My passion is to help you realize God‘s best for your life as your coach, mentor or consultant. The Brief Version! Paul School of Theology.
After 40 years as a United Methodist pastor leading congregations and helping people like you embrace life in full, I felt called to retire from congregational leadership and focus on helping individuals and congregations forge a more fulfilling future as a life coach, mentor, and church consultant. Long Version:
I embraced the importance of continual learning and improvement early in my ministry
as a United Methodist pastor and denominational leader. That growth often came through men and women who shared their lives with me as a coach, mentor, or consultant. They helped sharpen my skills and drew out my potential. They believed in me and were sources of encouragement. I am profoundly grateful for them—my personal experience of being coached and mentored fuels my passion for doing the same for you. I love leading local congregations but have always known that God would take my ministry in a new direction at some point. So, in June of 2022, I retired after 40 years of church ministry. Most recently, I was Lead Pastor of a 1450-member suburban congregation in Omaha, Nebraska, with ten full-time and eight part-time staff and an annual budget of $1.5 million. I have expertise in building, leading, and developing staff and lay leaders. As a United Methodist pastor, I led urban, county seat, and rural congregations. I have five years of experience as an adjunct professor of preaching at St. And just as others poured their lives into me, I have sought every opportunity to be an encourager, mentor, coach, and consultant. I mentor new pastors and am a trained and experienced Readiness 360 Coach. I will achieve certification as United Methodist Transitional Intentional Interim Specialist in 2022. I am a trusted leader in the Great Plains Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, serving as Kansas City District Superintendent, the first chairperson of the Great Plains Board of Ordained Ministry, and Vice-Chair of the Conference Council on Finance and Administration in the 1990s. My love of lifelong growth led me to attain a Doctorate in Leadership and Biblical Preaching at Asbury Theological Seminary in 2000. I earned a Master of Divinity at Emory University in 1985, and a BA in Philosophy from Washburn University in 1982. As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Psalm 27:17
A bit more about me:
My wife Melissa and I have been married for over 40 years. We live ministry as a partnership, and she has been the most powerful influence in my life. We raised our four daughters to be strong, courageous, compassionate, and loving. I enjoy fishing, especially fly fishing, tying my own flies, woodworking, and gardening. I am a fan of British mysteries, leadership books, biographies, and history.
11/17/2024
I’m starting off my day at the Huron United Methodist Church in Huron, Ohio, I’ve been working with Pastor Pam Sayre and the congregation leaders for nine months now and it’s been a tremendous experience for me and I hope for them too. It’s gonna be a day of worship, and then after worship meeting with their leadership team. And then from here on, I head off to Berea, Ohio.!
07/01/2024
Woe to unjust judges and to those who issue unfair laws, says the Lord, so that there is no justice for the poor, the widows, and orphans. Yes, it is true that they even rob the widows and fatherless children. Isaiah 10:1
06/06/2024
I recently updated my website to include a list of congregations I have helped develop a new strategic plan! Check it out!
Forge CMC Clients — Forge CMC
Strategic Planning and Leadership Clients Old Mission United Methodist Church, Leawood, Kansas. Basehor United Methodist Church, Basehor, Kansas. Stow United Methodist Church, Stow, Ohio. Grace United Methodist Church, North Canton, Ohio. Faith Westwood United Methodist Church, Omaha, Nebraska. Leaw...
06/06/2024
This week, forty years ago, I was ordained as a Deacon in the Great Plains Conference, formerly the Kansas East Conference, of the United Methodist Church! A few years later, I was ordained an elder.
The United Methodist Church is my spiritual home. We are far from perfect, but we seek to welcome everyone into God's family.