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Making The Right Choice

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By SARAH ROTHWELL

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 31, 2008

TAMPA PALMS - Growing up as a pastor's son in North Carolina, David Shelor never considered following in his father's footsteps. Instead, Shelor focused his efforts on pursuing a career in math and science.

He graduated from Davidson College with a degree in engineering and went to work as a mechanical engineer. Soon after joining the work force, Shelor began to feel unsettled and unsatisfied. He prayed for an answer and sought the help of a career counselor.

To the counselor, the answer was obvious.

"He told me, 'David, you have two choices: You can go to seminary or you can be miserable for the rest of your life,'" Shelor said.

More than a decade later, Shelor is the senior pastor at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 5338 Primrose Lake Circle.

Q. When you decided to attend seminary, did you see yourself becoming the senior pastor at a church?

A. At first, I wasn't sure what direction seminary would take me in. It wasn't clear. I thought about working in the church overseas and took a year off from Columbia Seminary in Atlanta to work at a church in Ghana, West Africa.

Q. What was that experience like?

A. It was fabulous. Just being in that culture was an amazing experience. The church is so alive there. I learned a lot about the relationship between church and culture, and how important that is.

Q. What made you decide to work in the States?

A. While I was finishing seminary, I was working part time at a church in Georgia. I enjoyed being with the people there and went to work there full time after I finished my master's in 1996. I met my wife there the Sunday I started work full time.

Q. What brought the family to Florida?

A. In 2002, the church asked that we come to Tampa to start St. Andrew.

Q. Where did the church start?

A. We started in an office complex in Pebble Creek and then moved to Liberty Middle School. This last year, we moved to our new location. We keep growing. We have about 147 members now.

Q. What do you like about leading a community-oriented church?

A. I remember a day when I was working at the church in Georgia. It was a rough day. There was an unexpected death, and a couple people went into the hospital. I got to be there for those people. I called my dad and I said, 'Dad, you never told me it was this amazing.'

It's amazing being able to be there for people when they need you. As a pastor, you connect with people. Whether it's on an individual-to-individual basis or in a group, you get to talk with people about things like the meaning of life and our purpose here. You get to be there in good times and bad. To be able to do that is a privilege.

Q. As a Presbyterian church amid several nondenominational churches in New Tampa, St. Andrew makes it a point to welcome people of all denominations? Why?

A. First and foremost, we are Christians. We want people to know that the church is Presbyterian, but we don't expect the people to be. We welcome everyone. Diversity is a good thing. We want people to come to our church who find it helpful to them. I think people have a need to connect with God and to connect with other people. That is what we are here for.

Q. How do you spend your time outside of work?

A. My wife and I have two young kids, so most of our time is spent at sporting events, Scouts and dance classes.

Q. Does St. Andrew offer children's programs?

A. Yes, we have a nursery and Sunday school. The kids start out in Sunday services with their parents, and then they go to their individual classes.

Q. When you listened to your father's sermons as a child, you never imagined you'd grow up to do the same thing. Looking back, do you see similarities between your ministry styles?

A. Yes, I've come to terms with the ways I'm like my father and with the ways I'm different. Looking back, I've been able to recognize why he was in ministry and learn from that.

My dad now suffers from dementia, but when we could talk about things more, I'd call him up and ask for advice. I'd ask him for an opinion on a particular sermon, and he'd say: 'I'm your dad. I think everything you do is great.' It was very sweet of him.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: St. Andrew Presbyterian Church
WHEN: Services at 10 a.m. Sundays

WHERE: 5338 Primrose Lake Circle

INFORMATION: Call (813) 907-3057 or visit www.saint andy.com

Sarah Rothwell can be reached at (813) 865-4845 or srothwell@tampatrib.com.

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