The True Calling of Matt Hennessee

Click on the news and there is Matt Hennessee. He was leading a congregation of concerned citizens who had gathered to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. A month earlier, another television channel showed a local panel reviewing some land development proposals and constantly referencing to “Matt Hennessee says…”

His name is in the mouths of his supporters and naysayers. Among the latter is The Nose, a newspaper columnist for the Willamette Week who chided Hennessee in one of his editorials saying, “Hennessee's political judgment comes from the Dick Cheney school of polish.” He went on to say, if Matt was thinking of running for office then he needed to “sober up.” Ouch. The comments came as a result of a decision made by the Portland Development Commission to award development contracts to one of three bidders. Some neighboring business wanted to see a different result than the five-member board voted on. Matt was the president of that board.

Matt shrugs off comments like these, a demonstration that hints he is well suited for the bull’s-eye jacket. This may come in handy since there is a constant rumor he is gearing up to run for one political office or another. Although which office always seems to remain a mystery. So Flossin’ asked him, “Will Matt Hennessee be the first black President of the United States?” Hennessee chuckles and comments, “Oh I think that there are others who are in a better position than I am. Colin Powell, Condi (Condoleezza) Rice or Barack Obama may be more likely than I may. I did say that I would be president by the time I was 40 though, and I was, President of Quicktrack.”

Simultaneously, he is the Head Pastor at First Vancouver American Baptist Church. Matt comments, “As a Pastor, people expect me to be judgmental and see things black or white. However, the world is so gray. I recognize the challenges of the human condition. The ministry is about calling and I ran away from it for years doing only the secular thing. Finally I turned and embraced it.” It has been said that he is one of the most charming orators you may ever encounter.  It is this aptitude that has him requested by associations worldwide.

People flock to him on a daily basis for advice on financial, spiritual and overall mental wellness needs. Matt is in every sense of the word a leader. He sits on countless boards and commissions in the categories of education, development, instruction and research. He has advised police chiefs, mayors and governors while working in the state governments of Ohio, Michigan and Oregon.

“It was my job to be three steps ahead of them so that when they were out there they had nothing to worry about,” says Hennessee. Mrs. Coretta Scott King considers him “her other son.” Just after her last stroke, Matt made her a video tape of people wishing her well. Condi Rice calls him friend and he was her escort to the first White House dinner of the Bush administration.

Lying crippled in his crib at an Ohio orphanage, Hennessee seemed fated for welfare and early social security benefits. But a higher power stepped in with a different kind of contribution in the form of some good doctors and the loving care of his first foster mother, Minnie Vance. Matt was born with his arms and legs turned the wrong way, and his teenage birth mother did not have the wherewithal to take care of him. She gave up Matt to the state and he was immediately put through the surgeries necessary to address his problem. Matt was fashioned with arm and leg braces, and doctors did not have a lot of hope that he would walk without a limp.

Minnie Vance held strong to a different outcome. At night when everyone else was asleep she would go to his crib, take his braces off and rub his arms and legs with warm olive oil while praying and singing “the doctors are determined that you won’t walk but I am determined that you will.” Because of her contribution, Matt took his first steps when he was three-years-old and has never walked with a limp. Tragically, Minnie Vance was killed in an auto accident when Matt was only seven. These days when Matt speaks, he will often say that the night belongs to her.

At nine-years-old, he memorized and recited Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and felt a “true calling and connection to a spiritual being.” Despite his age, he ministered in front of several churches. By this time he had moved to a new foster home, and though it lacked the love and warmth of his first, he does credit them with teaching him good work habits and discipline.

“Mr. Walker, my second foster father, had a hard work ethic,” says Hennessee. He would call me at 6 a.m. to help with the chores before school.” Matt’s eyebrow crinkles a bit with begrudging admiration, “He taught me about working in the community.” “He would buy eggs wholesale and resell them to the neighborhoods. He dutifully went to church and was a trustee. I would go with him every Sunday. I learned early that I was part of an unfair system, but I was not bitter about it, the church helped that.”

Today Matt’s goals are clear and the message is singular: do good community work and serve others. Speaking on leadership, he feels the formula for success has to do with vision, inspiration, consistency and decisiveness.

“I take quiet time at either my home office or in the church sanctuary to pray,” says Hennessee.  “For me this results a clear sense of direction.”

Concerning his congregation and his staff at Quicktrack, Matt likes to take the role similar to that of a coach. He is very pragmatic in saying, “People already have the knowledge, they just need to be inspired to excel.”

“The buck may stop here with me but it better be wrinkled when it gets here.”

Hennessee knows that at some point a decision needs to be rendered so a leader who is indecisive can be very destructive. “It is not a popularity contest,” he states. “A leader can’t worry about making the popular decision, what is more important is that is fair.

“The buck may stop here with me but it better be wrinkled when it gets here,” laughs Matt. “In the end we may not all agree on the decision but we will understand why and how it was made.”

John Isabelle, Director of Corporate Development and Logistics for Nike, worked with Matt for nearly 8 years and sums up Matt’s leadership style. “When Matt came to work for Nike he was fresh out of politics, and I was wary of him, as were many other people in the organization. However, Matt does not ignore the elephant in the living room. He addresses it forthright. He made me realize that if you have an issue with something or someone, it is less painful to deal with it than to operate as if it does not exist. He does not make solo decisions and is very good at galvanizing people. By the time he left, he had earned the respect of his colleagues and employees. He taught me how to hug another human being, and I taught him how to pay attention to the bottom line. He is impressive.”

Hennessee seems focused on making others great. To hear him tell it he is just “the janitor.” His advice to those seeking their own formula of success is to “make choices about what it is your really want to be and work hard at making sure that you are not only speaking it but living it—then build a bridge for others to follow you.”

And all of God’s people said….Amen.

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This article was originally published in Flossin Magazine. This article is edited by Edna Waters. This article is optimized for web by Steven Christian (Artist | Author | Podcaster).