01.12.2026 Update
Below you will find two letters, first one from Pastor John Jay, and the other a companion letter from the Board of Deacons. These letters address the state of our church as we head into 2026…
Letter from Pastor John Jay
Dear Church family,
Pastor John Jay here with some updates and reflections on the state of our congregation as we head into the beginning of 2026. A community as varied as ours can never be distilled into a static image, and each of us will experience reality through the lens of our unique selves. Suffice it to say, there are a wide range of responses and reactions to the unexpected staff departures of Lindsay, Leslie and Sally. The Deacons have had their hands full listening and reflecting, sifting and sorting, while also keeping up with the week-to-week duties of a regular yearly cycle of Board leadership. Please keep these servants in your prayers as they transition into 2026. Jason Ellis and Brian Young have rotated off, making space for Dave Powell and Matt Christopher as they step onto the Board. Jessica Henson will be stepping up as Moderator.
The Deacons and I will continue to reflect on the recent staff departures to see what lessons may be learned around the health of the staff culture in general and how to best support everyone, as well as the supervisory processes that are in place and where to amend policy in line with our values and healthy practices. Thank you to those of you who shared best practices from your own vocational fields. There is much to consider, and much to learn. This will be slow work, responsive rather than reactive.
Given the timing of the three resignations, and the ambiguous nature of Lindsay’s departure especially, it is understandable that some folks are disquieted, confused, and frustrated at the lack of clarity. Humans crave meaning. In the absence of a shared story, confusion can turn into suspicion. I recommend that if you need more clarity you reach out to a Board or Staff member. A face-to-face meeting may not satisfy all your questions, but it will allow you to share your heart and receive some care. I am always open to sit down with folks if I can be helpful.
The Deacons and I have spent a lot of time considering the impact on our working relationship after this tumultuous season of staff loss. The Deacons and Lead Pastor stand together under the shared responsibility of leading our church. When the most difficult and impactful decisions need to be made, the deliberations and prayers occur within our shared processes as a Board and Lead Pastor. The administration and oversight of our church is entrusted to a smaller subset of leaders whose integrity and commitments attest to their fitness for that task. I have worked closely with folks on the Board of Deacons for many years, and can affirm that they are all people of high moral and spiritual character who have been willing to serve for the good for this congregation, often at great personal sacrifice. As we consider the work of repair and healing, allow me to share the process that has been unfolding between myself and the Board of Deacons over the last couple of months.
For the last half of 2025 the Board and I navigated a difficult supervisory process that culminated in Lindsay Dorman resigning from her role. I initiated this supervisory process in the summer and brought the Board Moderator and Vice-Moderator into conversation immediately. As Lead Pastor I occupy a unique calling in our community, casting vision and strategy as Head of Staff, and as an organizational link to the Board as an ex officio member (fully participatory but non-voting). For those of you who know me well, you have a sense of my strengths and shadow-side, which are often sides of the same coin. I thrive in a fast-paced complex environment, which is why I was able to mobilize our staff and church so quickly during January in response to the fires. This was also how I functioned in the early months of Covid, as we retooled every area of ministry in a matter of weeks! This also means that I work best when partnered with a team who is willing and able to slow me down when a situation needs more deliberation before springing into action.
The Deacons have slowed me down throughout this process, giving wise counsel to stay patient and get more curious about paths forward. Parts of that process frustrated my natural impulse to take decisive action once I had internal clarity. As the conflict and deliberations extended into months, I struggled at times to stay centered and calm. I became impatient, which showed in our Board meetings and communications. More than once I led with frustration rather than curiosity and generosity. We struggled mightily month by month when we sat together in the Parlor, and exchanged more emails between meetings than any of us ever want to do again. During that extended time of stress we still had to build a budget that included the various outcomes we were all considering related to possible staffing changes. At times I am proud of the ministry work I sustained, while at other times I know I messed up and became reactive rather than responsive. I have been able to listen to the Deacons as they shared the impact my actions had on them, and ask for forgiveness when I failed them.
I believe it is important to share this background relational work with you all as members of this church community. Leadership titles aside, we are all humans working with available light and carrying our own wounds and reflexes. We fail one another, injure one another, and continually practice repair and restoration together. Ministry is high-stakes work, at both a paid and volunteer level. It is deeply rewarding work, but also exposes people to the edge of their spiritual/emotional/relational maturity. I intimately know the unique risks inherent to leadership, the promise of failure, and blessing of getting to learn and grow as we continue in the work. I am grateful that the Board allowed me to sit with them and do this repair work. As with any living system, this kind of work is ongoing, evolving, always with the goal of integrity and resiliency for the next stage of life together. And there is much to consider as we continue into the future as a church community.
I am grateful to the Board for their support and partnership as we shift back to more normal functioning as a leadership body. Our church will find balance again, and I am grateful for those of you who have stepped up to help our community in this season. Healing from the abrupt nature of our staff losses will take time, and each person will navigate that process at a different pace. Be honest with what you need. And stay curious about one another’s experience. Pray for the staff as we rebuild our team. We too are all over the map with how we are carrying the losses of Lindsay, Leslie and Sally. There is a version of this repair work that the staff and I have been doing as well. I have apologized for where I let them down, and we are learning how to support one another as trust is reestablished. The staff are all committed to this church community and to one another. I will continue to give my best to lead this team, learn when I fail, and try again.
I want to share some updates about our current ministries and staff. I have been working with the Board to refresh our job descriptions as tasks and ministries are rebalanced across the team. We are also reworking our org chart, so supervisory and support relationships are clear. Pastor Chip Barabas has agreed to expand his ministry leadership to assist with Small Groups and Youth. In both of these areas he is blessed by strong lay leadership, which makes the additional leadership tasks manageable. We have given special attention to the youth girls, and Bri Johnson has helped coordinate care and adult lay leadership in a way that honors their needs while maintaining consistency across time. This is a temporary leadership role for Bri, and Chip is building more lay leadership across the ministry.
For Worship and liturgy, we are grateful to Pastor Riley Taylor for his willingness to lead those ministries going forward. Paul Baker has agreed to lead the choir in an interim capacity, a role he has held before and one for which he is uniquely suited. I am encouraged by Riley’s capacity to lead our worship and music ministries, and am confident that his experience and values will build upon the gifts and talents of our church. Astyn Turrentine is also going to be returning on a more regular rotation in worship leadership starting in the first quarter of 2026! Riley and Astyn co-led on November 30th and the service was a huge blessing.
Greta Bennett has joined our staff initially to help with the administrative transition, but ultimately to take on more pastoral leadership. Greta is skilled in administration, and will be helping us to stabilize and unify our internal processes over the coming weeks while we search for a new permanent office administrator. Greta’s deeper calling is to pastoral ministry, and it is to that work that I have asked her to serve long term. Her pastoral role will be part-time for now, and include leadership in Sunday School, Local Theology, prayer team and some other roles as needs arise. She will regularly lead in worship, and will be developing her preaching voice as well.
The remaining staff have all been working under increased stress and uncertainty, and done so with grace and grit. Marcie Lumpkin (Director of Operations) and Kathy Oliver (Office Administrator) have both taken on so many new tasks to help fill the gaps in the short term, as well as taken on a deeper level of care for the staff as a whole. You have seen them working on Sundays when normally they would be off and in the pews during worship. We are so thankful for their presence and steadiness.
On the Children’s Ministry front Pastor Andrew Masembe and Caeden Harrison continue to build a culture of Gospel-centered care and growth for our youngest members. Andrew has been especially helpful for the staff by sharing his lived experience in other church contexts navigating stress and change. The Children’s Ministry is thriving under his leadership, and we are excited about what is to come as he continues to develop best practices for our church.
I will share more over the coming months as things settle into a rhythm around here. For now I will pass this letter back to the Deacons who will share from their experience. We hope that these reflections bring some clarity to the leadership integrity of this church, and the paths we are walking together to restore and repair what has fractured in our community.
Less without you,
Pastor John Jay Alvaro
Letter from the Deacons
In parallel with John Jay’s letter to the congregation, we wanted to provide an update from the Board. We want to thank everyone who has offered their time, thoughts, and assistance as we spent the last two months sorting through feedback and information from our staff and congregation after the departures of Lindsay, Leslie, and Sally. We recognize this has been a very difficult time for many of us in the congregation, and we appreciate your patience as we are working to respond to the many concerns that were raised. We recognize that a single update letter will not answer every question, but we are committed this year to imagine with you what the rebuilding looks like. We are also available to meet and discuss your concerns in person.
The following key updates are important as we start 2026:
We completed exit interviews with Leslie and Sally. The exit interviews were completed by a neutral third party, the Church HR Network, and we were able to collect their honest feedback in their own words. We also received feedback from current staff members as part of our normal annual review process for John Jay. We’ve also discussed that feedback with individual staff members where additional information was needed. The Board was able to review this feedback in our November and December meetings during executive sessions that did not include John Jay and integrate the feedback into John Jay’s annual review process.
A specific concern was raised during the all church board question and answer period that all of the departures were women. We took this concern seriously and spent additional time reviewing staff experiences. We have reviewed the exit interviews and met with the women who remain on staff. Based on this review, we do not see evidence of a systemic issue in which women are being treated unfairly. Because inclusion and equality are core values of our theology and congregation, we will continue to be attentive to this issue. We have also been asked if the leadership at the church is toxic. Again, the Board hasn’t seen evidence of “toxic leadership.”
Our staff team has grown over past years, and we’ve been through significant trauma experiences, such as the Eaton fire, that have put a significant amount of pressure on our staff. We’ve seen places where we need better communication, better internal processes, or better staff resources to help relationship building, reduce burn out, and provide professional growth support. We will be hiring an outside leadership and culture coach to work with John Jay, the staff and the Board of Deacons. We have gotten several recommendations, and welcome others if you have a suggestion.
To ensure our staff is well-supported, we will be partnering with an external HR firm to provide the staff with professional advocacy, clear grievance procedures, and the structural support necessary for ensuring our workplace practices reflect our values and support the long-term well-being of our leaders.
We’ve combed through our bylaws and guiding principles and there are some vague or contradictory elements that require clarification. Addressing these is important work that we believe should be done thoughtfully and collaboratively by the Board and the congregation—not as a reactive response, but as a deliberate process over the coming year. Bylaws changes must be voted on by the entire membership. As part of this work, we will look at best practices to guide potential updates. We intend to update the bylaws and guiding principles where appropriate - stay tuned for ideas on how this process can unfold.
We are deeply grateful for our current staff and are committed to supporting and uplifting everyone who makes ministry possible at FBC Pasadena—from our pastors to our building managers and all who serve in between. Throughout this process, there have been direct questions about John Jay’s leadership at the church. While John Jay, like all of us, has areas for growth and improvement, we believe he brings many gifts and strengths to this role and are confident in his calling and capacity to serve as our Lead Pastor. We are grateful for his leadership during this season and are excited about the energy and gifts that Chip, Marcie, Riley, Kathy, Greta, and Andrew bring to their roles at FBCP.
This letter is not the end of the work we are doing. There is ongoing work to do to be the people we are called to be. Once again, we are also available to meet and discuss your concerns in person. We hope that you will continue to pray for us, for our staff, and for the church as we work to reflect the love of God in our community.
Partners In Ministry,
Board of Deacons