20 years is a long time to work at any one job, & worthy of celebration—especially 20 years of serving at the same church. Today we celebrate 2 decades of Cindy Bobruk on our church staff, steadfastly serving the Lord & His people! She’s been our Associate Minister for the past few years, but has worn several different titles throughout the years. What does an “Associate” do? She jokes that it means “doing whatever Brett doesn’t want to do.”
In reality, it means handling a variety of responsibilities. Her desk nameplate sums it up as “Chaos Coordinator.” But over the years, she really has developed into the hub of the entire church, & has assisted me in countless ways. Basically, she makes sure everything logistically is running well on a day-to-day basis. She’s not an Elder (“Pastor”) nor does she preach to men because Scripture teaches that women are prohibited from authoritative speaking & leadership (1 Tim. 2:12-14, 1 Cor. 14:33-34).
Many today try to get around this restriction because they want women to be in those roles more than they want to honor God’s Word. They justify it through sophistry & speculation, dismissing Scripture by using feminist revisionism. But Paul doesn’t base it on some local, cultural issues of the 1st century, but on the transcultural principles of Creation & the Fall (Gen. 1 & 3). It’s not because women are inferior or incapable, but because God has designated different roles for men & women in the home & church.
But those who serve as “ministers” are simple “servants” (what the word literally means) charged with specific duties. It’s the same word for “deacon.” While the teaching/elder role is reserved for qualified men, the role of deacon doesn’t seem to be since it doesn’t involve spiritual oversight & governance, or responsibility for doctrine (1 Tim. 3:1-13, 5:17, Titus 1:5-9, Heb. 13:7, 17). Deacons & ministers are those who take care of practical matters so the spiritual overseers can devote themselves to teaching, prayer, & shepherding (Acts 6:1-7). But they, too, must be qualified by their character, spiritual gifting, & sense of calling.
Ironically, though I hold this biblical & historic view of the role of women, most of the current staff are women because they have earned my confidence & appreciation as effective co-workers. In Romans 16, Paul takes note of several such women: Phoebe (a “servant” or “deacon” of the church), Prisca (or Priscilla, “my fellow worker”), Mary & Persis (“hard workers”), Junia (“outstanding”), Tryphaena & Tryphosa (“workers in the Lord”). He also mentions Euodia & Syntyche, who “labored side by side with me” (Phil. 4:2-3). These descriptions also fit the women on our staff, including Cindy, since she has an outstanding reputation as full of the Spirit, faith, & wisdom. Most of the staff reports to her.
Besides myself, Cindy is the longest-serving minister we’ve had—the gold standard with an above-&-beyond willingness to do whatever’s needed. She’s a powerhouse who’s proven herself both trustworthy to get tasks done, & capable to keep many plates spinning at the same time. As she stepped into the Associate Minister role after we “un-multi-sited,” she was key in helping us transition back to being one campus. She learned how to become proficient in online data systems & financial management.
She’s a team builder & problem fixer as she puts together programs & plans events. She’s tactful as she interacts with others, & compassionate as she counsels them. She’s always had a heart for hospitality & benevolence. She excels in administration, organization, & communication (except when using her voice for texts & chats instead of typing, resulting in humorously confusing messages).
I remember baptizing her as a young woman in the frigid waters of a neighboring church’s baptistry on Oct. 30, 1994. She became a member a couple of weeks later. She has shared her testimony many times with many people (especially in the New Member Orientations she leads) of the very different kind of life she led before Christ, & how even after conversion, she still wasn’t living for God. But then she began to grow & change, & would eventually meet her husband, Greg, here. She didn’t seem a likely candidate for entering church work, but when the opportunity opened, she left her job as an administrator at a legal firm to do something she considered far more meaningful.
She actually served 7 years on staff before we recognized our embarrassing oversight to set her apart with the laying on of the Elders’ hands in the act of ordination (1 Tim. 4:14). Since it was long overdue, we did it very simply without public fanfare since everyone already assumed she’d been ordained.
I’m grateful for how Cindy has remained reliably supportive through all the ups & downs of these past 2 decades. I really couldn’t do what I do without her. She’s been more than a co-worker—she’s a close friend adopted into our family by my wife, her sister, & their late mother. Cindy has endured countless jokes about being vertically challenged—she’s heard them all. But don’t let her small stature fool you—she’s made a giant impact as someone we can all look up to. Congrats & thanks, Cindy!