Not altogether unknown in his ministerial role for the Rocky Mountain Conference, Douglas Inglish was invited to fill the position of vice president as of April 1, a vacancy left with the retirement of Eric Nelson. Prior to joining the RMC team, Inglish served as the property manager and director of trust services, stewardship, and personal ministries for the Minnesota Conference. He has served as RMC’s director for planned giving and trust services since 2016.
In an interview with NewsNuggets editor Rajmund Dabrowski, Inglish shared a few glimpses into his roles and personal experiences serving the Adventist Church in several regions of North America.
How has your lifelong ministry as a pastor, teacher and conference departmental director prepared you for this executive leadership role?
It’s been good to have been involved with many of those different areas of church and education work, and it was important for me to understand the different positions that our own employees are involved in.
Of course, it’s not always possible to have done something on every church level, and I certainly haven’t, but getting a breadth of experience is important.
When reviewing your weaknesses, what needs a little bit of fine tuning?
You know the classic answer: I just give too much of myself. That’s always a hard one to be able to articulate, but I’m aware of it. There are things I need to address. And one of them, frankly, is a core need of this position. This is a record keeping position. This may sound funny from somebody who’s been working in trust [services] for as long as I have, but details are something I prefer leaving to somebody else. I will need to work on this and having someone keep me on track, keep me focused.
To accomplish all this and more, there is a need for prayer, and this isn’t the first job that has required that. I need that on two levels. I need time with God. But it’s also gratifying to know that other people are praying for me. I’ve had pastors who have reached out to me since I’ve come into this position for no other reason than to say, “I’m praying for you in this new challenge.”
Looking ahead, what are some goals you can identify at the beginning of your journey?
The answer a year from now will probably be different than what I say now. Because my goal right now for the next six months is to understand my position better so I can serve better and to learn better the situations that need to be addressed. Currently, there are ongoing situations I’ve had to jump into the middle of, and my colleagues Ed Barnett, George Crumley, and Mickey Mallory have had to say, “Well, let’s give you some background.”
Is there such a concept for you as having free time? How do you spend it? How do you recharge yourself?
I love working on the house, and you know, I’m a VW freak. Everybody knows that about me; it’s kind of a part of my identity. I spent a better part of 16 years rebuilding an old VW because it was such a basket case. And it took that long because you can only give so much time. While I no longer own it, it’s out there with a plate on it being driven right now. But what I discovered was that doing mechanical things can stress me more than relax me. Doing carpentry relaxes me. So, we bought a house that needs some upgrading. And I’m having the time of my life.
What is your message to the church?
We have a mission and when we are fulfilling it, there is joy.
