Life at Glendale is energizing, challenging, amusing, intense, and always interesting. Since my arrival here as one of the pastors in 2004, I have come to understand Glendale’s basic requirements for staff leadership: “Don’t bore us.” It’s one of my favorite things about this community of faith!
I came to Glendale after 10 years as a hospital chaplain in Georgia. Before that, I was in school—an MDiv and PhD (Homiletics) from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky—during which time I served as Associate Pastor of Buechel Park Baptist Church. College years were spent at Furman University in my native South Carolina.
My three adult children are excellent life instructors. They’re now in their twenties and still teaching me how to parent; it’s a good thing I enjoy that role! In addition to parenting and pastoring, I am Associate Director at Ring Lake Ranch in Dubois, Wyoming, where I reside during the summer. My responsibilities there with staff leadership and Development are full-time during Ranch season—May-September—and light during the remainder of the year. While at the Ranch, I maintain contact with Glendale through hosting the Zoom worshipers on Sundays and meeting with staff for worship planning each week and the Leadership Council each month.
Occasionally I teach preaching, worship, and leadership to Seminary and Divinity School students. An ideal day would include hiking a nice mountain trail; spending an hour on a sunny beach, body-surfing and hunting for sharks’ teeth; baking croissants or pound cake; and enjoying most all the fiber arts—processing wool, spinning, knitting, weaving. Left to my own devices for more than a week, you’ll probably find me hiking in the Smokies or at Ring Lake Ranch, fly-fishing to my heart’s delight.