Pastors

The English term “pastor” appears only once in the New Testament (Ephesians 4:11). The root Greek word though appears almost thirty times, and has as its core meaning to “shepherd.” While this is one of the elder functions, congregations traditionally have associated the term with those who serve the Lord vocationally. The central purpose given to pastors in Ephesians 4 is to “equip the saints for the work of service.” Biblically speaking, it is not the job of pastors to do all the work of the church. Rather, it is their job to prepare all believers to serve the Lord as He has gifted them. At Woodland Park, we believe that pastors must be called of the Lord, and must fulfill the Biblical qualifications for an elder. They are supported financially so as to devote themselves fully to the work of the Lord.

Dr. Wayne A. Barber – Senior Pastor

Wayne Barber became our Senior Pastor in February 2011. In reality, he became our Senior Pastor AGAIN! For 18 years (1981-1999), he was pastor of Woodland Park in Chattanooga, TN.  For 14 of those years, he had the privilege of being co-teacher with Kay Arthur at Precept Ministries. During that tenure he studied with Dr. Spiros Zodhiates and co-hosted the national radio and TV program “New Testament Light” for ten years. Wayne has taught the message of “Living Grace” which is “Christ in you the hope of glory” around the world.  He is president, founder, and principal speaker of Living Grace Ministries.  He was Sr. Pastor of Hoffmantown Church in Albuquerque, NM from March 2002 until January 2011.  In February of 2011, he returned to Woodland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, TN as Sr. Pastor. Wayne has authored several books, the most recent one published by Broadman and Holman is entitled Living Grace: Letting Jesus Be Jesus In You. He has also co-authored the Following God series of studies published by AMG.

He is a graduate of Mars Hill College. He attended Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.  He received an honorary doctorate from North Florida Baptist Theological Seminary in Jacksonville, Florida and Covington Theological Seminary in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Wayne and his wife, Diana, have been married since 1969.  He has two children and six wonderful grandchildren. Wayne enjoys the great outdoors and is an avid hunter and fishermen.

Steve Corley – Children and Family Ministry

Steve has been a part of Woodland Park Baptist Church for 20+ years. Over those years he has served in voluntary positions in many areas of the Children’s Ministry. Steve was in the first class of SALT (Servant Approach Leadership Training) and has been a Sunday School teacher, an elementary coordinator, an AWANA leader, as well as being a Children’s Ministry deacon. He graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a BS in Physics. He and his wife, Lisa, were married in 1981 and are parents of five sons.

Bruce Daugherty – Chaplain

Bruce has been an active part of Woodland Park Baptist Church since 1990. In 2004 he joined our support staff team as Mission Ministry Assistant serving alongside Larry Frick and our Mission Council. He has faithfully led the Barnabas Bible Fellowship for a number of years and invested in the lives of many within the body at Woodland Park. In the fall of 2011 the Elders, after recognizing Bruce’s giftedness and ministry skills, approached Bruce about transitioning to the Pastoral position of Chaplain. This position carries the responsibility of the pastoral care ministry through hospital visitation and through visiting and praying with those in physical need. In times of bereavement, the Chaplain is the “first responder”, coming alongside the family to minister to their specific needs during a time of loss. Bruce will also shepherd the Sr. Adults of the church by encouraging them to finish well through realizing their spiritual gifts and the importance of their integral service to the body of Christ. Bruce graduated from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville with a BS in Biology and graduated from Tennessee Temple Seminary with a Master of Religious Education.

Carey Dean – Worship Ministry

Carey joined the pastoral team in October of 2011 after serving as a Worship Pastor in Niceville, Florida, for six years. He has oversight of the broad spectrum of the Praise and Worship ministry, in addition to special events that help Woodland Park in accomplishing its objectives for ministry. These include choir, orchestra, praise teams, hand bells, drama, technical support, and media support. Carey has best communicated his vision for ministry with the following statement, “Ministry has privileged me to serve in a variety of church sizes, structures, and leadership styles. Each place of service has taught me invaluable lessons in the importance of a God-centered vision, focused ministry goals, discipling of leadership and participants, and excellence in all things for the cause of Christ.” He has a BA in Music Education from the University of South Alabama and pursued a Master of Divinity degree with Music Concentration at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary until 1994 when he accepted a ministry position in Lakeland, FL.

Larry Frick – Mission Ministry

Larry Frick came to Woodland Park as Missions Pastor in 1993 after serving with his family for 2 years in Jamaica with the Caribbean Christian Center for the Deaf. As Missions Pastor, Larry shepherds an ever-growing family of more than 80 missionaries and keeps a busy schedule of short-term trips every year. Along with the 12-member Mission Council, he oversees the annual missions budget, missions conference, counseling, and shepherding of new individuals God is calling to serve in missions. Two of Larry’s passions in life are seeing the Lord bringing more and more people into the reality and joy of the Lord Jesus Christ and to worship the living Lord with brothers and sisters around the world. He and his wife, Catherine reside in Harrison and have three children.

Steve McCary – Administration

Steve came on the pastoral staff team in 1990 as Associate Pastor after a 20 year career in business management. Since coming to Woodland Park, he has served in several roles including Family Ministries and Biblical Counseling. His most recent role as Administrator fits him well because of his passion to see the church function with excellence and full of integrity. He oversees the general operations of the church giving leadership to the financial department, support staff, facilities management and information technology. Steve and his wife, Pam, reside in East Brainerd and have two children.

Eddie Rasnake – Discipleship

Eddie joined the staff of Woodland Park in 1989 after serving seven years on the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ. He is responsible for the School of Discipleship (planning, recruiting leadership and involving the body); the SALT Institute, decision counseling during worship services, and leadership summits. He and his wife, Michele, reside in Chattanooga and have four children.