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autobiography.docx
Hello my name is Jerry Lamonte Seigle. I was born on August 20, 1985 in a small town called Lowell, located in the great state of North Carolina. I was raised in a household of four people, my dad which happens to be my biggest role model, my mom, sister and of course myself. We are a Christain family, in fact my dad was the pastor of our church. My father instilled Christain moral in our lives. I wanted to be just like my dad. If he was preaching, I was practicing preaching. If he was singing, of course I was trying too. If my dad was playing music, I was learning along with him. The majority of my young life, I was in church. I remember starting on a Friday around 7pm through 11pm we were in church. Then we repeated the same thing on Saturday. On Sunday I would go to church at 11am and not remember seeing home until morning time on a Monday right before it was time to go to school. Church and school was the only thing I have ever known. When I was 7 years old I met my best friend who eventually moved in with us. What a dream come true for me! We did everything together. At the age of 12 I started middle school which was a huge shift in my life. I met my cousin who had similar interests as I did. We had a love for music. My cousin could sing and I could play the keys off a piano. We had built a tight relationship. When I turned 13 years old my mom and dad moved to Lake Wylie, South Carolina. This was hard for me. I was leaving my cousin as well as my best friend that lived with us. Although moving was a rough time of my life, I was able to focus more on my interests and hobbies.
I am a musician. I love to play the piano. Music filled the void in my life when I moved away from my cousin and best friend. At the age of 15 I joined a gospel band and was able to tour neighboring states during the summer. This is when I discovered that I had a passion for music. Church and music really became the center of my life. I began to serve in my church as the minister of music at the age of 15. At the age 15 I also gave my life to christ. I accepted Jesus as my saver. My father never pushed me to be saved. He allowed me to find myself and to give my life to Christ on my own. Of course he guided me the way that I live and he taught me the importance of salvation. Throughout my time in high school I also was a part of the jazz ensemble band. While in High school I discovered new hobbies that attracted my attention and interest. My junior year in school I was in a woodworking class where I was supposed to be learning about carpentry and milling. Occasionally I would get into trouble because I would start talking to some of the students, asking them to come to church with me. One day my teacher from my woodworking class approached me and asked, you like church, I replied yes. From that point I have met someone else that has also helped me to shape my identity as a person. My father was my role model. He taught me how to live a saved life as a Christain raising me in the church. My teacher taught me how to carry myself as a Christain in public when mom and dad were not around. I must say that these two men had a huge impact shaping my identity as a person.
I’ve had ups and downs throughout my life. My senior year in high school was an exciting and happy year for me. My best friend was able to move to South Carolina. He stayed with another church member who lived next door to us. After graduating high school I began to serve full-time in church and my friend joined the United States Army. Six months after graduating high school my life shifted. I lost my best friend. He passed due to a heart attack. A year later my cousin passed away. At this point I am at the darkest time of my life. My world has been flipped upside down and I must admit that I was lost for 3 years of my life. As time passed I did find my happiness when I ran into the love of my life. In 2008 I started dating my church crush that I have known all my life, and in 2009 we got married. I married the prettiest and most brilliant woman in the church. In 2009 I also enrolled into college where I attended the University of Phoenix. I’ve had ups and downs as I joggled with my challenge while attending the university, but I was able to graduate in 2020.
There are a few significant factors which have aided my growth as a Christain. My father from the day I was able to leave the house as a newborn had me in church and he taught me how to live a Christain life. He was my modeling example of what God wanted me to be. Another factor which aided my growth as a Christain was in the past I lost my cousin and best friend. In 2009 I learned that my wife was diagnosed with Lupus and was very ill. I sure did not want to lose my wife. During the time of her being sick I really learned how to pray. I had to learn to trust God and have faith that he would heal her. Through this time I grew stronger as a Christain and even when God did heal her back in 2018 my faith and trust in God grew stronger.
I have been in church and actively serving in ministry all of my life. In 2020 I was ordained as a minister and actively in training to transition as pastor. In 2022 I decided that It was time to further my education and pursue a master's degree in divinity.
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Personal statement.docx
Being raised in the church practically from the time that I was born and able to leave the house to this present time has had a significant influence in my spiritual journey. I was brought up in a pentecostal church where we believe in the father, son, and holy ghost/spirit. I was tough and mouded to live a holy lifestyle and to love, honor, worship and praise God the father, God the son and received the gift of God the holy spirit.
Looking over my spiritual life there are two theological issues that are central to my personal development and ministry. Trusting God and Faith! I believe trusting God is a choice. As for me it is the center of my life. I believe in the word of God and that we must follow what the word tells us. The bible to me is God’s handbook. It gives us instructions on how to live a holy life and enter into the kingdom of heaven. I trust God on the spiritual side of life as well as the natural side of life. The issue I see often is that we look for God to work on our behalf however if he does not intercede for us when we think he should or when we want him we lose our faith. This brings me to my next theological issue, Faith. Oftentimes if we can’t see something we don’t believe it is going to happen. For me faith is central to my personal development and in ministry. We are supposed to walk by faith not by sight. I believe any time God tells me something that it’s going to happen, even when it does not look good I will trust him and have faith that what he says will come true. Lastly I believe in order to make it into the kingdom of God, yes you must repent of your sin and accept Jesus as your saver as he died on the cross for our sin, and he rose on the 3rd day, but you have to also trust in God and his word as well as have faith.
I’m currently serving in our church ministry and was ordained as a minister. I’ve always had a love for serving in the church whether it was playing the piano, helping people in the community and in the church or teaching the word. I have a passion for working within the church. In 2022 my father at age 72 has decided to put me in training and slowly transition me into the role of pastor. For all of these reasons I feel the need to further my ministry education. I feel that the masters of divinity degree is very related with my motivating objectives and I believe that it will give me the skill set to grow in knowledge and have a better understanding of God’s word. I believe this degree will also help me future develop my leadership skill as a pastor. I know my calling is to plant churches, help people and preach the word of God and I want to do it effectively. For these reasons I believe this degree is relative to my objectivies.
My family, friends and church have all been supportive of me when learning that I wanted to pursue my masters degree in divinity. I have always wanted to be like my dad. When I was a baby I would see him preaching and I would copy him. I told my father at an early age that I wanted to preach just like him. He would reply that I want you to be better than me. This year as I slowly started the transition of a pastoral role I explained to him I wanted to attend Gordon Conwell. From that moment he has pushed me, encouraged me to work hard to earn this degree and to never give up no matter how hard things could possibly get. My mother and sister for years have told me that I have so much love for the church that I should get some sort of degree in ministry. They have always encouraged me. I don’t have many friends, but the few that I have constantly tell me that I have a gift and have encouraged me to pursue this degree. My church community is supportive of me continuing my education. Seeing them and wanting to help them reach a deeper understanding of the word of God is encouragement to me. Some of the elders at the church ask what plans I have for school, I tell them my goal is to earn my masters in divinity and later try to earn a doctoral degree. They simply encourage me telling me I can do whatever I put my mind to. Last but not least, sometimes you have to encourage yourself. You have to tell yourself that you can do it and I know that I can earn this degree for that reason I am applying to enter into this degree program.
There are a few strengths and weaknesses that I bring to this degree program. Some of my significant strengths are the ability to network and communicate with others. I feel that one of my biggest strengths is listening and learning from others. I was taught that the best leaders listen to other people and I feel that this has helped me become a leader that people like, respect as well as being an effective leader. We all have weaknesses. The most significant weakness that I have experienced in ministry is the ability to correctly pronounce names in the bible. This has been a struggle for me and oftentimes I fear being put on the spot to read the bible out loud before having an opportunity to look over what I am going to read. I feel that if I am accepted into this program that I will overcome my weakness and that I may be a help to others.