Elder Nominee Profile: James Sutton
- Feb 27, 2009
- Series: Leadership Development
1. Where were you born?
Richmond, Virginia
2. Where did you grow up?
I lived in Miami, Florida until I was 6 years old, and then went back and forth between Miami and Asheville, N.C. where I attended Middle and High School.
3. When and where did you meet your wife?
At a Lee Quinn hosted dinner party at his old apartment back in ‘04. There was this warm glowing light behind her, her hair was blowing in the breeze, and I'm pretty sure I heard angels singing.
4. Do you have children? Describe each of your children with one adjective each.
We have one little baby girl, Josie. She's adorable (no bias what-so-ever).
5. When did you become a Christian? What were the circumstances?
I was first introduced to the gospel by an old woman who was a Sunday School teacher
at my dad's church in Miami. Her name was Jane Calvin (I'm pretty sure she's old enough to be John's sister). I remember praying a prayer and participating / growing in my faith from a young age. Like most, though, I probably really didn't take an independent ownership of my faith until coming to college at NC State in 1995.
6. How long have been worshiping at CTK?
I was commissioned as a member of Redeemer to go help start the new church plant, Christ Our Comfort (the name later changed to Christ the King). I still have a copy of the very first bulletin. I believe it was back in 1998 that we held our first official public service.
7. What do you like most about CTK?
The people. Everyone is very warm, kind, and I've known a lot of them for a long time. I also like our downtown focus. Katie and I live downtown and really have a heart to see the area impacted for Christ.
8. What do you do for work?
Play with kids (K-12) and talk to them about Jesus.
I'm the "Director of Christian Life" at St. David's School which is on Lassiter Mill Road near North Hills Mall. The job basically entails running our chapel services, which happen pretty much every day. I also teach two 9th grade classes.
9. What do you like most about it?
I love the relational aspect of the job, and the idea that I get to have a (hopefully) positive impact on kids. I used to work at the school as a teacher and my first year I taught seventh grade. Those seventh grade kids are now seniors about to graduate. It's been so much fun walking with them through their struggles and successes. Now they're about to graduate and I can't wait to see what God will do in and through them as they head out to leave their mark on the world.
10. What do you like to do with your free time?
We have a 3 month old daughter. What free time are you referring to?
We like going to Basketball games. I went to NC State. Katie went to UNC. Katie's brother is a coach at Wake Forest. So we all just get together and talk about how Josie simply can't go to Duke. That's all we agree on. Our bank account agrees too.
I also enjoy playing golf, woodworking, waterskiing, pinochle (that's a card game), and messing around on Facebook. But I RARELY find the time to do any of those things.
11. What is the best book(s) that you read in the past year? (after the Bible)
I just finished reading the Watchmen graphic novel. It was pretty good. I've also been working my way through Stephen King's Dark Tower series at the recommendation of a co-worker at St. David's. I'm halfway through the fourth book and all of them have been really good. I thought Stephen King only wrote horror books, but these are more Western meets Fantasy / Sci-Fi.
Last summer I read Tim Keller's book The Reason For God. It's probably the best piece of apologetic literature since C.S. Lewis roamed the earth. I'm crawling through The Cross-Centered Life by C.J. Mahanney with some of my St. David's kids. It's pretty good, but not as good as his book, Humility, which our small group read sometime within the last year.
12. Why do you want to serve CTK as an elder?
I'm willing to serve CTK as an Elder because I love the people and want to be as helpful as I can in helping expand God's kingdom in our hearts and in downtown Raleigh. I think our church has long needed a plurality of elders and I'm excited by the possibility that God would use me to fill that role.
13. What is God teaching you in your life right now?
I think God is teaching me what it means to be a father. I'm in Fatherhood 101 right now, but I think this course of study will involve new lessons on humility and patience. God's been trying to teach me those things for a long time now.