Rich

Written by Hayet Gessese

‘Staying the race’ and fighting the good fight comes with its own battles. Rich shares where his journey has taken him and how it has shaped the man he is now

Rich Langton from an outside perspective is at the height of his pastoral career. As one of the global creative pastors at Hillsong Church (the other being his wife Cass), Rich leads one of the most influential creative teams for one of the most influential churches in today’s Christian world. Despite his title and position, Rich remains humble as ever, approachable and his title says exactly who he is: pastor. I had the opportunity to officially meet Rich at the 2018 Worship & Creative Conference and we conducted this interview online via email. Rich’s story paints the picture of perseverance and character. A man who has stayed the path and has run the race in his own lane.

How did you get to where you are now and what brought you to it?

As the creative pastor at Hillsong church in Sydney, Australia, my role is to oversee the day to day running of a large, ever evolving department that is committed to faithfully retelling the gospel story creatively and engaging the church in worship. We oversee production teams, video editors and story tellers, stage and set designers, project coordinators, musicians and worship leaders, singers, songwriters and sound engineers. The vastness of this gift is evident and I am grateful to God that my journey has rounded my skills across a range of disciplines that assist me with all this. I grew up in church, the son of Baptist turned Pentecostal parents. I studied theology at an Anglican seminary and then we found our way to Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia in 1997.

I studied graphic design after high school thinking to become an industrial designer, then got involved in a start up company as the internet was really becoming “a thing” and have often found myself on the cusp of new technology and advancement. I ran my own businesses, wrestled with cashflow and the tensions of ministry and full time work, asking questions of purpose and meaning and what God’s intentions are in our vocational calling. All these stages and steps have set me up for now, and have enabled me to relate to the people who we are called to lead and to pastor. It hasn’t always been easy, but hindsight is an invaluable gift in seeing God at work amongst all the highs and lows at the time I questioned and queried. I now see how God was at work, using everything for His good plan.

You said you wrestled with God and the intention of your vocational calling. So many people, myself included, wrestle with what they are supposed to do. That they feel that they’re too old to be doing x,y,z. Can you speak into that and share a bit of your wrestle?

It’s a great question. These days the way I think about this is quite practical. God has created us all with gifts and talents. Each of us have unique skills, things that we can do naturally, or that we have a tendency toward. My perspective is that we should explore those things, focus on them and work on improving them. After all, God wouldn’t have given you the gift if he didn’t want you to use it.

What influences do you bring to being a pastor?

I love to read - which is funny to say now, as at school I hated it. I struggled for years, but now I have come to see that there is a wealth of knowledge to be gained from the journeys of others. I find myself with a constant stack by my bed, my mind and heart being shaped and moulded by giants of the faith, great minds who are prepared to work with due diligence to help navigate us through a complex world. You will often find me on my day off listening to podcasts - I find myself inspired by people’s stories. This is probably, at least in part, what encouraged me to host our Hillsong Creative Podcast which we started in 2018. It’s been so great learning from all the people I have the privilege of interviewing each week. I take this learning into the breadth of life and pastoring.

I was also fortunate in my teenage years to have some incredible mentors who took time to invest in my spiritual formation - people who asked the hard questions, challenged me to better understand scripture and pushed me to believe God in every season of life. Brian and Bobbie Houston have also been an incredible example to me, both before we came to Hillsong Church and whilst we have been here. They have an incredible ability to see everything in light of the kingdom and a love for the Church that I had never experienced before coming here. I have learned to see the Church not necessarily as perfect, but beautiful and truly as part of God’s rescue plan for humanity.

Also, my Mum and Dad have had the greatest influence in my life. They raised me to love God, to put him first and to never give up. My Dad was a faithful man and even though he passed away this year, his influence in my life lives on. When I think of him I’m reminded of what it takes to make it to the end, to keep your marriage intact, to have your kids loving you and your faith in God immoveable. I know that they are the things that matter most and this helps me keep a good perspective for myself and for those that I pastor.

You had the privilege to have some great mentors, leaders and examples. One being your father and how he showed by example to have a great marriage. I know many people struggle with having and finding those mentors, those influences that can shape their lives. Can you give some advice on how to find a mentor?

Not all mentors have to be found in a one to one setting. From that perspective it’s probably easier than ever before to find great examples of Godly men and woman who can bring wisdom into your life. With podcasts and online courses and all the content that is freely available online, there’s no shortage of places to learn and grow from. We can get wisdom literally from all over the world. So being mentored can happen and is available, all it takes is a keen eye and an open heart.

What have your failures taught you?

My failures have taught me to see God at work orchestrating my whole life for his glory. I remember running a business through a season where we were in transition, I just needed to provide for Cass and our two kids, so I did what I needed to do in order to pay the mortgage and the bills. I wouldn’t say that I was a failure in that season, but I definitely felt like I was a long way from “the dream” I had in my heart. It was a humbling season and one that took long hours for little reward. However, I watched the Lord lead our lives, gently teaching and helping me to examine what I wanted, what my gifts are and where I could contribute to the church. I ended up closing the business to go back to university to study my masters in theology. Through this season I realized I had learned to trust more, take greater risks. Understanding that life is long and nothing is final in God.

What you said was really powerful that most dreamers and creatives struggle with. You needed to provide and pay the bills and ran a business you probably were not most passionate about. Can you give some advice and encouragement to people who have big creative dreams and have to work jobs they probably don’t enjoy to provide for themselves and pay the bills?

For most of us, by the grace of God, life is long. We have plenty of time to do the things we have in our heart to do. So from that perspective, my advice would be to relax, and allow God to work on you while you do work you may not like that much. Over time it’s amazing how just being faithful pays off. And God is good at using all the things in our lives to his glory and our benefit. So be patient and stay diligent and eventually it will all come together.

How do you stay motivated?

Over the years I have had times of intense motivation and then other times of not wanting to get up and go to work in the morning. The truth is, no one is 100% motivated all of the time. We all have times of being more or less motivated. It seems we are all more likely to live consistently motivated lives if we are doing what we 100% believe we are called to do. This all made sense for me when I decided to go back to the word of God and study what it means to be “called.” The result of my study was that I found, broadly speaking, that God calls and we respond. Calling is more about following God than it is about our vocation or even where we find ourselves.

Take the disciples as an example. Jesus called them to follow him, they then dropped what they were doing and followed. Their vocation was secondary to their following of him. They were fishermen, then they became followers. They outworked this “call” as they followed him and they devoted their lives to that call. The same is true for us, Jesus calls and we follow. We out work this following, this call, where ever and what ever we are “doing.” Over the years this helped me realize that no matter what I am doing, I am called, whether what I am doing seems to have value or not, I am called of God and I can live this calling fully right where I am.

What challenges do you face as global creative pastor?

Cass and I have an incredible team that works together to pastor and lead Hillsong creative. She runs the global side of what we do and I oversee our Australian team. Working together has been super fun over the years, but it has not come without its challenges - we are quite different in personality and how we approach things, but our strengths and weaknesses are the perfect compliment to each other so when we get it right, it works like a dream. We have experienced the joy and stretch of expansion across our Church as our team is predominately made up of volunteers. Inspiring, leading and pastoring across locations, cities, countries (let alone time zones) and cultures can also prove challenging, but we meet with our location creative pastors face to face each year straight after our worship conference in Sydney - this has truly been a gift to us all in building relationship and communicating more effectively. We live a fast pace life, jam packed with adventure and I am glad to have the privilege of playing a small part in all God’s doing through Hillsong Church.

Marriage is never easy. At times there can be competition in pursuit of careers. Has their ever been any competition between you and Cass in the past?

I love being married… Cass is the best and she makes life so good! We are best friends and it is a dream to be able to work together to build the kingdom. (I just re-read that, it sounds too good to be true, but it really is!). Having said that, I am not saying that we do not have times of disagreement or even misunderstanding, we do, but we are both committed to each other and all God has for the other person. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and we have had to make conscious decisions to champion each other and encourage each other instead of seeing the other person as competition. God has great plans for us together and for each of us as individuals and we both have to trust Him for what he has for us both.

How has being a pastor changed you and what has that taught you over the course of your life?

I remember a year where my heart was shattered into a million pieces. Our team experienced the loss of a number of members including more than a few babies. As we hit late December I remember sitting on the floor of our bathroom in floods of tears, and my heart so heavy for our people who had endured much loss and pain that year. As Cass and I looked at each other, I recall saying “who would willingly choose this?” But we chose to follow Jesus into a life of pastoring - and we continue to choose - counting it an honor that people would let us into some of the darkest and most beautiful spaces of their lives, seeking to honor God through it all.

Around that time I was reading about the appointment of Aaron and the priestly garments that he wore in Exodus. He was told to engrave stones on his shoulders with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel on them and also to put stones across his heart on the breast plate with the names on it. As I read, I felt the Holy Spirit start to form my own understanding of how I was to approach pastoring - by knowing the names of our people (where they are from, the lives they live, and who they are), and carrying the weight of responsibility for them on my shoulders, and also carrying them in my heart, loving them along with the situations that they find them self in, with grace, prayer, and humility. I used to think pastoring was just a platform role - the teaching that shapes community and the faithful preaching of God's word, and whilst I value that part of pastoring, I have come to realize that pastoring also happens one on one, and in small groups, over coffees, in peoples work places, on the sidelines and in the shadows. It is being with people though the best and worst of times. It happens often when it is not glamorous or even seen, but rather where faith and doubt collide. It is where people trust you enough to share what they are going through and where you stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the grit and dirt and mess, through the trials and triumph.

That’s interesting that you say that. Most people see pastors on a platform preaching, and that becomes their encompassing idea of a pastor. As you mentioned though, pastoring is one on one, shepherding people and doing a lot of this in the unseen. Can you talk about the work in the unseen? I think a lot of people, especially in this generation, want success fast and struggle being in the unseen while working either pastorally or creatively but perhaps not seeing the fruit of it.

I wonder if this a question of perspective. The reality is that all of life is seen by God. He sees our highs and lows, he sees our triumphs and failures. God is with us, directing and guiding us whether we are on a platform or not. Nothing goes unseen and no good work is without fruit of some sort, at some time. We may not see the fruit immediately or receive applause for the effort, but with the right perspective, we can know that our father in heaven sees it all. In some way, us living out God's will brings God joy and glory. With this kind of thinking, we can do what others would not do and have an impact that others may not see, but that will resonate across eternity.

What encouraging advice would you give to struggling artists or those pursuing the arts full time?

My encouragement to those wanting to pursue the arts full time would be; Trust God, work hard and do not give up. This is simple, but really difficult to actually do. It seems to me that most people would love to earn a living from their art miss one or more of these three things. They either trust more in themselves than God, or they do not work hard enough, or they give up too soon. So, if it is in your heart to do, and you believe God would have you do it, then trust God in it, work harder than you think you can, and never give up! I put so much pressure to live up to the expectations of others. All these different voices and opinions distracted me from listening to the voice that actually truly mattered. There is so much freedom in knowing whose voice to listen to and whose opinion matters most in your life. This is definitely an ongoing journey but I am definitely making progress.