Q&A

Scott was born and raised in Southern California. After high school, he enrolled at Hope International University where he studied Church Ministry. He worked as a youth pastor for 14 years. After getting married in 2003 he and his wife moved to Huntington Beach to serve at First Christian Church. Eleven years ago, Scott became the Lead Pastor at FCC where he has enjoyed being a part of a team that is working to see their community transformed by the gospel. He holds graduate degrees from both Hope International University and Pepperdine University and is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Ministry at Northern Seminary. Scott and his wife have two teenage children, two dogs, and two guinea pigs.  

In the fall of 2024 Scott and his family sensed that their time in Huntington Beach was coming to an end.  After 22 years of faithfully serving the same church and community, it was time to go in a new direction.  The church had successfully navigated the various cultural challenges of the last several years and had come out thriving.  In addition to seeing an increased trajectory in attendance, involvement, and giving over the last couple of years, the church was also able to eliminate its historic debt that had at one time threatened to close the church.  With the church in healthy place, Scott and Linda believed it was time to give their family a fresh start and began praying about future opportunities.  As they considered what a new future might look like they sat down as a family and made a list of what they would be looking for.  A longtime friend and mentor was vaguely aware that there was a church south of Denver searching for a teaching pastor, so they opened up Google and began to search.  This would lead to months of conversations with elders, staff members, and church members that culminated in a visit to Parker in January.  The Martin’s quickly fell in love with the city and the people of Parker during their visit, but what really drew them was the heart and DNA of Southeast.  Scott has a passion for helping to form Jesus centered church cultures that embody the values of the kingdom of God in tangible ways.  Southeast’s heart for its community as well as its commitment to engage people far from God all around the world were a perfect match for the Martin’s.  Southeast and Parker perfectly fit the list that they had made months earlier, and they felt this was God leading them to the next chapter in their life and ministry.   They are excited to be a part of Southeast and look forward to getting settled into their new home in May.

Scott is planning to start in early May.  He will be here 1-2 times to preach prior to his start date.

Scott was chosen from a variety of candidates who applied for the role of Executive Teaching Pastor. A team of 16 people, made up of Southeast staff, elders, and congregants, were selected to be on the Southeast search committee. These 16 people were divided into four teams: prayer team, background check team, interview team, and hiring team. After Scott went through the full process involved with each team, including preaching in person, there was full consensus among the search committee that he is the best candidate. This sentiment was also shared by our Head of School, the Southeast HR Director, and the entirety of the elder board.

You can watch Scott preach at his previous church here:

Southeast will not be returning to a lead pastor model, also called a ‘CEO’ leadership style. Instead, the church is initiating a shared leadership model, also called ‘flat leadership’ or ‘plurality’, which is made up of a small executive team who works together to make decisions on behalf of the church. One of the roles on the executive team is the Executive Teaching Pastor, which is the role Scott will be taking. See below questions for more information and details on shared leadership.

Shared leadership, also called ‘flat leadership’ or ‘plurality’ is a long standing type of leadership. Biblically we see a type of shared leadership in the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 when the apostles met together to make unified decisions regarding topics local churches were facing. Shared leadership relies on the experience, knowledge, and giftings of several key leaders rather than one single person. This model capitalizes on knowing that several people have more combined gifts and strengths than a single person while also recognizing that the pressures of leadership in a large church can often be overbearing for a single person. In the case of Southeast, there will be three people on the executive leadership team. Each of the three people will carry specific accountabilities that make up the whole of the church functions. Each person will also oversee a portion of staff. However, big decisions (that affect the church at large rather than ministry specific decisions) will be made together as a team.  This forces prayer, discussion, and consideration of a variety of perspectives while resisting knee jerk reactions. Each of the three leaders are at the same ‘level’ on the organization chart so power is diffused across several individuals. The three church leaders report to the elder board. When decisions are needed that affect the school, the Head of School is considered a part of the executive team as well.

The Spirt and The Starfish (book) by Lance Ford, Rob Wegner, and Alan Hirsch
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An Insight into Shared Leadership from Westside Church through Barna research
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The Journal of Applied Christian Leaders: Shared Leadership – A Rediscovery of an Old Paradigm and its Historic Context
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Besides the Executive Teaching Pastor, leadership is shared by the Executive Ministries Pastor and the Executive Operations Director for the church.  The Executive Ministries Pastor role is held by Diana Crysler, an 11-year Southeast staff member.  The Executive Operations Director role is held by Jeff Spille, a 23-year Southeast staff member.  The Head of School also sits on the team for issues and discussions that involve the school and the church-school relationship.   The Head of School is Heather Klusek, an 8-year Southeast school staff member.

Southeast school and Southeast church are one entity. There was a point in our history when the church and school were separate organizations. However we reunited in 2021. The church and school strive for partnership and seek to support each other in all we do. While we are one entity, there remain obvious and vast differences between how a church and a school should operate.  Therefore, most of our policies are separate although they all stem from the same bylaws. The Head of School, Heather Klusek, reports to the School board.

Yes!  Our elder board functions around visionary leadership, accountability, and staff empowerment.  The Executive Church Leaders report to the elders on pre-determined metrics and outcomes set to uphold our church mission and vision.