When you think about the personality and persona of the Elders, you may think of them as I do: spiritually devout men of unshakable faith with impeccable integrity and character, and a strong sense of responsibility towards their church. However, while these are great qualities to have, one could also imagine that as they rose to the position of Elder the very qualities it took to get them there could also cause them to become aloof from the rest of us and possibly separated from the other Elders due to differences in opinions, ideas and ideologies. But fear not! The providence and the hand of God are upon our Elders and church. In His perfect wisdom, God gave us certain nuances of personality that, like different parts of the body, cannot function individually on their own, but once assembled create a beautiful and wonderfully functioning "being", in this case, the body of Christ at Central Church.
With that long and necessary introduction complete I want to introduce you to Mr. Russell McGoff. If our Elders could be described as giant redwood trees standing shepherd over the land below, Russ sees himself as designed by God to help the trees connect with one another. God made Russ with branches that extend from one tree to another. You see, Russ is a facilitator of communication and human emotion and acts as a translator for the various differences that can occur in interpersonal communications, particularly in a room occupied with strong personalities. In a manner of speaking you might say he speaks and listens in tongues when it comes to understanding the various Elders and their "language". People, all of us, have different backgrounds and life experiences that have shaped and molded us into what we are and how we are perceived. Because of this, we have certain biases and filters that either help, or in most cases hinder, effective communication. Russ understands, intrinsically, what people's motivations are and is able to find ways to tie these various groups and people together.
Russ's gift of communication is no doubt God given, but, given his family dynamics while growing up, came in a hard way. But as the Lord has told us in Romans 8:28: "God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them."
Born the oldest of three brothers in Memphis in 1941, Russ lettered in three sports while attending Treadwell High School - football, basketball and baseball. After graduating in 1959 he began classes at then Memphis State University (now University of Memphis) with the intention of becoming a doctor, a profession chosen for him by his dad. But God intervened and during his first year he quit school and joined the United States Air Force. Getting stationed in Japan, Russ specialized in accounting and finance. While his "day" job in the USAF gave him an education in military life, his aspirations of furthering his career included finishing what he had originally started before the military and he started attending night school while in the service. After 3 and ½ years of working for Uncle Sam Russ came back to Memphis and finished his degree in Business where he had originally started, the University of Memphis.
After his education was completed, Russ worked for various businesses in the Memphis area. It was in this time frame that God was particularly working on Russ. He was not cemented with a conviction of faith nor purpose in life, but God was "cooking" him until the time was right to pull him out of the oven.
On a blind date Russ met Gail and they married in 1968, eventually having a wonderful son whom they named Tim and then later adopting an equally wonderful daughter, Brittney.
Gail, herself a graduate of the University of Memphis, and after traveling the country as a flight attendant, grew roots after marrying Russ and started a second career as a school teacher.
But while both were dealing with a life of quiet desperation, one borne from a life apart from God, the Lord finally pulled a now simmering Russ out of the oven, and, in 1972, after Russ and Gail attended their first service at Central Church, he, Russ, professed his love and belief in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and became one of the flock. As a side note, the preacher's sermon on Russ's first visit to Central that day was on the "Prodigal Son." This started Russ's spiritual and professional life rolling.
Russ and Gail quickly joined Central Church and Russ eventually became an adult Sunday school teacher. In 1980, eight years after professing his faith, he became an Elder and obviously has remained so ever since.
What is very interesting in all of this is how the Lord worked in Russ's professional life after he became saved and then involved with the church community at Central. By his own admission Russ worked in uninspiring positions on the operations side of the companies for whom he worked. But after joining Central and teaching Sunday school, he realized he much more enjoyed the human element of businesses, the very people themselves: their desires, motivations and psyche.
So with that God-revealed epiphany, he embarked on a total career change that in 1982 caused him to start his own, very successful, consulting firm that specializes in interpersonal skills, planning, negotiating and finally strategic planning.
At 66 years old, Russ is still running his company and it, like his faith, is thriving and growing.
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