Long-time Roswell Pastor Retires

publication date: Jul 3, 2008

 | 

author/source: Roswell Beacon

Noel R. Anderson, the senior pastor at Cross of Life Lutheran Church has retired. Anderson has held the post for the past 10 years. His retirement, effective July 1, 2008, was recently observed at a retirement celebration at the church, which is located at 1000 Hembree Road in Roswell.

Pastor Anderson accepted the leadership role at Cross of Life in January of 1998 after spending more than 30 years with the Lutheran Church in Singapore and Malaysia as a missionary for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. During his time abroad, he served first as director of youth and education, later as senior pastor with several congregations, and finally in the office of the Bishop. When he began his ministry there, the Lutheran church in Singapore was in its infancy, and members came to the congregation predominantly from Buddhist and Hindu backgrounds. Pastor Anderson relates that as these people accepted Christ as their Savior and began to experience the positive result of this belief through prayer and worship, the Lutheran church began to grow almost strictly through word of mouth.

“It was wondrous,” Anderson said. “It inspired me to share the power of that same faith in a living Christ with the Cross of Life congregation when my family and I returned to the states.”

Anderson’s leadership style has encouraged members of the church to embrace more active roles in programs designed to grow the church and benefit those in need, not just in Roswell, but across the state, the country and around the world. As a result, Cross of Life members both lead and participate in a host of ministries including Boy Scouts, Habitat for Humanity, Hunger Walk, refugee services, meal deliveries for the ill and grieving, an endowment team that grants funds for worthy causes, the tsunami and Katrina disasters, blood drives, campus ministries, jobs for under and unemployed (JAWS), Good Samaritan ministry and much more.

“Pastor Noel has been a unique leader for our congregation,” said Bob Shanahan, a long-time member of Cross of Life and current president of the church’s council. “One of his greatest strengths is inspiring people to get involved and empowering them to make the decisions necessary to get the job done. In addition to his unwavering devotion to God, he also has the administrative and operational skills that effectively translate talk into results.”

Anderson’s talents for mentoring people contributed in part to the creation and support of a new Lutheran Church, The River, located in Milton. The church was started by Pastor Scott Seeke in 2007 after Seeke served as associate pastor for Cross of Life for five years.

“Some people just beginning their pastoral careers spend time being handed a series of assignments to perform as they gain experience,” said Seeke. “With Pastor Noel, I felt like a 50 percent player from the beginning. He encouraged me to proactively experiment with different ideas, and he was always patient and supportive. It was a rare opportunity, and I learned a great deal.”

Anderson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology/sociology from Upsala College in East Orange, N.J., and a Masters of Arts degree in theology as well as a Masters of Divinity degree from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He and his wife Diane plan to spend some time traveling before making decisions about future ministries.