Rector
Other Details
Rector Profile
Church of the Cross is seeking a full-time Rector (male or female) to lead our congregation, clergy, and staff. As a member of the Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others (C4SO), our Bishop is the Rt. Rev. Dr. Todd Hunter.
In addition to being ready to embrace the unique position the Rector in an Anglican Church occupies, the candidate should be a high-character, missionally attentive servant leader gifted for the task of shepherding our parish toward a fuller embodiment of our vision and into the next season of our life together. Out of an overflow of our life with God, we desire to faithfully bear lasting fruit in our homes, work, neighborhoods, city, and the world. We hope to be led in these pursuits by a winsome, warm, and wise Rector.
Role & Responsibilities
- Spiritual Leadership – Plan, facilitate, and oversee corporate worship and the church’s sacramental life toward the deepening of our congregation’s spirituality. Adopt, resource, and implement a strategy for the formation of attendees and members into disciples of Jesus in concert with staff and resident clergy.
- Congregational Vision – Discern, set, and maintain a clear vision for the staff and congregation. Foster a compelling congregational culture necessary to fulfill the vision through articulating and embodying values.
- Staff Supervision – Manage, shepherd, and develop staff in line with their respective sense of vocation and fruitful leadership in our community.
- Pastoral Care – Personally and sustainably prioritize ministry of presence and holistic care for parishioners and maintaining a culture where they feel known and cared for.
- Strategic Direction – Align leadership (Parish Council, Resident Clergy, Deacons, volunteers), preaching, communication, and resources around seasonal core objectives in order to fulfill the vision of COTC. Identify and adopt key seasonal priorities, systems and processes to support what’s vital for congregational formation and mission.
- Parish Council Facilitation – Recruit and lead the Parish Council toward proper and wise governance of Church of the Cross in concert with the Senior Warden.
- Collaborative Engagement – Maintain communication and collaborate fruitfully with the C4SO Bishop, the diocese, and across the body of Christ in the Greater Austin area.
Key Qualifications
- Possesses the qualifications for spiritual leadership in the Church according to 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1.
- Education: Graduate-level theological education; M. Div or equivalent strongly preferred.
- Experience: Minimum 10 years of pastoral ministry experience or equivalent, with at least 5 years in leadership, including regular preaching duties. Prior experience as a Rector or Associate is preferred.
An ideal candidate is someone who…
- Is immersed in spiritual disciplines and life habits with vision for lifelong pursuit of their formation.
- Joyfully cultivates relationships and spiritual companions to resist isolation and pursue wise vulnerability toward being known.
- Is steeped in the Word of God, guided and informed by tradition, and enlivened by the Holy Spirit for the sake of their own faith.
- Heartily embraces C4SO distinctives and is able and willing to be ordained in the diocese.
- Is relationally engaged (wisely approachable & responsive) and hospitable in the life of the community.
- Is discerning and collaborative – able to lead without always needing to be in control.
- Is proactively curious, a lifelong learner who eagerly stays attuned to the questions, aches, hopes, and fears of our community and city.
- Values diversity and is cross-culturally discerning.
- Subscribes fully to the Foundational Theological Principles of COTC, including a settled joyful championship of women in leadership at every level of the local parish.
- Views children and youth as full members of the church and joyfully includes them in all aspects of congregational life.
- Would celebrate CotC resourcing and sending church plants as it grows beyond the scope of a neighborhood parish.
- Is humbly, convictionally oriented toward the three streams of Anglicanism.
- As best they can discern, is able to make a long-term commitment in this role.
Core Competencies*
- Spiritual Discernment – Practiced and faithful in exercising spiritual attunement to the Holy Spirit in a wide spectrum of contexts.
- Strategic Leadership – Able to synthesize multiple variables (organizational realities, resources, staff gifting, etc.) into a cohesive vision and an effective, actionable plan.
- Team Leadership – Able to foster a team identity where members are healthy, engaged, and productive.
- Preaching, Teaching, and Communication – Able and eager to serve as the primary preacher and voice of the church that is theologically informed, culturally sensitive, and congregationally attuned.
- Leadership Development – Able to bring out the best in staff and lay leadership through prayer, care, coaching, and management.
- Pastoral Counsel – Able to empathetically create a space for those needing support, care, prayer, or counsel and exercise wisdom to respond to trauma, disability, abuse, or suffering beyond the scope of soul care.
*While these competencies detail a blend of giftings that we believe will help our next Rector be successful, we recognize that it is unrealistic to expect any candidate to have them in equal measure.
Learn more about our church here, and, if interested in this role, share more about yourself here.
How To Apply
If you meet the key qualifications laid out in our Rector profile, we invite you to prayerfully read our Parish profile. This will help you get to know who we are, where we are currently, and our hopes moving into the future that God has for us as a church family.
If God is calling you to consider joining us as our new Rector, please fill out this application.