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Ridenour starts as Holston's first executive assistant to the bishop
By Annette Bender
If you visit the bishop's office at the Knoxville Conference Center, Bishop Ray Chamberlain won't be there. Or at least, he won't be at the desk where he's worked for the last seven years.
That's because on Sept. 2, Chamberlain loaned his office to his newly appointed executive assistant, Gordon Ridenour. Chamberlain's workspace is now located in his office parlor.
Chamberlain will get his desk back when the conference secures office space for Ridenour and other employees at Cokesbury Center this November. In the meantime, Chamberlain's making way for a Holston Conference first by appointing Ridenour as “executive assistant to the bishop.”
At least 30 other Episcopal areas in United Methodism have clergy acting as assistants to bishops, according to organizers of a retreat for bishop's assistants next month in Lakeland, Fla. Besides the Tennessee Conference, the South Carolina and Florida Conferences have clergy in the bishop's assistant role.
Such assistants are sorely needed by Episcopal leaders who are assuming more and more responsibilities as required by “The Book of Discipline,” according to Ridenour.
“There's just a need for someone to take up some of those responsibilities, particularly as bishops are called on to be gone a lot,” he said. In addition to travel related to the General Church, Chamberlain “genuinely tries to be a bishop to the entire conference, which means lots of times he's traveling through the area.” Ridenour is charged to carry out some of the bishop's responsibilities and provide general oversight to staff in Chamberlain's absence. He also will serve as advisor to the conference's 12 district superintendents, relate to the Personnel Resources Team, represent the bishop in meetings, and help interpret Judicial Council rulings for the cabinet, among other duties.
He is a member of the executive team, clergy support team, appointment cabinet and extended cabinet. In addition, Ridenour's full-time position encompasses the roles of two recently vacated positions: director of new church development and director of communications.
In his new church development capacity, Ridenour will give oversight to Holston's three ongoing church starts: Wellspring UMC, Lighthouse UMC and Sycamore Tree UMC. As the communication staff's new supervisor, he will oversee conference publications, serve as the bishop's spokesperson and manage crisis communications.
Ridenour's experience has prepared him for a job that requires juggling many diverse responsibilities and skills, conference leaders say.
“Gordon Ridenour is a trusted and proven pastor,” Chamberlain said recently. “He is a skilled administrator and utterly dependable. It is no small tribute for him to be named the first executive assistant to the bishop.” A native of the Fountain City area in Knoxville, Ridenour majored in marketing at the University of Tennessee. He says a marketing degree has served him well in ministry: “You have to find appealing ways to present your message, in this case the Gospel, to the public.”
During his junior year, Ridenour realized his calling to full-time ministry and prepared to attend Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Later, as a student pastor, he served Lou's Chapel UMC in Chattanooga District: “The most picturesque little country church – a perfect, perfect church for a student pastor to get started in.”
Over the years, Ridenour pastored Brainerd, Signal Crest, Cassidy, FirstCentenary and Concord United Methodist Churches. He was Morristown district superintendent from 1986 to ‘90 and Oak Ridge District superintendent from 1997 to ‘03. This June at Annual Conference, Ridenour retired at age 64 – but not before accepting Chamberlain's request to serve as Holston's first bishop's assistant.
“I really felt like I wanted to give another year or two in service to the church that's given so much to me,” he explained. “This seemed to be a new opportunity, and I was honored that the bishop asked me to assume this role.”
Although Chamberlain will transfer many responsibilities to Ridenour during his last year as Holston's Episcopal leader (in September 2004 Holston will receive a new bishop), people should continue to consult Chamberlain over issues normally requiring the bishop's attention, Ridenour says.
“Nobody can take the bishop's place,” he stresses. “I am the bishop's assistant and work at the bishop's direction.”
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