Q&A with Pastor Kara

Pastor Kara Stewart

Q: Who is the person who has most influenced you in your life and how? 

A:        “In my life as a pastor, my home pastor. He was instrumental in helping me see myself as gifted. He was the one who invited me to be the youth pastor at my church when I started college.  

“He would spend time with the volunteers, as busy as a pastor is coming off of Sunday and having a lot of things to do and yet he would sit down and catch up with the volunteers and he said it is always important to be in touch with people who are ministering, who are right there on the front lines and who are giving of themselves.  

That was a really important lesson that I have continued to take with me. 

“He was also a really great worship leader. You could tell that it really meant something to him that he was not just rattling off words, he led worship with such meaning and I have tried to emulate that in my own life.” 

How did you become a pastor? 

“It was a really long process coming to that awareness. The very first time I ever considered being a pastor I was eight or nine and there was a guest preacher at my church. It was in the early days of ordaining women so it was a female student from the seminary in our state. On the way out of worship my home pastor told me specifically, ‘you know women can be pastors too.’ Funny enough my mom freaked out. She, as we were leaving, took me out to the car and told me not to think about that ever again. And later she told me that she was just afraid that it would be a hard life. And it has been a hard life. Her fears were not unfounded because women in ministry are still pioneers.” 

Do you face challenges as a woman pastor? 

“Part of the story of how I became a pastor is when I was in college and starting to think that I would be a pastor I would tell people that I was interested in going to seminary and they would immediately ask if I was going to get a music degree. On one hand that was a compliment because I was a musician and that meant they thought highly of my skills but really on the bigger hand it meant ‘you could not possibly lead a church.’ And to face that, it was not just one time but every time I would mention that I thought of going to seminary I would get that response. To only have a small group of people in your corner can be frustrating but also it can be incredibly empowering. When I got to seminary I found a whole host of other women and we banded together because we all had had that experience. we were all coming up against this wave of doubt and rejection from people and I think that is where each of us found our voice because seminary became, even though there was still some discrimination, it still became a safer place where we each could discover our gifts and reinforce among ourselves that this is what we were called to do and be. I think that one of the challenges that so many female pastor are given associate roles they are automatically assumed to be pastor number two. Even today there are not that many female senior pastors and so Women’s leadership style is not as respected I think simply because people are not use to women in those leadership roles. We lead in a totally different way than men.  

“We lead in this collaborative way, we are always checking in with people, and trying to get the feel of the whole group and using our intuition and our gut feeling more. We can’t necessarily give you.”  

How did you hear about TLU and end up in Texas? 

“I learned about TLU when I was in seminary in Ohio. I’ve always been an adventurer. When I was in Arizona a friend mentioned that the pastor here was leaving and she suggested that I think about this position because she knew I loved the campus ministry I have done in the past. The whole experience of the interview was spirit led. The job description when I read each of the points that they were looking for and what the role would be and what qualities the pastor would need to have it seemed as if someone had looked at me and taken what I had done in the past and what I love to do and just put that all down on a piece of paper. The whole interview process, when I was writing my application the answers to the questions just came pouring out of me. All of those steps just felt right.” 

How have your previous experiences helped you as Pastor at TLU? 

“Very clearly my experience as a youth pastor and as youth worker before I was ordained because of the time I spent getting to know each new generation. When you work with young people you have to be up with the latest stuff. You cannot be using outdated language or be referring to old TV shows you have to know what is going on now. It really helped me learn to listen because I don’t have time to be up on everything myself. I learned to ask questions and actually listen to the answers. Also, my experience at one of my calls in a downtown church in Charleston, South Carolina. We were in a neighborhood that had changed. We had drug dealers on the corner and poverty all around the church. in that call I was made very aware of how important it is for the church to be relevant to it’s community. we can’t just be a city on a hill, which is a beautiful phrase from scripture,  the beckon of hope is fine but if you never get down the mountain to where the people are you are not really helping. It was in that call that I was with people in pain and addressing what is really going on in the world. Already as pastor of this campus I’m noticing the poverty all around us. We are in a town full of people living on the edge. Instead of staying this college on a hill, how do we engage? It has helped me to take those eyes to the students, faculty and staff and ask those questions about who we are called to be.” 

Most difficult thing about being TLU pastor? 

“Sheer numbers is overwhelming. I have a congregation of 1500 people. There is not a sense of small family. I think it is challenging me to think of my leadership in a new way. That when I am in front of a large crowd I am ministering to each person there. And whatever the spirit needs to say to that person I am that vessel. In a lot of ways it’s helpful to let go of the outcome. When you know everyone in a congregation you feel like you know what everyone needs to hear. There is no way I can know. It has helped me take that step back and be led by the Holy Spirit when ministering.” 

What is your favorite thing about being TLU pastor? 

“I love hanging around young people. I am so energized by you all at this stage in your life because there is so much possibility and potential. And everyone is in the stage of discovering that and claiming that for themselves. I am really honored to be a part of that process and to see how God is working in the lives of students.”  

Testimony of a life changing experience? 

“I had a life changing experience on the island of Iona in Scotland. That is why I have certain pictures in my office and we are using the worship service that we do on Monday morning. the island itself has been considered a holy place by the Celts and the people of Ireland, Scotland and England. The Iona community that worships there really helped me have a larger experience of God. I would spend every morning going out on the rocks and I remember it was the summer before my mom died. I was out on the rocks and thinking about how it was such a gift to be there and how much I wished she could be there with me. And all of the sudden I was truly overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit and I was drawn into the experience. I knew that God was all around and that all of the worries and anxieties of my life were not mine to deal with and God was going to take care of all of those things that I had come to those rocks with. It allowed me to step back and instead of dwelling on my need to fix everything to remember that I was a vessel to be used by God and to let my prayer be an open listening time for God.”  

Anything else LSL readers should know? 

“I think it is important to know that I am a single mom and that it is a real joy to be a parent. Even with the struggles of being a single mom that it doesn’t have to end your dreams and that God can still use you in powerful ways. Also I think people should know as you go out into the world there is a huge tendency to turn into what people expect you to be. And you’ll run into those things at every turn. The most important thing is to stay true to who God has called you to be because I think I got lost in that in my life by trying to be what others wanted me to be. But the moments in my life where I felt most alive and most at peace, have been those moments where I am fully myself and authentically who God created me to be.” 

Miranda Taylor, Reporter