Get To Know Rev. Paul Lawler

We'd like to introduce you to Rev. Paul Lawler, Christ Church Memphis' new senior pastor. This exclusive interview asks Paul about his family, ministry, and upbringing. Plus, we get to know his fun side on things like his favorite ice cream, movies, and hobbies.

What's your favorite ice cream? 

I love ice cream. My favorite flavors are chocolate mint, butter pecan, vanilla, and chocolate. 

What's your favorite movie? 

I have to dip back into history to do that. There are actually three. Is that legal to do? The first is an old black and white movie, The Elephant Man. My other two are: Field of Dreams, and Dead Poets Society.

What are your hobbies when you're not working?

I love a well-brewed cup of coffee and somewhere I can curl up with my laptop. I haven't found my Memphis coffee shop for doing that on my off day, but I look forward to that.

I occasionally enjoy hunting, fishing, or playing golf with my sons. I'm a terrible golfer, but I love being with people.

Also, I'm a voracious reader. I love learning about a little bit of everything.

Are you a sports guy? 

People will need to forgive me, but I am an Alabama fan. Missy, my wife, is an Auburn fan. We also enjoy Braves baseball. Golf tournaments are a big event for our family. We often cook out and have family gatherings to watch the Masters. 

Also, I'm a new Grizzlies fan. That happened last winter even before any dialogue with Christ Church Memphis began. That happened because of Ja Morant. The guy is redefining innovation on the basketball court in so many ways. The Grizzlies are easy to love.

But yes, we thoroughly enjoy sports, and it is a big part of our family.

Since you mentioned Memphis, what's been your favorite Memphis restaurant so far?

I have to say, one of the things we loved about Memphis from the start was all the unique signature restaurants that make up the city. This may disappoint some people, but my favorite thing I've eaten so far would be a citrus smoked salmon sandwich at Elwood's Shack. 

What was your first concert?

The very first concert I ever attended with my parents was the Carpenters. Then on my own, it was Deep Purple. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, they were one of the loudest bands in the world, and for that show, we got right up against the stage. I think I still have a little bit of hearing loss from that one. 

Of the four seasons, which one's your favorite? 

Fall, the air is so crisp, and the leaves are turning colors. SEC football and cooking out. That slight tinge of smoked meat in the air with the ballgame on in the background. Friends and family together and cutting up. I love it. 

You can go on an all-expenses-paid vacation anywhere in the world; Where do you go? 

Missy and I have had the privilege of visiting many parts of the world over the years. So one place we haven't visited and hope to for a key wedding anniversary in the future is Rome. We're both students of history, so it's not just through the lens of church history but the amalgamation of history in a region of the world we've yet to experience firsthand. 

You get to spend one day with a cartoon character. Who do you spend the day with? 

That's a tough one. I love that question, though. 

You know, it might be Charlie Brown, and the reason is that the creator, Jim Schultz would include such thought-provoking dialogue. The comic strips were not just fun but something to reflect on. 

A genie says, "I can grant you all the knowledge about one specific subject with the snap of a finger." What do you pick?

Wisdom and protection. We know that Solomon had wisdom but made some poor choices. 

You can eliminate one thing from your daily routine to no detriment to your health. What do you stop? 

Shaving. 

Star Wars or Lord of the Rings? 

Because of our years in Huntsville, we have a passion for space exploration, stars, the universe, galaxies, etc., so Star Wars is loved by our family. 

That said, I recognize everyone has unique traditions, but Lord of the Rings is something our family watches every Christmas. So for that, I have to give it to Lord of the Rings. 

We had some fun, but let's get to know you now. I want to go back. Tell me about Paul, the child. Who were you growing up? Where did you grow up?

I was raised in East Birmingham, in an area known as Huffman. As a child, I was very active at Huffman United Methodist Church. My parents, who are now with the Lord, had a lot of conflict in their marriage when I was young and divorced when I was 11. So contrary to how that may sound, I had a lot of happiness in childhood. 

But I think something that might have been unusual was that I was pretty intuitive. As a child, sometimes I was teased for being a little adult because I would engage adults in conversations. I probably talked about things that were a little deep for a child. I was very inquisitive. I was the kid who read encyclopedias because I was captivated. 

So when my parents divorced, my mom remarried not too many years later, and we moved to Guntersville, Alabama. It was a great place to make memories. We lived on the Tennessee River or Lake Guntersville. So I grew up waterskiing, duck hunting, fishing, and making all kinds of memories in a ton of creative ways. We also had a property that had to be taken care of, so our stepdad would guide us to accomplish that. But overall, a very happy childhood.

You talked about enjoying learning and reading encyclopedias. Was school something that you enjoyed, or was it a burden? How did you view education?

When things were challenging after my parents divorced, I had an eighth-grade teacher who saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. Not to mention adolescence is tough enough on its own. But I began to slide academically, which perhaps was attributed to home-related things. I don't know that for sure. But she saw some kind of potential in me. 

I look back now, and I'm aware she was a Christ follower. Her name was Miss Martha Nelson. She took the time, for lack of better words, to draw me out, and what happened is I noticed this little spark for enjoying to learn. 

When my mom remarried, her husband, or my stepdad, was named Jake Hammonds. He was a lifelong learner, a constant reader, and someone who ignited a love of learning in me. So I'm 14 or 15 years old, reading books by William Simon, the Chair of the Department of Treasure on financial management for nations. I soaked up this stuff. 

My stepdad was something of a Renaissance man. Our conversations would center around things like tax shelters, government incentivization of fueling economic development, and how the government has a vested interest in economic development and cultural stability because it provides for the welfare of the people. These are the kind of concepts that fascinated me, and he really pushed me in that area. 

But these two people were key in igniting my love for learning. 

Did you think about doing economics when you were growing up? Or what were you interested in learning about?

I went to the University of Alabama until I was a sophomore, but I was double majoring in political science and communication. Everyone has dreams growing up, but I owned a business while in college and thought I would develop that business and run for public office one day. But when I came to know Christ, I realized there was a call on my life that sent me on a different trajectory. 

So you grew up in a Methodist church but then said you came to know Christ later. Tell me that story. 

I loved my pastor growing up. He was a very warm-hearted man. But I bring that up not as a distraction, but I never heard the Gospel. It was a large United Methodist Church with lots of loving people, but no one ever explained the Gospel to me. I grew up in youth group, and we would sit around analyzing pop songs. I love music, but we never opened the Scriptures. 

By the time in my late teens and early 20s, I had been gravitating toward vague deism and agnosticism. I was never militant; I was reticent about it. I loved to talk spiritual things, but you would not know I was agnostic unless you really pressed to pop open the hood. I didn't wear it on my sleeve because I was intuitive enough to know that made people uncomfortable, especially in church. 

There were things that I could not wrap my head around. My mother knew this, and it broke her heart. So she prayed for me for a number of years. But it was not an act of rebellion. I just couldn't understand things, particularly around the cross. 

When I was a sophomore, I was a Sigma Chi pledge at Alabama, and there were two gentlemen in the fraternity that I knew were Christ-followers. The long and short of it is their lives demanded an explanation. They were cool guys. We could laugh, cut up and play sports together. But their commitment to Jesus Christ was very clear. They would invite me to Bible studies and discipleship groups, but I said no every time. 

That's shocking to me because earlier, you described yourself as a seeker of knowledge, but you admitted you were questioning these things. 

I would engage them in the dorm and the fraternity house. We talked about faith, and I would feel myself tearing up. I couldn't understand what was happening. Finally, I would end the conversation because I was afraid. I had a sense it was probably God, but I couldn't categorize what was happening.

Now, I know it was God's prevenient grace drawing me to Jesus. But at the time, I didn't have the words to understand, so I would put the brakes on. I was trying to let my mind catch up with my heart, so those brakes were, "Thank you for the invitation, but I need to study." The bottom line, they did not lead me to Christ.

However, I came to know Christ alone in my bedroom at my mother and stepfather's home in Guntersville between semesters. When I came to know Christ, I remember that night I walked out of my bedroom and into the living room. Twenty minutes later, my mom looked at me and asked, "What happened to you?" I looked at her and said, "I don't know. I only know it's God." 

I didn't know enough "Christian-ese" to explain what happened to me. 

I returned to the church I'd grown up in, First United Methodist Church Guntersville at that time. There was a different senior pastor there who was a very Godly man and held to the authority of Scripture lovingly and healthily. He began to disciple me, and I began to grow. Then, three months later, I knew there was a call on my life that's still hard to put into words, but it was in my heart, you know? So that's the story. 

Do you remember any of the specificities of what those calls were? What were the things that drew you in?

I felt compelled to tell people what God was doing and began sharing with my friends. Again, you must understand I was a brand new Christian, so I didn't have all the language. Several of my friends, who I had a lot of deep respect for, said, "Paul, you should consider being a preacher." Several of my friends who I emotionally connected with, and were Christians, would tell me there was something transcendent when we spoke. 

Another moment was I was asked to share my testimony. I was scared to death because, by my definition, sharing testimony is something you did in a court of law. But the call came from a neighboring town, not far from Guntersville, and the lady said, "We would like you to come to share your testimony for two reasons. One, we want you to give glory to God. The other reason is that none of the students believe you've come to know Christ." 

So when I went to share my testimony, something just felt right. It was like a divine, "Yes." I had a sense that God used it. 

So it was through those series of events. It was nothing audible but something in my heart that I call a download of the Holy Spirit. It was confirmation in my heart through the Holy Spirit that what I was experiencing was a clear call of God. 

You already mentioned one pastor, so who were some mentors who discipled you during that young Christian phase? 

The man I referred to as Reverend Clark Pope has gone on to be with the Lord. 

There was also a Methodist pastor named Dr. Joe Harding, he lived in Washington state and was on the Board of Discipleship for a number of years, but he had a big impact on my life. 

Then if I could just mention a couple of more. 

John Riddle is a former discipleship minister at a Presbyterian Church in Birmingham. He hugely impacted my life as a brother, friend, and just a disciple. Then, my dear friend, Al Henson, is the founder of the Compassion Hope Foundation. He had a huge impact on my life and still does. 

If I can throw this in as a bonus, I think it's wise for all of us to have people in our lives who are a little further down the road and walking with Jesus somehow. We need that. It helps shape and molds us into the image of Christ through the lens of the Christian community, which is so thoroughly biblical. It's the way it's supposed to be. I'll stop there, and I could say more, but I'm going to hold off.

So tell me about seminary. Where did you go to seminary? What were your studies? 

I went to Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. We have an extension campus here at Christ Church Memphis. 

I had a phenomenal seminary experience. I was prepared with tools for ministry. I think it's wise if anyone's considering seminary to remember that seminary is not supposed to prepare you for everything. That's too much to ask for. The purpose of it is to give you basic tools so that as you're growing as a follower of Jesus and if you’re serving in some office of ministry, you have tools to pull from as you serve and lead. 

My experience at Asbury seminary, on a scale of one to 10, was a 10. My professors had an impact on my life spiritually as well as intellectually. Dr. Allen Coppage impacted my life and understanding of John Wesley's theology and intentional discipleship. I treasure the time that I had to sit under him.

Then there are some professors I did not have the opportunity to sit under directly, but I've read their text. That, too, has made a great impact on me. I wasn't at Asbury when Dr. Tim Tennant became president, but I was reading his academic work before he became president of the seminary. My point is the influence of Asbury in my life continues even to this day.

Tell me about your first experience at a church. Where was the first church job you had?

My first church position was at Claylick United Methodist Church in Salvisa, Kentucky. I was their student pastor while I was doing undergrad. Those precious people got next to mine and Missy's hearts, and we loved them deeply. 

If you've spent time in some of the hills or backcountry in Kentucky, you know that the people live very close to the soil. They farm and live off the land. They were free range before free range was cool. But big hearts and so open to the Gospel will. So when you become a part of the body among the people living close to the land, they will take a bullet for you. And I felt the same way about them. 

We were only there a few years, but it was a deeply rewarding time. We saw many students come to know Christ, and we were a part of their discipleship. But that was a precious time, and we value that time in our lives.

What pulled you back home to Alabama?

When we were graduating from seminary, there was an opportunity to go on staff at The Woodlands, in the Houston area, as their student pastor. Even though it was a great opportunity at the time, we did not have peace. As we prayed, we had a distinct leading to return to North Alabama, so our first appointment out of seminary was to Tuscumbia First United Methodist Church. I went as their associate pastor and student minister. 

The beauty of that time is that we got to be a part of what many know is the Legend of Tuscumbia. They had a pastor named Reverend Elton Paris, a man of prayer. Twenty-two people were called into ministry during his run there, and many are impacting different parts of the world. 

We got to be a part of His ministry's "Holy Afterburn." That was a very sacred time, ministering to students and adults, and Missy and I were in our late 20s, so that congregation formed us. It was a two-way street.

That was a very sacred time, but we were only there for about 36 months. It was very strategic in our lives. Afterward, we planted a church in Huntsville and served her for 16 years.

You've talked a lot about Missy, tell me about your family.

Well, Missy is, without saying, a very godly woman. My dad always loved her deeply. But, as a sports fanatic, he would say, “Paul, you outran the kick coverage when you married Missy." 

My wife is an all-in-person. She loves the Lord. She has a very special ministry to, particularly broken women. We have served human trafficking victims for many years. We both have served on the board of The WellHouse, a human trafficking ministry located in Alabama that serves its residents from around the world. And she still serves on that board today. But she is extremely gifted with women navigating coming out of layers of brokenness. 

She teases me from time to time. She'll smile, cut her eyes at me and say, "You know, if I weren't married to you, I'd be on the mission field." And, of course, that's a little tongue in cheek, but it's her way of saying, "I just want to remind you, I'm all in however the Lord leads in our lives. I'm there 100%." 

She's also a phenomenal mother to our four kids and did an amazing job of nurturing and developing them.

We'll talk more about your kids in a second, but how'd you meet Missy?

First of all, she tells the story better than I do. I occasionally attended First United Methodist Guntersville, and she tells me we met one morning when I attended Sunday school with a friend. But I was in a different place. It was a very BC time of my life.  

Here's what's a bit odd, though. When I came to know Christ, I prayed, "Lord, I don't want to date another person until it's the woman I marry. I will never recreational date again." Now, I'm not saying that's for everybody. I'm only saying that's where my heart was. 

So I had seen Missy, but I hadn't met her. So when I saw her, I thought, "You know what, I'd like to meet her." Again, my stepdad, the Renaissance man, was a pilot with a Cessna 310. When the church began a new search for a student pastor, he agreed to fly to Lexington to pick up this candidate for the church. But he had to stop by the parsonage for some detailed instructions before he left. I looked at him and said, “I want to go with you." 

I think you can read between the lines for my motive. I thought I'd get to meet Missy. I'd gotten to know her dad, and he'd been disciplining me. 

So when we got to the parsonage, while my future father-in-law was giving my stepdad instructions, her mother grabbed me and walked me into the living room. She said, "Paul, this is Missy. Missy, this is Paul." Then she walked off! 

Once we were formally introduced, I think it was maybe a week or so when I asked her out, but she turned me down. She said she was getting her wisdom teeth out, which turned out was the truth! But, I was not going to give up though, so I asked her out again, and the rest is history. 

How long after you began dating until you knew she was the one? 

I suspected that on the front end but didn't know. I can't say that. But I knew by that summer. Now I'm not saying she did, but I did.

Let's move on to your kids. It sounds like you have four wonderful children, so tell me about them.

Well, what parent doesn't like to talk about their kids? I'll be brief. 

Luke is our oldest. He is 34 and married to Leah. Luke is a graduate of UAB and is an IT specialist. His wife is from Brentwood, Tennessee, and is in hospital administration. They are expecting our first grandchild. So we're excited. 

Wes is our middle son. He is a real estate agent with Keller Williams in Birmingham. He also played high school and college baseball. He has a state record for most base hits. But in his dad's mind, he broke the state record. In my opinion, the umpire made a bad call, but that's a dad's bias. Wes was a centerfielder, did some pitching, and then played college baseball. He is a very gifted athlete.

Laura, our daughter, is a twin with Stewart, who I'll mention next. Laura has a real gift for interior design. She's 26 years old. Currently, she works on a goat farm and is the head of their marketing department. They make soaps and lotions out of goat's milk. It's a fascinating artisanal process. But Laura and Stuart are both creatives. 

Laura is engaged to Victor, and their wedding is on October 22. Her fiance and his family had to flee Russia in the 1980s out of Christian religious persecution. They came to the United States fleeing persecution before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Victor has been a great blessing to our family. He's a college junior majoring in engineering and is currently an employee of Mercedes Benz. 

Stewart is her twin brother, who's also 26. Stewart is a graphic designer with a real estate agency. He's also a very gifted worship leader who was part of the worship team at Christ Church Birmingham. Stewart is also a stimulating conversationalist. He may have inherited this from his father. I don't know. But he loves learning about a lot of different things. He's also a phenomenal cook, I think at times on the chef level. Stewart is married to Mary, a nurse at a children's hospital.

On a scale of one to 10, how excited are you to be a grandfather? 

10! That one's easy. We're jazzed about that. It's a different realm for us.

Last subject we'll talk about as we start to wrap things up. Tell me about coming to Christ Church Memphis. Tell me about the journey to getting you here in Memphis.

First, I would want people to know that my journey to Christ Church Memphis did not begin when Lauren Robinson reached out. I mean that with deep respect for Lauren. I appreciate her and the pastoral search team because Christ Church has phenomenal servant leaders. I say that with great honor toward Lauren and everyone on the team. 

What I mean by it started before anyone reached out to me is this:

Last year, there were a series of events. I sensed God began to speak to us about a shift ahead. However, we were happy and very thankful to be at Christ Church Birmingham. I thought we might be there until we decided to transition into something else. Retirement isn't in my vocabulary. So there may be a point where I transition to something else. I'm just not wired that way. Everybody's different. 

So what began to happen is that there were three deeply spiritually mature people who came to me, independent of one another.

The first was Pastor Jane Warren Gay, the Minister of Spiritual Renewal at Christ Church Birmingham. She said, "Pastor Paul, is the Lord speaking to you around moving on to something else?" I said, "Pastor Jane, no." She responded, "Well, you had better be ready." 

Then another godly woman in our church in Birmingham, Elaine Shell, came to me and privately said, "I'm praying for the next pastor of Christ Church (Birmingham)." I said, "Well, Elaine, I don't plan on going anywhere." She said, "I don't know, God's just led me to pray, and He may have something He's going to move you into."

I trust Jesus in Pastor Jane and Elaine. 

Then last fall, we had an intern named Simon from Denmark. He is around 30 years old and spiritually mature beyond his years. He was in the United States because his wife was completing some Ph.D. work, so he got to do an internship with us. Simon came to me twice out of prayer time and said, "Do you plan on leaving here?" Like the others, I told him no, I'm not going anywhere. He goes, "Well, you better be ready. I think something's up." 

Well, I can be thick-headed like anybody else, and I discounted all that. But when I got to January, I have a chair where I do my devotions and spend time with the Lord early in the morning. I began having these strong impressions that something was up so strongly that I got out of my chair more than once, and I walked into the den to interrupt Missy in her quiet time. I said, "Honey, something's up. I have the same sense in the Lord we had when God called us to Birmingham in 2007."  

We raised four kids in this house, so it was a big house. She was thinking God was perhaps calling us to downsize. Then maybe a week later, it happened again.

Then February came, and Lauren called. She and I have never debriefed around this, but when she called, she explained what was happening and asked, "Would you be interested in having a conversation around becoming the new senior pastor of Christ Church?" 

I hope I didn't scare her when I said, "Yes, I would." Because the yes was coming out of this background of how God had been preparing our hearts, I'm getting chill bumps even now. There's a witness of the Spirit as I'm speaking that God had been preparing us. 

So we began the interview process with a Zoom interview. I treasure this, but it started at 8:15 in the morning and went until 9:30 that night. I'll call it a beautiful marathon. I worded it that way because in the whole process, for Missy and I, it was confirmation after confirmation in the Spirit. And even as we're talking now, it's happening again and again. 

I know that that sounds mystical to some people, but you know what, I hope you would want your pastor to be able to discern and recognize when the Holy Spirit is bringing peace, presence, and confirmation. 

The search team took some time to pray and discern after we had multiple interviews. I believe they even fasted. However, God's lead was so clear to us that we went ahead and gave our eyes to the front end of the search as the teams began to pray and discern. The search team got back to us in late March or early April to confirm God's movement. 

That's incredible. Well, Paul, we're so thrilled to have you. We cannot wait to see your ministry here at Christ Church. But before we wrap things up, we have an upcoming podcast series that you will be featured on. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

Yes, I'm excited about that. Grant Caldwell and I are going on to journey together. As a church, we're going to go through Are We Really Better Together? by Rob Renfroe. We will have conversations around each chapter. There's a little more commentary that I look forward to adding to the dialogue as we have some very important decisions to make as we walk out things around the United Methodist Church in the days ahead. So I'm excited about that and hope everyone will tune in. Those will be available in the Christ Church podcast feed every Thursday beginning September 8. Our podcast is available everywhere you get podcasts. 

Sounds great. Well, Paul, thank you so much for your time today.

Thank you, it's been a joy to share with you. Thank you