Post #1418402

Today marks my last day at Google and a pivot point in my career: Next week I am stepping into the role of Executive Pastor at Linworth Road Church! Throughout my 20 year tech career I've been privileged to work with so many incredible people—truly some of the smartest and most talented people in the world. And during my last year+ working at Google I've been consistently amazed by the pace and scale of innovation happening in the technology sector. I will truly miss my role at Google, my colleagues, and my tech career. So why take a (significant) pay cut and move into full time pastoral role? If you know me well, you'll already know that I have a deep passion for serving folks in my community and meeting their holistic needs. And in my experience, I've consistently witnessed the teachings and the power of Jesus transform lives like nothing else. It would be enough to say that I'll be expanding the scale and impact of my personal ministry, but there's more. In my role as a board member and an executive in the organization, I'll oversee technology, safety, and operations. I'll be augmenting our leader development programs to scale our effectiveness as an organization. And this is all just scratching the surface. We celebrated our 50th anniversary as an organization in 2023. Our history is full of faithful leaders competently navigating the challenges of maintaining a healthy church, but in every organization there are unique challenges which face every new generation of leaders who must receive the baton without fumbling it. I'm excited to apply my experience in agile business transformation (from my time at Pillar Technology and AWS, among others) to meet those generational challenges. And I plan to measurably influence Linworth's trajectory toward another 50 years of healthy growth. I've received so much from all of my colleagues throughout the years. Working with you all has shaped me into the person I am today. And without all of those experiences I would never be qualified to tackle the challenges ahead. Thank you. —Alex Markley Executive Pastor, Linworth Road Church