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Casting no stones
By JOSH ZIMMER
© St. Petersburg Times, KEYSTONE -- Bob Wooten was a young man, a teenager juggling worldly desires with an inner voice that called him to minister the word of God. His choice would determine his future. In Wooten's case, there would be a long, often painful absence from the Methodist faith he was raised in. The country boy from a conservative background in Ocala earned a political science degree at the University of Florida, became a history teacher and started a family. He admits his life was not a model of probity, at least for someone destined to become a religious leader. "I felt the calling to priesthood when I was 17," Wooten, 51, the newly appointed minister at Keystone United Methodist Church, said during a recent interview at the congregation off Race Track Road. "Obviously ran from it." His inner battle peaked on Father's Day 1982, shortly after his wife lost their younger child. Sitting in church with the family, he said he truly prayed for God's guidance for the first time in a decade or more. Six years later he was studying for his cloth at Emory University in Atlanta, picking up the path he ignored so many years before. With Wooten, life's experiences have bred a combination of religious conviction and humility. The sense of honesty he conveys stems from a willingness to share his trying spiritual journey. "If God lets me preach and the walls don't fall down on me, there's no reason anyone else can't be in worship," he said. For a new preacher, especially one responding to charged feelings after the recent terrorist attacks, these are particularly busy times. A passionate fisherman, he hasn't even found a free minute to drop a lure in one of Keystone's many lakes. Writing sermons, running prayer sessions and just getting to know church members consume most of his day. Terry Schoenborn, a lifelong church member whose family ties at Keystone United go back three generations to the late 1880s, is pleased so far. They share a like for the late Southern columnist Lewis Grizzard. "I sat down and talked to him and I kind of like him," Schoenborn said. "First impressions are good. I found him to be honest." Keystone United is Wooten's fourth church after making a Methodist minister's typical rise up in the ranks. After his graduation in 1991, he quickly moved into a position serving two small churches in rural Lake County. "One (town) had a blinking light. One didn't have any," he said, remembering the interesting mix of socioeconomic groups. "It was a neat place to start." From there, he led a congregation in Indialantic and a small church outside Atlanta. At Keystone, Wooten is taking over for the Rev. Henry Steinmeyer, who took a sabbatical after a relatively long tenure of six years. Steinmeyer is now an assistant pastor at Palma Ceia United Methodist Church in Tampa. The national crisis has been a central topic of his sermons and Bible study sessions. His first Sunday sermon after the hijackings explored Ephesians, how to respond to evil in the world and the importance of not condemning all Muslims. For his thesis, Wooten also put together an interfaith dialogue program he hopes will be approved for use in Methodist churches. "Many of the folks understood what I was saying," said Wooten, who grew up in the segregated South and would reject the prejudice he encountered. "A few folks were still making comments of anger toward Muslims. We talked about it a lot in Bible study." "God will see us through," he wrote in the most recent church newsletter. Wooten does not think Keystone United needs to resort to gimmicks to retain and increase membership, as some churches do. Instead, he talks about opening a day care center and preschool and improving the church's finances. Another goal is community building among members. He said he intends to visit more people and encourage members to socialize with each other more. The church can be "a moral compass" for people looking to make sense out of the world, he said. "It is important that we do help people bring greater meaning to their lives," he said.
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