FBC Benton The Music Search Committee Presents Dr. Tom Noland As Prospective Associate Pastor of Worship & Music Education
What people say about Dr. Tom Noland: Tom leads by example, and he relates well with people. I would call Tom back today if I could. Tom has the ability to utilize people s Godgiven talents. -former member of Tom s choir Tom is a man of integrity. He is wellgrounded spiritually, and Tom is doctrinally sound. Tom is a good worship leader who has the ability to direct worship to the needs of people. --mission association director Tom is a loving minister. He cares about people. Tom works so well with a range of ages senior adults to children. --former choir member Tom has a servant attitude. - -former church member In my opinion, Tom is head-and-shoulders above other music ministers I have worked with during my career. - -pastoral colleague Tom is the best staff member I have ever worked with. If I was on the search committee I d say a prayer, skip the rest, and grab him quickly. - -former member of Tom s choir Candidate Weekend Events September 18-19, 2010 Saturday, September 18 th 8:30-10:00am Breakfast with senior adults in the Family Life Center 10:00am-4:00pm Personal time 4:00-5:00pm 5:00-6:00pm Rehearsal with orchestra in the music suite Dinner with adult choir, orchestra, music ministry staff & music ministry volunteers in Selph Hall 6:00-8:00pm Rehearsal with adult choir & orchestra. Sunday, September 19 th 8:30-9:00am Meeting with deacons 10:30-11:30am Leading morning worship service 11:45am-1:00pm Lunch with ministerial staff, search committee members & their families in Selph Hall 1:00-3:00pm 3:00-4:30pm 4:30-5:45pm 6:00-7:00pm 7:00pm Personal time Meet & Greet in the Upper Room with those individuals who have not yet had the opportunity to meet Dr. Tom Noland Rehearsal with Pure Energy choir in the music suite Leading worship and giving personal testimony in the evening worship service Business meeting
Letter from the Committee Chair Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, It brings joy to my heart and a smile to my face for the Music Search Committee to bring before our faith family, Dr. Tom Noland, for your prayerful consideration to be our next Associate Pastor of Worship and Music Education. It is with unanimity as a committee and confidence in the Lord we bring before you Dr. Noland. Dr. Noland is extremely talented, well educated, and has an authentic desire to glorify and honor the Lord through worship. I hope you will take part in the events taking place during this special weekend of Saturday, September 18 th and Sunday, September 19 th to see for yourself the gifts with which God has blessed Dr. Noland and which the music search committee members describe below. I believe Tom has a real love for the Lord and is allowing God to direct him during this process. Tom has been described as a servant leader, possessing the ability to accomplish great things for the Lord with his creativity and leadership skills. Tim Howard I believe one of his strengths is his ability to build relationships with people of all ages and be a shepherd to them. I m looking forward to seeing how God uses him in his ministry at FBC Benton. Kathy King His degrees of study support his extensive background as a worship leader and his musical abilities. Tom is a leader by example and will no doubt be a strong member of our ministerial staff. But, most of all, I am convinced he will bring a new energy and excitement as we worship our Lord and Savior. Steve Ballard I have a strong peace as we recommend Tom Noland to be our next Associate Pastor of Worship and Music Education because I know that it is God who has lead us to him and chosen him. And in the same way I know God has lead Tom to us. Tom is a man who is strong in the Lord and has a heart and joy for true worship. Bridget Bloxom Nehemiah said, the joy of the Lord is your strength. This is a good description of Tom Noland. The joy he experiences from worshiping the Lord has carried over to me during the hours the committee has spent with him. Marilyn Dusek Tom Noland comes to us with outstanding recommendations from each church that he has served. I am filled with excitement and am confident that Tom will lead the FBC congregation in praise and worship of our Savior Jesus Christ. Gina Holstead Throughout the search process the committee has experienced the Lord s leadership in a real way. We have been sustained by your prayers, and we thank each one of you for your intercession on our behalf. Please continue to pray for the Lord s leadership for our church and specifically for the search process as together we seek God s will for His church by prayerfully considering Dr. Tom Noland for our next Associate Pastor of Worship and Music Education. For God s glory, Jordan Woolbright Music Search Committee Chairman
Biography of Tom Noland Tom Noland feels blessed to have been born into a Christ-centered family. He was born on March 19, 1959, in Baptist Hospital, Pensacola, Florida, to Dr. and Mrs. Robert Noland. Bob Noland practiced dentistry until his retirement and Lee Noland was active in denominational leadership training in the Florida Baptist Convention. His parents are active members of First Baptist Church, Gulf Breeze, Florida, as they have been for 48 years. It was in this church that they raised four children, three sons and a daughter, whom they provided with music lessons and many other opportunities. Tom s grandfather, Reverend T. D. Lide, preached until he was well into his nineties and was writing yet another sermon when he died at 99. At 8 years old, Tom asked his dad to tell him how to become a Christian, and his father led him to accept Christ as his Savior. As a high school sophomore, Tom felt God s call into the ministry and as a college freshman at Pensacola Junior College he began leading worship at Heritage Baptist Church. When Tom transferred to Samford University in Birmingham, he filled short-term positions at several churches, Ridgecrest Conference Center, and what was then the Home Mission Board. It was during his studies at Samford that he met and married Robin Trimble, a French major at Samford. As newlyweds, they moved to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary where Tom earned a Master of Divinity and Robin earned a Master of Religious Education. Tom also served as Minister of Music and Youth at First Baptist Church Arabi, Louisiana, during this time. Upon graduating from seminary, the Nolands moved to Red Bay, Alabama, where Tom served as Minister of Music and Youth from 1986-1993. Tom enjoyed pooling the musical talent in this small town for major productions from high school graduation choirs to patriotic musicals to Living Christmas Trees to a charity concert with Tammy Wynette. Red Bay holds special memories for the Nolands because their firstborn, Julie Dove, was born there in 1988. From Red Bay, Tom and his family moved to Springhill, Louisiana, where Central Baptist Church called him as Minister of Music. Tom enjoyed discovering hidden talent during the five and half years of ministry in Springhill where he worked with the children s choir, senior adult choir and every choir in between. He formed ensembles, worked with both an adult and youth handbell choir, directed Christmas and Easter outreach productions, produced a sanctuary choir CD called Unshakeable Kingdom, directed youth musicals and formed the church s first praise band. Another major production also took place in Springhill: Tom, Robin and Julie were blessed with the arrival of Nicholas Robert three months before God called them to Eastern Shore Baptist Church in Daphne, Alabama. As Minister of Worship at ESBC, Tom has continued working in previous capacities in addition to starting a sanctuary orchestra, teaching guitar classes as an outreach ministry and organizing a choir and orchestra road trip and working with the Zambian Vocal Collection on both recorded and live projects. In December 2006, Tom received his Doctor of Ministry with Worship Specialization from New Orleans Seminary. His
project for this degree focused on developing a strategy to strengthen the choir and orchestra to become spiritual lead worshipers. Through the years Tom has enjoyed a variety of experiences. He received his General Class Amateur Radio license when he was 12 and enjoyed communicating with the world through Morse code. At 14, Tom and his two brothers Doug, 16, and Ed, 13, received the honor of Eagle Scout in the same ceremony. As a teenager he traveled to Europe with his family and to the Holy Land with his grandparents. He enjoys spending time with his family, biking, swimming, traveling, meeting people, and watching a good movie. Robin Trimble Noland loves being a wife, mother, mother-in-love and soon-to-be grandmother. She felt God s call into ministry as a college freshman and enjoys answering this call in ways unique to each town and church in which Tom has been called to serve. She has taught French both in the public school system and to homeschoolers. In Springhill, Robin received the Teacher of the Year award for her school and for Webster Parish. She s been a contract writer for LifeWay Christian Resources for 22 years, enjoys singing in choirs and ensembles, and leading Bible Study classes for women. Nick Noland is 11 years old and enjoys his i-touch, Wii, and being with people his age. He has ridden every roller coaster at Six Flags over Georgia and looks forward to conquering many more. In 2009 he traveled to Paris and London with his grandparents. He s a member of the National Elementary Honor Society and his quick wit keeps his family laughing. He has been the first student awarded Student of the Month in his class for five consecutive years. Nick enjoys visiting his sister, Julie, and her husband, another Nick, every chance he gets. Julie Noland Akin, 22, married Nick Akin in January 2008. She is the receptionist for their home church, Harp s Crossing Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Georgia, and loves married life. She and Nick are expecting their first child on May 10, 2011. Nick Akin is lead singer, songwriter, guitar player, and sometimes drummer for The Akins, a contemporary Country Gospel group which includes his father and two brothers. Their song I Want My Stage to Be An Altar was number one on the Singing News chart for May 2010.
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