About

I am a pastor who was ordained into the Presbyterian Church, USA in 1974.  I have served three congregations since that time.  I was an assistant pastor for evangelism in Houston, a generalist associate pastor in Bethesda, MD and, from 1983-2012, pastor of Western Presbyterian Church in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C.  When I arrived at Western, the congregation had about 70 core members, 65 of whom were over the age of 65.  By 2000, over 50% of our membership was under the age of 50 and, by the time I retired, it was about 65% under the age of 45.   Western’s ministry was noted for social justice work, including a major feeding program with the homeless (feeding 250 daily), an arts program for very poor children, a health care initiative in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and advocacy on numerous issues. After retiring from Western, I joined the Alban Institute’s Consulting Team as a Field Consultant.  I currently work with a group of former Alban consultants as we continue to serve the needs of the church and synagogue for consulting expertise in the areas of strategic planning, staffing and finances.  Our consulting group can be found at www.congregationalconsulting.org    

I am overeducated with a BA from The University of Wisconsin-Madison, MDiv from McCormick Theological Seminary, PhD in systematic theology from The Catholic University, and MBA from The George Washington University. I have written one  book, The Business of the Church (Alban, 2009), and currently am working on a book on teams.  I have recently joined the Alban Consulting Team as a Field Consultant.

I am a potter, throwing pots on the wheel and teaching the wheel.  My wife and I have two adult children and three grandchildren.  We have a second home in San Miguel de Allende, GTO, Mexico where we spend almost four months of the year.

In summary, I am a very blessed person!