NEWS RELEASE:
RELEASE DATE: Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Contact Information: Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe – bishopbledsoe@nmconfum.com
Randy Stutes to become Northwest Texas Conference Lay Leader
Lubbock, January 16, 2019: Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe announced his intention to appoint Mr. Randy Stutes to become a member of the Ministry Cabinet effective January 1, 2019, following the departure of Mr. Jeff Fisher.
Randy joins us with a lifetime of Methodism. He was raised in the Texas Conference where his dad, C.H.
Stutes, was a pastor for 44 years. He graduated from East Chambers High School in Winnie, Texas, followed by attendance and graduation from Lon Morris College in 1983 and Southwestern University in 1985. Each of the four summers during those college years found him serving as a youth director at churches in the Texas Conference. He married Ann Brashear in 1986 and she is currently the dean of the School of Music at Wayland Baptist University. He taught math and coached cross-country for 29 years at both junior high and senior high levels, and currently teaches Algebra II and Pre-Calculus at Hart JH/HS. Since moving to West Texas in 1992, Randy and Ann were members at Petersburg FUMC for 15 years and are presently members at Plainview FUMC for the last 12 years. Randy has taught adult Sunday School classes for the last 25 years, served on various committees, and been a delegate to Annual Conference for over 15 years. Prior to accepting the Conference Lay Leader position, he served as Lubbock District Lay Leader for 2 ½ years and Annual Conference Secretary for 3 years.
Randy stated that he is excited to be a part of the cabinet and build on the momentum that Jeff Fisher has started with the laity in his 2 ½ years in this role.
Jeff Fisher answered a call to ordained ministry, thus is no longer considered laity but on the clergy track for ministry. He has done an excellent job as Conference Lay Leader following the leadership of Murray Murphy. As chair of the Conference Leadership Team (CLT), Jeff helped develop the strategic plan for NWTX Conference and led in overseeing the plan’s successful implementation.