The Rev. Ronald J. Fowler has started a new chapter in his life story.
On Wednesday, Kent State trustees honored the pastor laureate of Arlington Church of God and community activist with a resolution and reception for his contributions to the university community during the past seven years.
Fowler said he “just felt it was time” to leave his post as special assistant to the president at his alma mater “to do something different.”
“I just knew my job was finished, and now I’m going back to my passion: mentoring leaders. I’ve started a network for pastors all over the nation,” Fowler said. “We’re still in the development stages, but there are four other facilitators assisting me with a network of 28 pastors.”
Although the initiative, called “Let’s Network,” primarily was formed for the Anderson, Ind.-based Church of God, Fowler said he regularly mentors pastors in other denominations, including those in Christian Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Progressive Baptist and National Baptists churches. His expectation is that the reach of the ministry will expand.
Let’s Network serves as a forum in which pastors can seek advice and support and can engage in peer collaboration and dialogue.
“The joy of this ministry is that we are helping pastors of small churches, which are typically under-resourced,” Fowler said. “The goal is to keep these pastors healthy and give them a place to bounce around ideas. It gets pretty lonely in ministry. The hope is that this will meet the significant need for leadership support.”
Fowler, 78, retired in 2008 as pastor of Arlington Church of God after 37 years. Known throughout the Akron area as a man of integrity and a champion for racial reconciliation, his community involvement has included service on the Akron Board of Education and the board of directors of Summit Education Initiative. He also has shared his insight on various committees, boards and task forces at the school district, local foundations and universities.
He returned to Kent State in 2007 to chair then-President Lester A. Lefton’s Commission on Inclusion. Two years later, he became a special assistant to the president for community engagement and also served as a member of the presidential search committee that recommended Beverly J. Warren as the school’s 12th president and Lefton’s successor.
During his tenure at KSU, Fowler helped to advance the university’s relationship with the community and the Akron and Cleveland school districts, improved the recruitment and retention of students with diverse backgrounds and mentored students. He also worked with alumni and the Pan-African faculty and staff association and assisted with acquiring major gifts to the university.
In June, Fowler made a decision to shift gears and focus on Let’s Network.
“I always wanted to coach. My dream was to coach in the NFL — that’s why I majored in health and physical education. But on my way to the NFL, I ended up in seminary and my life has never been the same,” Fowler said with a hearty laugh. “Let’s Network is giving me an opportunity to realize that dream to coach — not players in the NFL, but pastors on the mission field.”
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com. She can be followed at www.twitter.com/ColetteMJenkins.