AWF Delegation Endorses Bryan as Episcopal Nominee
The 2016 members of the Alabama-West Florida Conference General and Jurisdictional Conference delegation have endorsed the Reverend Dr. R. Lawson Bryan as their episcopal nominee.
Since 2007, Dr. Bryan has served as senior pastor of Montgomery First United Methodist Church in Montgomery, AL. The AWF annual conference clergy elected him in June to lead the 2016 General/Jurisdictional delegation. Prior to this past annual conference session, he was elected a delegate to one General Conference and three Jurisdictional Conferences.
He began his ministry as an associate pastor at Trinity UMC (Opelika, AL). Other appointments include Hiland Park UMC (Panama City, FL), Dexter Avenue UMC (Montgomery, AL), First UMC, Brewton, Ashland Place UMC (Mobile, AL) and served for ten years as senior pastor at First UMC, Dothan, AL, before becoming senior pastor to Montgomery FUMC.
Bryan received his BS degree from Tulane University, a Master of Divinity from Candler Theological Seminary at Emory University and a Doctorate of Ministry, also from Candler. He was ordained as an elder in 1976.
In the AWF conference he has served in many capacities. His present positions include the AWF board chair of the Academy for Congregational Excellence, chair of the conference task force on evaluating the current apportionment formula and is a member of the faculty for the conference program known as “Becoming A More Effective Leader.” Bryan has also served as the chair of the Board of Ordained Ministry, chair of the Conference Council on Ministries, chair of the Dothan District Committee on Ministries and was a participant and leader in the three-year covenant community for spiritual growth.
Dr. Bryan currently serves as a trustee of Huntingdon College in Montgomery, AL, is on the board of the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits and is the teaching parish supervisor for Candler School of Theology. He also chaired the SEJ Larger Church Consultation. He has recently forged a partnership uniting AME, AME-Zion, CME and Wesleyan family churches in the Montgomery area and from this group, created the annual Pan-Methodist Pentecost Service and Lenten Unity Covenant Groups where half of the participants were members of these congregations uniting with Montgomery First members.
In addition to serving many United Methodist roles, he is also active in the local community. He is a member of Leadership Alabama, Downtown Rotary Club of Montgomery and chaired “Believe It!,” a Montgomery community partnership for public schools.
He is the author of Pursuing Science, Finding Faith, a book on the complementary relationship of faith and science, published in 2012.
Dr. Bryan is a native of Dothan, AL. He and his wife, Sherrill, have one adult son, Philip, who is engaged to be married to Brittany Woodham on October 10, 2015.
