Seventeen years ago, I (Joel) walked into a jewelry store to find a diamond ring, to propose to Mandy. The jewler showed me a diamond, and then handed me a monocular (a device for looking at jewels up-close) and said, “Look.” He told me to turn it and look again. He said, "Every time you look and turn it, you'll see a new view, something you didn't notice before."

The beauties of a diamond are manifold, that is many, layered, multifaceted, varied.

The Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 3, uses a similar metaphor. He said says that, though he was the very least, the most unqualifed, this precious task was given to him—to preach of the "unsearchable riches of Christ." Further, he says that the "manifold (many, multifacted, varied) widsom of God is being made known through the church."

The church is the way in which the beauty of God is being made known in the world. God is God, and he could do anything. He certainly could have chosen to showcase the varied and multifaceted glory of Jesus in any way that he wanted. But, in his great wisdom, he has chosen to do this through his church.

We are two guys who have worked in local church ministry for years and we believe this is true. As a result, we share a deep desire to help churches become more healthy and vibrant reflections of the beauty of Christ. Our goal behind our work is to use our experience to come alongside other churches, to these ends.

JAMES KLING

James is the husband to Stephanie, human dad to Virginia and Bennett, and pup dad to Winnie the Golden Retriever. Professionally he serves at Redeemer Community Church as the Operations Director meaning he gets really excited daily about organizational and operational health and efficiencies.

He earned a bachelor's degree in Business Management from Samford University and spent 15 years in operational and management roles in the private sector before jumping into full-time church work in 2015. James has served as an elder at Redeemer Community Church in Birmingham, AL since the church was founded in 2008. His role at Redeemer has included human resources, facility management, staffing, operations management, financial management, property acquisition, budgeting, and general problem solving within the complexities of church staff and operation.

James has a strong desire to help church leaders think holistically about their team (paid staff or volunteer) and how they best thrive in the local church. James also delights in sharing stories and lessons learned in transitioning from the startup/planting phase of a church to the sustainable phase of a church. Finally, James is an operations geek and loves helping solve problems that might keep church leaders up at night.

JOEL BUSBY

Joel is the husband to Mandy and the dad to Henry, Leland, and Millie. These four are the delight of his life. Also, he is the pastor at Grace Fellowship, a church in Birmingham, Alabama. Joel worked with others to plant Grace in 2016-2017.

He earned a Doctor of Ministry from Beeson Divinity School where his dissertation was focused on the Psalms and spiritual formation.

He also holds an M.Div from Beeson Divinity School, an Master of Arts in Youth and Family Ministry from John Brown University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Samford University.

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Joel is a churchman. Because of this, he hopes to use his gifts to serve local churches, thus participating in a display of Jesus’ particular glory in the world.

More specifically, he has a strong desire TO become a partner in various ministry efforts through teaching, and to train and develop others for local church work. These goals find an outlet in four primary expressions:

1) He serves as the Lead Pastor of Grace Fellowship.

2) He writes here, at The Manifold about the Christian life, spiritual formation, practical theology, parenting and marriage, the history of Christian thought, the Psalms, the local church, the work of pastoral ministry, and more.

3) Joel serves churches and other groups through teaching, talks, retreats, seminars, and workshops. He would be honored to serve your church or group.

4) Each year, Joel leads a cohort of young men currently serving in local church ministry, who desire to develop in soulful leadership and pastoral posture, identity and character. He challenges them to hone their ministry philosophy and build practical pastoral skills. These groups enroll in the Fall and commence in January of each year.