Blake Antal

Professor Heidi Robinson

CNS 220
23 November 2014
Interview with a Minister of Education
I first came into contact with Margaret Deans through the alumni page on linkedin. Even
through our initial contact I began to notice many similarities between her and the first person I
interviewed; namely, how both were so eager to tell me about their job. Ms. Deans responded to
the message I sent her within the hour I sent it, and immediately began negotiating a time when I
could call her so we could talk. We managed to book a time for the interview a week after our
initial contact so we could discuss her position as the Minister of Education at First Broad Street
UMC, at Johnson City TN.
When I began conducting the interview, I first asked her about what drew her to the field
of ministry, and was surprised by the answer. She said that she had always been interest in jobs
surrounding the ministry, however, she was hesitant due to the lack of women in minstrel roles
and stigma surrounding women being in leading roles within the church. Because of this she
decided to wait until there were more women in the industry. During this time her husband was
working as a full time minister, so she was exposed to an insider view of the church and had an
idea as to what was required of a person who works in such a position. It was only when she was
42 that she decided to attend the divinity school at Wake Forest and act on her call to the
ministry.
When she first became a minister of education, she was immediately put in a position
where she was working as the leader of 6 other people. Naturally, this required her to use
leadership skills. Aside from this, her day to day job involves her teaching children and adults
about the faith and giving them information on Christianity in general. As a teacher, she
informed me that one of the most important aspects of this job is to understand how people learn
and how to reach them in a coherent way that they can understand. Since she came from a family
of teachers, this came naturally to her; however, the most important aspect of her job was a little
more difficult. Ms. Deans told me that it was not information that changed people, but rather
spiritual formation that was the real goal of the church. What this means is, people considering
this role need to be able to relate to people on a deeper level and help them to personally
comprehend what the church stands for, not just with obtaining information.
Throughout the interview, Ms. Deans stressed that this was a job of passion, and a career
in this field wouldnt net much of a monetary reward. In fact, she told me that her own daughter
earned more just out of college than she currently makes. The next thing she told me was that the
church need entrepreneurs. The church is changing, it is moving away from its ritualistic roots,
and people over the age of 55 are starting to leave. As a result, they need entrepreneurs, people
who can start up churches in places and attract people of all types to one universal idea. People
stuck with one confined way of thinking are preventing the church flourishing into the
establishment it could be.

This proved to be a rather interesting interview for me. I already know that work in this
field aligns with my person al values and interests, but the information she gave me made me
think about my personal skills and how they could be valuable to such an establishment. The
idea that the church needs entrepreneurs, made me think about the other roles in the church and
how the business/computer science classes I am currently studying, may prove to be valuable in
the role of a minister. Overall, Ms. Deans proved to be another good source of information that
really had me thinking of my future in the ministry. I believe that she will continue to be an
excellent contact for me if I were to continue my research into the field of ministry.