Bill Egner

Bill Egner
Christ Chapel Bible Church

Bill grew up in Overland Park, Kansas and graduated from the University of Kansas (’85) with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. After marrying Laurie (also a KU grad) and a brief stint in graduate school at Purdue University where he first understood his need for a Savior and gave his life to Christ, he was hired by Aerojet Propulsion Systems and they moved to Sacramento, California. Bill was (it’s true!) a rocket scientist for seven years before realizing a call from God on his life that he could no longer resist. So with Laurie, 3-year old Stephen, and baby Josiah on the way, they loaded up the truck and they moved to Beverly … no… Dallas, that is, Texas, to transition into full-time ministry.

Bill attended Dallas Theological Seminary, graduated with a Master of Theology degree, and went to Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth, Texas, in the fall of 1998. He describes his job as Executive Pastor as similar to being a CEO of a large corporation—he directs long-range vision planning, personally shepherds the pastoral staff and cabinet, gives guidance to countless committees and ministries, keeps the inner workings of the church streamlined and efficient, and occasionally preaches. Bill has a passion for God’s Word and wants others to know the same excitement, so he regularly teaches Old Testament classes and the S.H.A.P.E. course. He quotes most often from Psalm 103: “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love.” He enjoys watching football, college basketball (Rock Chalk Jayhawk!), reruns of Police Squad! and The Beverly Hillbillies, music (mostly 80’s), his iPhone, making charts, and eating Altoids and Gobstoppers candy. And he watches the DVD of From the Earth to the Moon whenever he gets a chance.

He also is a guest lecturer in the XPastor Online Courses.

• Hiring For Right Fit  This is Bill’s synopsis article from his case study.

From Bill’s Dissertation on Hiring

• Hiring 101: How the “Great” Ones Do It
  Hiring. Just saying the word out loud for many pastors produces audible groans, pained expressions and rolling eyes. Hiring. Everyone knows it’s a necessity; hardly anyone sees it as glamorous.  Yet a few, perhaps, see in it and through it a great opportunity to maintain or even increase spiritual momentum; an opportunity to positively influence their church’s future trajectory; to go from good to better or even from good to great. Read the rest of the case: 2007 Egner Little Rock
• Learning From The Past To Guide Us Into The Future: A “First Person” Case Study. Christ Chapel Bible Church finds itself in the late summer of 2006 at a blessed crossroads. That crossroads is the opportunity to invest in one of three ministry options, each of which will offer material care as well as show the love of Christ to orphans and/or impoverished children. All three options have been brought forward by lay people, are overseas and are seriously being considered by the Elder Board. Two of the three options require a relatively small financial commitment from the church, short-term volunteer commitments to go and serve and no governing Board or staff oversight. The third option, on the other hand, requires a significant amount of financial commitment, potentially hiring overseas staff as well as requiring large-scale governance and longer-term commitment. It’s a wonderful place to be and in a sense Christ Chapel has been building toward a time such as this … and for ministry discussions such as this. Yet realities being what they are mean ministries still vie for the same fixed resources of the church. How should the leadership decide which, if any, should be funded or supported? What might Christ Chapel’s history disclose about its ability to finance or even oversee an overseas “churchsized” ministry idea? Though the risks of the third option loom large, is this actually the direction God is calling the church? Read the rest of the case:  2007 Christ Chapel