print: Pastor Paul Landrew / Interview / May, 2007 on BlackGospel.com, Your Gospel Music Ministry Source!

Interview with Pastor Paul Landrew
May 2007, BlackGospel.com by Christopher Heron

Christopher Heron: Pastor Landrew, your journey to full-time ministry is a fascinating one that included important preliminary stints in the commercial world before eventually accepting your calling as the shepherd for the St. Stephen Baptist Church. Could you share with us how your duties in commerce and your diligent academic studies in engineering and business prepared you to oversee an expanding church ministry in Houston, Texas?

Pastor Paul D. Landrew: When I consider how God navigated my steps, I stand in awe of how awesome He really is. In reviewing my journey, I appreciate the discipline I learned from the commercial world. The fact that I was able to learn the importance of processes and procedures has contributed greatly to help me implement order in the work of the Kingdom. When God tells us that all should be done decent and in order, we fail to realize that He employed a system of processes even from creation to bring about that which He created. Everything was properly sequenced and the inter-dependence of every latter thing on every former thing is evident.

The discipline of study has also helped expand my ability to view things. Engineering helps me to see the possible in the midst of the problem. We are not stalled by problems we are actually intrigued by them. There is no need for creativity in the midst of everything being good and functioning. The presence of problems is an invitation to creative process development thereby doing what Paul told Titus to do - set things in order.

CH: You're also responsible for launching a very distinctive ministry called the Fellowship of Salt & Light. Could you explain what the particular purpose of this ministry is? And why did you feel a calling to launch this unique ministry, with so many duties already under your fold?

PL: Part of the challenge of any thing is to maintain identity. Why do I say that? I say that because the longer you get away from the origin of anything, if you are not careful you will forget what made that particular thing relative in the first place. Identity is the key to survival. When you look at the church, we have become all things to all people that by all means some might be saved. That is ok; Paul actually initiated and endorsed this kind of thinking. However, he was careful to NOT lose sight of his identity. He knew who he was in Christ and who Christ was in him.

The Fellowship of Salt and Light is purposed to keep those who are a part of it and those who are aware of it in full remembrance of the identity of the church. We are salt and light, influence and illumination. We purpose to provide a venue for ministers and ministries to be mentored and molded into a deeper relationship with God thereby enabling them to provide a deeper ministry to the field into which they have been called. We have Pastors and Churches in the United States, Mexico, Argentina, and South Africa. The Fellowship is not an additive work, it is ingrained work. It enables the ministry we have to function in full view of who God has called us to be.

CH: Perhaps the most ambitious venture and life-saving initiative the St. Stephen Baptist Church currently overseas is the St. Stephen Medical Center. Could you tell us how this opportunity to oversee and manage a healing ministry in Houston, Texas was made possible? And how has this practical healing ministry further enhanced the lives of church members and the citizens it serves in Houston?

PL: Again the charge of initiating and operating anything that deals with transforming the hurting to the healthy can be daunting. The Medical Center is a God-given vision that will allow the blending of professional medical services provided in a Spirit influenced environment. The opportunity came about when the hospital that serves our immediate area closed due to some consolidation actions of its parent company. When the facility became available, there was a great inspiration from God to secure it. There are times when I believe God does not give all the details. He wants us to follow his lead and not just give us direction. When we were able to secure the facility we started to assemble the appropriate expertise to bring this facility into a respected place of a medical service provider. Those plans proceed as of this time with plans to complete the transition within eighteen months.

The facility allows the ministry to touch people in a tangible way who may never enter the "doors" of our church. There are times when we "open the doors of the church" and then we "close" them again. People need a way to access the doors of the church on Tuesday afternoon and not just Sunday morning.

CH: You've previously attended and participated in the Women Of Wisdom Conference. What was your sense of the spiritual and psychological condition of those in attendance? And what are you preparing to offer these women and men who will come from Houston, across Texas and surrounding states with definite spiritual, social, psychological and mental needs?

PL: What I have been most encouraged by regarding the Women of Wisdom Conference is the desire of the leadership to bring meaningful change into the lives of the conference participants. There are times when we claim to have ministry but the ministry does not bring transformation into the lives of the people for whom it claims to be there.

I believe that you can tell who the target of a ministry is simply by noting who is best served by the ministry. If the ministers are best served by the ministry, then the ministers are the real target of the ministry. The WOW Conference has correctly focused on those who need to establish personal, relational contact with Jesus Christ and move beyond the religious observances that have not spiritual value.

We believe that the environment of WOW experience is going to allow those who attend to tap into the changing power of God. As they bring there care areas to God, we only want to facilitate the introduction. After that we can help bring them closer to Him if they so desire. We want to inspire hope above anything else that no matter where you have been, the answer lies beyond the veil.

CH: And finally, what, in your opinion, are the essential ingredients to becoming women and men of wisdom and, as Christians, being able to journey beyond the veil?

PL: There are only two kinds of wisdom - earthly or sensual and heavenly, from above. Where we place our dependence is the indicator as to the source of our wisdom. I believe that to become a person of wisdom, we must become keenly aware of our need to practice success principles. One of the fundamentals of sin in the life of the Christian is to know to do good and not to do it. The Bible calls this sin.

When we convince ourselves of the need to be doers of the Word which we are exposed to, then we are in the right direction of gaining Godly wisdom. The veil is the drawing place, the attraction. It is also indicative of the once hidden that is now exposed. It represents that which was once off limits but is now available. We look at our lives, we can sharpen our appetites for Godly wisdom by desiring those good things that have been previously off limits and hidden. The more Godly wisdom we gain, the closer we get to realize our greatest life.

For more information on the church ministry of Pastor Paul D. Landrew, visit the www.ststephen-houston.org. To discover the full ministry of Pastor D. Landrew, visit www.thelandrewgroup.com.