Jerry Lindquist: Former elementary school principal packs up after feeling called to start a church
What’s the old line about difficult and impossible …? Oh, now I remember:
The difficult is done at once; the impossible takes a little longer.
Credited to a French politician in the early 19th century, it became a familiar saying during World War II of the U.S. Armed Forces, most notably the Navy’s Seabees, who prided themselves in overcoming obstacles and taking on assignments meant for special people with lots of determination, skill and a never-say-die mentality.
Cue the soundtrack and narrative to today as we zero in on Charles Edward Joseph III, a United Methodist minister who goes by “Chip” and has been given one of those Herculean tasks not meant for mere mortals.
His mission, which at first he chose not to accept, was to start a new church in Montpelier, a rural area northwest of Richmond in Hanover County that has not supported most churches of any denomination, in an era that has not been kind to religion, much less Sunday worship.
This could be considered difficult to the point where even an upbeat, positive guy like Joseph, 59, could have his doubts about potential success.
“I could have said, ‘No,” he said. “At first, I didn’t want to do it. At my age, I was looking at retirement...versus starting a church, which takes years.
“I literally prayed about it for a year and, then I woke up one morning and said, ‘I guess this is what I need to do.’”
A poll taken in 2023 found that just 43% of Americans report attending religious services “at least a few times a year.”
Into this negative environment rides Joseph, armed with unwavering hope combined with the unwavering encouragement of friends.
So what makes the UMC’s Virginia Conference think he can pull it off?
Others have tried. Many failed. Joseph was told of a dedicated minister who, not that long ago, used the same venue, the Montpelier Center for Art and Education, to set the dream in motion and soon found it to be a nightmare instead.
After all, despite pushing 60, he’s a virtual babe of a pastor. It was only seven years ago that he announced he was retiring as a elementary school principal to enter the ministry after stints at Holladay, Beaverdam and South Anna.
Joseph is an anomaly in a profession that usually requires many years to develop a résumé considered worthy of such an important assignment.
Heck, he didn’t even follow the usual path to certification. By the time he declared himself all in, Joseph was too old to start from scratch at, say, Duke Divinity School … which counts among its alumni his current boss, Mark Montgomery.
Instead, with the help and (equally important) constant support from pastors Gordon Pruitt and Montgomery at St. Matthews UMC in Goochland County, Joseph took required classes online, accepted an invitation from Pruitt to start a contemporary service, got his UMC local license and currently serves as associate pastor to Montgomery’s No. 1.
Religion’s gain was education’s loss. Joseph was a popular elementary school principal when he woke up one morning in February of 2019 and told wife Karen, who is still an active teacher, “that it was time to follow the calling I had been listening for all my life … and see what happens.”
(Full disclosure might be appropriate here. I have attended St. Matthews since 1996 … and know Joseph quite well. Trust me … the Chip Off the Old Block is the real deal.)
So when he said he was an introvert growing up, it was met by a double-take. You’ve got to be kidding me!
He’s a musician, plays guitar and is lead singer for the Windbags, a popular four-man ensemble of longtime friends that is available for just about anything.
He was quite an athlete, baseball primarily, at St. Christopher’s and later Collegiate and finally William & Mary, where he added lacrosse.
Still, when he took those personality tests (that were quite the rage back in the day) … “and I’m not a big believer in them, I’d always come up as introverted because I always needed solitude to re-charge my battery,” Joseph recalled, hard as it was to believe.
“When I started playing in a band, and I was the lead singer, I didn’t have any choice … and that kind of eased me into being comfortable in front of people … but, in between sets, I’d have to get away from everyone because I was exhausted from being up front.”
The fact that they have lived in Montpelier for 32 years (and counting) certainly was a primary factor in Good, Old Chip being asked to be point pastor for St. Matt’s North.
Likewise was his unquestioned popularity, first as a teacher then as an administrator. Joseph can relate to anyone in a positive way.
With a sudden burst in population, Montpelier, the historical district of 77 square miles that claims among its denizens (past and present) such celebrities as former president James Madison, naval hero Thomas Dewey and professional wrestler Mickie James, would seem ideal to attempt a spiritual renaissance.
And here was St. Matthews, one of the few churches to actually have a bank account without owing any money.
It was a natural. Enter district superintendent, Dr. Hyo Lee.
“He’s always thinking about how we are going to reach more people ... and he asked us, ‘What is your next move now that things are going so well at church?’” Joseph said.
“Our first thought was to build, but (Lee) said churches aren’t building anymore … because they were creating these large buildings and then the pastors moved on … and you are stuck with debt and all that stuff that doesn’t help.
“So, we started thinking about something simple, like having a church dinner … things like that … but we kept coming back to this area, and how I’ve lived here so long and knew so many people … and how it would be advantageous to use the opportunity to draw people in.”
Originally, the plan was “to give it six months,” Joseph said. “The third Sunday of the month at 4 o’clock. See what happens and go from there. If there’s not enough interest, well, we tried.
“I feel like God twisted my arm, so to speak, and said, ‘Let’s try this, and, if it’s not going to work, then it wasn’t the right thing to do.’
If you know good, old Chip even a little bit, you know he hit the whole thing running.
In addition to starting a media page on Facebook, he initiated a weekly bible study Tuesday nights at the Mountpelier library and set up his office at Dave and Phriends Grill Tuesday mornings from 7:30 to 10:30.
Come one, come all. Have some of Dave’s homestyle breakfasts and pastries (the crème brulee doughnut is a personal favorite) … and talk to Joseph about St. Matt’s North. Or just about anything you choose.
Joseph likes to talk, and laugh, and does so regularly. He never met a stranger. Also, he’s a good listener.
You probably know people who see the glass half-empty or half-full. Good old Chip always sees it completely full. In other words, he can be optimistic almost to a fault. While some people can say no, Joseph can’t (even though he says otherwise).
At St. Matthews, he started a men’s group, the Wingmen, that meets every Thursday a.m., for a bible study at Chick-fil-A (in addition to doing projects to help the community).
A homeless man turned up at St. Matthews UMC, located about a mile northeast of Sycamore Creek Golf Course, seeking shelter from the cold and became a project for good by Joseph and the Wingmen.
(By the way, the name has nothing to do with angels or anything biblical, for that matter. It’s simply another reflection of his delightful sense of humor. At the organizational meeting, dinner was served “and we just happened to have chicken wings,” he said.)
Now, a year later, the homeless man has a place to live and a motor scooter (courtesy of the men with wings) to get around, and a job.
Sunday, Jan. 18th was the sixth Sunday. As always, Joseph arrived about 2:30 p.m., at the Montpelier venue on Route 33 … apprehensive, as usual (OK, nervous) … although not as much as Week 1, when the turnout of some 90 included mostly friends from St. Matthews who weren’t about to leave him feeling alone.
“I was terrified,” Joseph admitted later.
To date, St. Matt’s North has attracted some 40 (give or take) regulars from the Montpelier area … which just about everyone thinks is an encouraging number … attracted by a simple service featuring a 20-minute sermon by Joseph.
“You know, this is different than just joining a church. The idea is to reach out to folks who haven’t been going to church … or stopped going, wanted to get back and maybe were looking for something they hadn’t found yet,” Joseph said.
“I do think there is a growing desire for something. I would like [to know]… if atheism has grown or is it just that people haven’t been going, for whatever reason … like they weren’t raised in a church, so when they had kids, it wasn’t part of their routine.”
The six-month trial period has come and gone. Starting this month they will have two services. Needless to say, Joseph is pumped.
Eventually, he plans to move from the arts center into more permanent digs. Location to be determined.
“The challenge,” he said, “is to figure out what will draw people towards God ...and help sustain them … that they want to come back.”
For more on The Chip Off the Old Block … and his multi-dimensional life, how he overcame the suicide of a close friend, a bi-polar father and more … check Jerry Lindquist’s blog.
