Elizabeth Boone McLean

4922 Abbott Avenue Dallas, TX 75205

214-995-9942 (cell)
rebmclean@gmail.com skype: rebmclean
Ecclesiastical Status:
Presbytery Membership:
Ordination Date:

PC (USA) Teaching Elder

Grace Presbytery
20 October 1991

Formal Education

2002-2010 Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA

D.Min. course work, key courses include: The Missional
Church, Conversion and Transformation, Spiritual
Disciplines for Mission Trip Preparation, Preaching the
Psalms, Narrative Theology in Biblical Exegesis
1998-1991 M.Div.
Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ
Concentration in Christian Education
David B. Watermulder Prize in Church Leadership
1983-1987 B.A.

Davidson College, Davidson, NC

Psychology Major

Continuing Education
2016

Davidson Centre for the Professions, Davidson, NC

Discernment Track for Clergy

2016

National NEXT Conference, Atlanta, GA

2015

Christian Leadership Conference, Montreat Conference Center

Neighbor: Being Christian in a Multi-faith World

2015

TDF Behavioral Styles Tool Workshop

2015
Susan Beaumont & Associates, Church Consultant (formerly of
Alban Institute)
Launching a New Beginning
2014

Festival of Homiletics
Preaching with Holy Imagination

2014

Christian Leadership Conference, Montreat Conference Center

Nones: Engaging the Spiritually Unaffiliated

Elizabeth Boone McLean

2014

Alban Institute courses,

Preparing for New Leadership
Inside the Large Congregation
Managing Transitions

2013

Alban Institute courses

Leading Adaptive Change
Staffing and Supervision
Ready, Set, Change

2012

National NEXT Conference, Dallas, TX

2011

Sabbatical on Spirituality and the Arts

Art Journaling Retreat, Sisters of Mercy, Burlingame, CA
Watercolor Seminar, Mo Ranch, Hunt Texas
Weekly Art Classes
Bi-weekly Spiritual Direction

2009
CREDO Retreat for Mid-Career Pastors sponsored by PCUSA Board
of Pensions

Work Experience
1996-present Associate Pastor, Mission & Evangelism, Preston
Hollow Presbyterian Church, Dallas, TX (urban, 3000

members)
Delight in leading worship in a congregation where I have baptized,
confirmed, married, and buried generations of the same family and
where I know the names, faces, and stories of the vast majority
worshippers in a 3000 member congregation
Lead by creating teams to address unmet needs or fulfill visions and
dreams and empower and motivate them to become self-sustaining
Deepen congregants faith and biblical knowledge by teaching
adults weekly in Sunday school classes and mid-week classes
Integrate my love for stories and art into all of my ministry from
preaching to teaching to mission to pastoral care
Thrive on connecting congregants to each other and to ministries
that allow their gifts to blossom and flourish
Supervise two full-time employees, volunteers from two Session
Councils, and 15 mission teams; during times of transition, have
supervised employees in other departments
Created and implemented a process to re-engage the unengaged
with 50+% returning to worship
Oversee and manage a mission budget of $520,000 and
benevolences of an additional $25-50,000
Initiated quarterly worship where the Word is made flesh in handson mission service

Elizabeth Boone McLean

Created a unique small group ministry program to address specific

congregational needs
Transformed congregation from a friendly place to a welcoming
space for increasingly diverse group of visitors and new members;
developed staffing to support new member growth and integration;
lead membership classes and welcome 100-150 new members each
year
Increased individual faith sharing through membership class
experiences and personal stories of God moments in worship and in
print
Initiated global partnership with Church of Central Africa
Presbyterian in Malawi and with CEPAD in Nicaragua; led mission
trips and delegations to both countries
Led task force to create one of Dallass original English as a Second
Language schools for adults with preschool for students children
which currently educates 1000 adults and 200 children on 3
campuses as a separate non-profit agency
Created a multi-dimensional missional relationship with an
elementary school where 95+% of students are refugees and
immigrants; involve 100+ volunteers in tutoring, teacher, and staff
support, access to medical care and legal help, and more
Mentored 23 PHPC seminarians and Young Adult Volunteers, 12 of
whom are now ordained, 4 in process of seeking ordination
Provided staff and congregation leadership and stability following
the retirement of the long-tenured senior pastor in 2014 (new
pastor arrived July 2015)

1991-1996Associate Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Port Huron,

MI (small city,

500 members)
Created neighborhood outreach ministries for at-risk children and
families
Broadened Deacons ministry to include care and compassion
ministries
Started summer youth mission trips and conference participation
Enlarged adult faith formation to include mid-week spiritual growth
groups
Learned how to love a congregation for who they are and what gifts
they have to share with the world

1990-1991Student Pastor, The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville,

NJ (town,
800 members)
Revamped confirmation curriculum and experience
Encouraged youth participation in all aspects of church life,
including worship

Elizabeth Boone McLean

1989-1990Student Chaplain, Good Samaritan Hospice, Moorestown,
NJ (rural, small towns)

Walked with the dying through the last days and weeks of life
Supported families in the dying and grieving process

1988-1989Student Pastor, Long Valley Presbyterian Church, Long

Valley, NJ (small town,
250 members)
Initiated Youth Sunday and youth participation in worship
Doubled youth ministry participation by both youth and adults

1987-1988Interim Youth Director, Myers Park Presbyterian Church,

Charlotte, NC
(urban, 2800 members)
Heard Gods call to ordained ministry
Learned how to be an integral part of a large, collaborative staff
Discovered the power of praying publically for others
Started the acolyte program to engage youth in worship

Ten Leadership Competencies

Preaching & Worship
Leadership
Teacher
Compassionate
Spiritual Maturity
Public Communicator

Organizational Agility
Contextualization
Strategy and Vision
Decision Making
Interpersonal Engagement

Service to the Church and Community (last 10 years)

2014-present
Trustees

Presbyterian Childrens Homes & Services, Board of

Strategic Partnerships, Board Development, and Program

Committees
Crafted liturgy for distribution to churches
2013-present

CISV (Childrens International Summer Village)

Mini-camp chaperone, delegation host, Village Liaison,

Board Member
2013 & 2014
Hunt, TX

Art Instructor & Worship Leader, ART @ MO, Mo Ranch,

2010-2013Interfaith Housing Coalition, Board of Directors

Chaplain, Program Committee
2008-2013Committee on Preparation for Ministry, Grace Presbytery
4

Elizabeth Boone McLean

Scholarship chairperson, liaison to 12 seminarians
2008-2012Mission Covenant Group, Grace Presbytery
Ministry partnership between Iglesia Emmanuel, Preston
Hollow, Highland Park, and Oak Cliff Presbyterian churches
for mutual support and mission
2007-present Armstrong Elementary, McCulloch Intermediate, Highland
Park Middle Schools
Classroom Aide, Teacher Work Room, Library Aide,
Destination
Imagination Coach
2003-2007Mission Initiatives Committee, Grace Presbytery

Narrative Questions
Describe a moment in your recent ministry that you recognize as
one of success and fulfillment.
Eight days. Three funerals. Two weddings. One Sunday sermon. The last few
days of February and the first few days of March 2015 confirmed my call to
pastoral ministry and worship leadership, in particular. One funeral was for
an 86 year old WW2 code talker who had lived a long, full, and faithful life.
One funeral was for a baby who died in the womb. One funeral was for a
father who committed suicide the night before his daughter turned 3 months
old. Both weddings were for extremely happy and hopeful young adult
couples. The sermon was for a congregation in the midst of transition,
patiently and impatiently waiting for the PNC to announce some news. And in
each occasion marking some kind of change, the gospel needed to be lived
and preached and felt and received.
Those eight days marked a time of intense prayer and depth of stamina and
faith that can only come from God. Those eight days mirrored the events of
Holy Week and Easter Sunday, culminating in the good news of the
resurrection and the hope for new and abundant life that comes with it. And
as I walked with families through times of great joy and profound sadness,
while in the midst of the mundane of ministry, the Spirit brought the gospel
alive through music and liturgy and Word proclaimed through sermon and
pastoral care. Those days that could make one shake in fear and trembling
brought me alive as I lived into my God-given gifts of pastoral and spiritual
leadership. Those days propel me forward to seek a new and invigorating call
from God to faithfully invest my gifts as a senior pastor.
Describe the ministry setting to which you believe God is calling
you.
God is calling me to lead a church where:
We are all in ministry together:
teaching elders and ruling elders, baptized faithful and baptized
questioning,
seekers exploring and becoming.
We are committed to the PCUSA and our theological tradition
where we are reformed and always being reformed by the Word
of God.
We gather to worship joyfully and deeply,
inspired through the Word read and proclaimed and sung and
heard and lived.
We grow together in Gods Word,
understanding it afresh as it intersects the words of our
generation,

Elizabeth Boone McLean

allowing it to challenge us to faithful new ways of being and
doing.
We are open-hearted and open-minded,
celebrating and embracing the diversity of Gods children.
We are sent out into Gods good world to break human-erected barriers
and serve side by side with the marginalized and forgotten and
overlooked.
We are faithful and joyful stewards
of the people and gifts and talents and ministry God has
entrusted to us.
We enjoy being together as a family of faith,
caring for each other, treasuring all ages,
inviting others to come experience Gods love and grace with us.
We trust Gods steadfast love and presence
to provide for us and lead us where we need to go, no matter
what.
God is calling me to lead a church
where this vision already exists AND where this vision beckons to
become real.
What areas of growth have you identified in yourself?
Through the past few years of preaching and leadership, I am experiencing
Gods call to stretch my wings and create more and broader opportunities for
my visionary and strategic gifts as a senior pastor and congregational leader.
My 24+ years of associate pastoring make me a strong and collaborative
leader and team player.
I enjoy mingling in crowds and meeting new people as much as I naturally
enjoy one-on-one and small group interactions. People are surprised to hear
me self-describe as an introvert because I function well in an extroverts job
description. I treasure the hours of deep scriptural and prayerful reflection
for preaching and teaching as much as I do the hours spent in hospitality and
fellowship with congregation, family, and friends. I will always work to
balance my personal need for time alone and my professional need for large
group settings.
I recognize the need to take care of my personal and spiritual health in order
to be fresh in my ministry. I believe leaders modeling healthy habits are
important to the spiritual growth of both individuals and the congregation.
Strengthening my daily spiritual disciplines is a challenge for my artistic
sensibility, so I am learning to blend art and prayer to nourish my
relationship with God, which often is manifest through creative liturgy. As an
avid cook and lover of food, I embrace the challenge of creating healthy,
delicious meals that nourish all my senses.

Elizabeth Boone McLean

Describe a time when you have led change.

Leading in the midst of change has been the hallmark of the last few years of
ministry and has given birth to a new, confident, Spirit-led leader: me. For,
when all about is changing, the one constant is the steadfast presence of our
Triune God. And when a leader listens to Gods whispers and shouts, change,
even change to worship, can be embraced by even the reluctant.
The Easter sunrise service has been a part of worship of PHPC for over sixty
years. Over the past decades, the service evolved into a formal, indoor
service moved outdoors. Missing the simple services of my youth at lake
shores, beaches, and parks, I wanted to reimagine the service. And
understanding how difficult change to worship can be, I knew this was not a
lone ranger decision.
I gathered a multi-generational group to craft a new service. Through bible
study and discussion, we realized that both the flow and location of the
service needed to change to reflect the mood of the scripture. We worked
with Worship Council to change the location to the (more public) emotional
heart of the grounds. We brought reluctant staff on board as we shared the
vision. We recruited families who had never experienced a PHPC sunrise
service to be worship leaders. We kept enough familiar hymns to be able to
add new ones. And, just in case, we created a stay-outdoors-even-if-it-rains
plan. And the largest crowd in years were fed at the Table and sent out to
proclaim, Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed! And yes, it poured.

References
Elder Tory Agnich, Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church member
tory@agnich.com
214-533-0410 (cell)
Rev. Sarah Sarchet Butter, Senior Pastor, The Village Church, Wellesley,
MA
js.butter@gmail.com
847-716-0378 (cell)
Elders Rebecca and Ron Gafford, Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church
members
rgafford@sbcglobal.net
214-763-3376
(cell)
ron.gafford@outlook.com
214-755-7271
(cell)
Dr. Blair Monie, Distinguished Chair of Pastoral Ministry and Leadership,
Austin Seminary
Former Pastor, Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church
bmonie@swbell.net
214-995-9945
8

Elizabeth Boone McLean

Rev. Matthew Ruffner, Pastor, Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church

mruffner@phpc.org
214-368-6348 ext. 147
Dr. Ted Wardlaw, President, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
tjw@austinseminary.edu
512-913-2980
other church member references upon request