TGC’s Ordinary Pastors Project seeks to find wisdom and honor in faithfulness, demonstrated in varied contexts. Learn more from the introduction by Matt B. Redmond. If you’d like to honor and encourage the ordinary pastor who shaped you, tell us about him in about 500 words and include a photo, or record a video testimonial of five minutes or less and send the link to [email protected]. This submission comes from Alan Gerling.
When thinking of an “ordinary pastor,” I look no further than a dear man who has been a pastor of the same local body of Christ for more years than I have been alive. His name is Pastor Leonard Schantz. Pastor Leonard has been the worship pastor (and for many years pastor of care) at Harmony Bible Church in Danville, Iowa, for nearly 31 years.
My first memories of Pastor Leonard are from very early in my life when I attended yearly Christmas and Easter cantatas. We didn’t go to Harmony, but lots of folks from the surrounding community came and still come to the cantatas at the church. Every year, Leonard puts together a cantata with choir and often orchestra and drama to present the gospel to the lost. Each year, reaching the lost becomes the central focus of hundreds of hours of labor. It is amazing to me that even after all of these years, these cantatas still aren’t about the production, but about the message. They are always fresh. Leonard never fails to give his absolute best for the Lord each year.
It was at one of these cantatas at the end of my freshman year of college that I rededicated my life to Christ after many years of wandering. Right after this, I got plugged in to Harmony by singing in the choir. It was then that I began to get to know this dear saint. Pastor Leonard is the most humble, joyful, and loving man I know. I have never seen Leonard (even in dress rehearsals until two in the morning to pull things together) speak words out of anger or frustration. Even when correcting the choir and orchestra, Leonard does so in a way that is joyful and encouraging. Somehow, even after having completely messed up the music, Leonard makes me feel like I did well, with perhaps some work needed on certain parts. This is something that I try to emulate now as a director myself, but it still escapes me.
I have never heard Pastor Leonard preach, but I have seen him marry many couples and officiate many funerals. His constant presence at the church has made him many people’s primary shepherd. Over the 30 years he has been there, the church has doubled in size and built a new sanctuary. The staff has turned over many times in Leonard’s time, yet Leonard has been there to minister to people. I now live nearly eight hours away, yet Pastor Leonard still takes the time to minister to me and invest in me, and I know that he continues to minister to others who have moved away from Harmony and continues to invest in them as well.
What’s more, Leonard has navigated the treacherous waters of the “worship wars.” Leonard started leading worship in a time when congregational music involved a piano, an organ, a hymnal, and maybe a choir from time to time. What speaks volumes to me is that in his desire to minister to the people of Harmony, Leonard changed with the times. That meant adding in praise choruses in the 80s and 90s, replacing the choir-led worship with instruments such as drums and guitars, eventually phasing out the organ, and always blending the best of the new with the treasures from the past. I’m convinced that Leonard has the hymnal memorized, and he can play everything in any key. It is always amazing to me how he weaves in melodies from hymns and choruses as he plays. It’s not unusual for him to be playing behind a pastoral prayer, and “comment” on the flow of the prayer by weaving in a theme from a hymn that complements the prayer.
As I look at Leonard’s ministry and its effect on my life, I can’t help but think that if it weren’t for Pastor Leonard, there would be fewer worship leaders in the world. One of his gifts is his ability to take young men (like me), pour into them, mentor them, give them opportunities to lead, and show them how to minister to hearts around them.
I would speak of his legacy, but I know that his response to this whole article would be “to God be the glory!” Even when faced with applause at the close of a cantata, he responds by pointing up, to say, “To him be the glory and honor and praise. Amen!” What a dear saint, and a most extraordinary pastor.
