Watson Memorial pastor appointed rank of bishop

17th October 2016   ·   0 Comments

By Blair Lyons
Contributing Writer

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in the Watson household.

The Reverend Tom Watson, a third-generation pastor, has been elevated to the title of Bishop by the board of trustees at the Watson Memorial Teaching Ministries. Watson assumed his new title on Sunday, Oct. 9, at the church’s Uptown campus on St. Charles Avenue. Bishop Paul S. Morton of Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church and Dr. Norman C. Francis, former president of Xavier University in New Orleans, were among the community leaders in attendance at the ceremony.

Watson is the grandson of the late Bishop Thomas Benjamin Watson Sr., who founded and served as the presiding bishop of the United Metropolitan Spiritual Churches of Christ. Watson’s father, the late Pastor Aubrey Watson, Sr. pastored St. Expedite Spiritual Church of Christ in Central City. And, now, Watson’s son, Corey Watson, is the pastor of the church’s West Bank campus in Algiers.

Rev. Watson said he doesn’t think of himself as a traditional church leader. Unlike his father and grandfather, Watson said he has engaged himself more into the community, and did not shy away from getting involved in his community politically. In 2006, after the devastation to New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina, Watson ran for mayor of the city, trying to ensure that the rebuilding of New Orleans was done with fairness, he said. Being an African-American male in a leadership position in the city, Watson said everything he has done in his almost three decades in ministry has been motivated by his mission to help his church’s surrounding community.

“As I have nurtured, developed programs and mentored young Black males over most of my career and my pastorate, I see the office of Bishop as a way to do it in a bigger light,” Watson said. “I would be responsible in mentoring more pastors and I would show them the template that has helped me be effective, beyond the four walls of the church.”

To grow the impact the church can have in the city, Watson said that he has already talked to other bishops who share his mission, and who could work with him to form a citywide Bishop Council. “I have a serious passion for connecting millennials to the church. We need them and they need us,” Watson said. “A lot of what I’m doing right now is not for my generation, but for the next generation.”

In taking on this assignment, Watson said that the basis of his work in this phase of his ministry is to help the pastors of the next generation that will follow him. “Ten years from now, we will be asked what will we have done, not for ourselves and our personal ministries, but how will we lay the foundation and template for the younger pastors,” he said.

Within his own household, Watson’s family has followed his lead to serve the community. His wife, Pat Watson, serves as executive pastor at Watson Ministries. And among their four children, and seven grandchildren, their son, Corey, also followed his father’s interest in holding political office and ran unsuccessfully for the New Orleans City Council’s District B seat in 2010.

Rev. Watson, a 1977 Xavier alumnus, said being elevated to Bishop reinforces his calling to continue the work he has done in the city. Twenty years ago, Watson started the Citywide Summit on the African American Male and the 1,000 Man March to address the complex needs of families. He served as co-chair of the New Orleans Public Schools Taskforce on Dropout Prevention and the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Crime Fighting Program, in addition to 13 years in other city government positions. He currently serves as commissioner for the Audubon Institute.

“Rev. Watson’s discipleship and service in this community has been amazing,” said Norman C. Francis. “He has consistently showed that no race, religion, or ethnic background will be a barrier in his ministry.”

Francis and other community leaders attended Watson’s ceremony to pay tribute to the pastors contributions to the city. “To this community and congregation of this church, I say congratulations, and to Watson I say thank you,” Francis said.

Watson hopes to continue his work to improve not only the African-American community, but all residents in the community as a whole. He said he wants the title of Bishop to mean something to the people of New Orleans, and not just another title to the others he holds.

Corey Watson, who has observed his dad’s community impact, said his father’s work is worthy of the new title. “His work precedes the title,” he said. “He’s been helping mentor young pastors in the community for years. It’s an exciting moment for all in our ministry. His father and grandfather both were bishops, so in a way, it was bound to happen with the given legacy.”

This article originally published in the October 17, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.