Ministry is more than a vocation. It is a lifelong journey of preparation, growth, service, and faithful stewardship. Every experience, opportunity, challenge, and season of life contributes to the person God shapes for His purposes. Looking back over more than four decades of ministry and leadership, I have become increasingly convinced that God wastes nothing. He uses every experience to prepare His servants to strengthen His Church and serve His people more faithfully.

The Executive Ministry Profile grew out of that conviction.

Rather than serving as a traditional résumé or professional biography, this Profile explains the principles, experiences, and convictions that have shaped my philosophy of ministry and leadership. It is intended to give pastors, church leaders, search committees, denominational leaders, and ministry partners a more complete understanding of the journey God has used to prepare me to serve His Church.

Throughout my ministry, one conviction has remained remarkably constant:

Serving God's People by Strengthening God's Church.

That conviction guided every ministry assignment, leadership opportunity, consulting engagement, writing project, and organizational responsibility entrusted to me. While the settings have changed over the years, the calling has remained the same—to help churches become healthier, stronger, and more intentional in fulfilling the mission Christ has entrusted to them.

My journey has been somewhat unique. Before entering full-time vocational ministry, I spent many years in corporate positions, where I gained experience in organizational development, strategic planning, personnel management, leadership training, and administrative oversight. I never left those experiences behind when I entered ministry. Instead, I now see them as part of God's preparation for serving the Church. The combination of marketplace leadership and pastoral ministry has provided a perspective that continues to shape my work with churches, ministry leaders, and organizations today.

Those “real world” experiences led to the development of Ministry By Design. Long before it became a series of books, Ministry By Design represented a philosophy of ministry – a conviction that every ministry within the local church should intentionally contribute to the church's overall mission. Healthy churches do not happen by accident. Faithful biblical leadership, intentional discipleship, meaningful relationships, thoughtful organization, and ministries that work together in unity under the Lordship of Jesus Christ strengthen them.

That philosophy has since found expression in pastoral ministry, leadership development, organizational consulting, teaching, speaking, and the continuing publication of Ministry By Design: The Series. Each represents a different avenue for pursuing the same calling, rather than separate ministries competing for attention.

The Executive Ministry Profile explores those convictions in greater depth through six conversations that reflect the progression of my ministry journey. Rather than presenting a chronological autobiography, the Profile focuses on the principles that have guided my leadership and continue to shape my ministry today.

Within its pages, readers will discover:

• The experiences God used to prepare me for ministry and leadership.
• The philosophy of leadership that has developed through years of service in both the marketplace and the Church
• My conviction regarding the central role of the local church in God's redemptive plan.
• The philosophy behind Ministry By Design and the principles that continue to shape its resources.
• My commitment to serving alongside pastors, church leaders, and ministry teams in strengthening Christ's church.
• A continuing vision for investing the experiences God has entrusted to me in ways that encourage, equip, and strengthen those who faithfully serve His people.
• Although each chapter reflects a different aspect of my ministry, they share one common theme: helping churches think intentionally about ministry so they may more faithfully fulfill Christ's mission.

I hope readers will come away with more than an understanding of my experience or qualifications. My prayer is that they will better understand the convictions that have shaped my ministry and the philosophy that still guides my work today. Titles, positions, and accomplishments have value, but they do not fully explain a person's calling. Convictions do.

Whether you are exploring Ministry By Design for the first time, considering consulting or leadership opportunities, evaluating my ministry background, or simply seeking to understand the philosophy behind this work, I hope the Executive Ministry Profile provides a thoughtful introduction to both the ministry and the man behind it.

Thank you for taking the time to read it. I pray it encourages you, strengthens your confidence in the local church, and reminds you that God continues to accomplish extraordinary things through ordinary people who faithfully serve Him.

Download the Complete Executive Ministry Profile

The complete Executive Ministry Profile expands upon these themes through six chapters that explore my ministry journey, leadership philosophy, convictions, and vision for strengthening the local church.

Download the Executive Ministry Profile (PDF).