apart.

Gary was hired purely as an interim to help heal the wounds, assist in rebuilding the church, and assist in our search for a permanent pastor. He also served the "normal" roles of pastor, including preaching, leading a men's Bible study, counseling, funerals, etc.  

I am pleased to say Gary has done a very good job in accomplishing these goals.  Big picture, our attendance and membership are up, we have moved forward and left the past conflicts behind us, and we now have a new pastor. Of course, as a result of this success, Gary has worked himself out of a job, just as we planned.

Specifics:  

Gary worked effectively with the new church leadership - elders, deacons, and pastor search committee. I was not/am not a part of this group, so did not observe Gary in these meetings. However, I know the folks who are in these roles, and they speak highly of Gary's role, and I can witness the positive results.

Gary is a solid preacher in my view, but I know this is a matter of taste. Gary is very scriptural and expository in his preaching. He also has a very "learned" and academic style - Gary has a very deep knowledge of theology and knows the theologians and their writings and philosophy. Lastly, Gary covers God's love for us, but does not leave out God's judgment. I found this very helpful, as most churches and people prefer to focus on forgiveness and the promise of eternal life rather than God's wrath and judgment and our need for repentance, obedience and holiness. I do not want to scare you away! He takes a balanced approach, and of course tells anecdotes and adds some humor.

Gary has been a solid leader of a men's bible study we have Friday mornings. Our last sessions focused on reading JI Packer's "Knowing God". Gary prepared notes for each session, led them, and made the book and scripture applicable to day-to-day life for our small group of men.

Lastly, my main experience with Gary is as a personal counselor. I have been going through some interesting times, including retirement, family, and personal issues. Gary has taken a genuine interest in my situation, has been very available, and has been most helpful to me. 

I hope this letter serves your needs. It is perhaps not a traditional letter of recommendation, but it is what I know and how I feel. I think Gary has done a great job for us and I would recommend him without reservation as a strong candidate for your initial review process. After that, you and Gary can better judge his specific fit, and you can compare him to your other candidates.  

Please feel free to follow up if you would like to discuss this further

Best Regards
Ken Hines
617-823-4002