Where are you from originally?
Philadelphia, PA (Northeast, Bustleton section)
How did you get to Elkins Park Presbyterian?
They were looking for a Pastor and I was searching for a new call at the end of 1985. After a series of interviews and lots of prayer I became the Pastor in June of 1986.
What are your favorite hobbies when not preaching up a storm?
Born and bred in Philadelphia, I can't help but spend free time cheering for the sports teams in Philly, suffering depression because of the sports teams in Philly, plus reading and walking.
What college and Seminaries did you attend? What did you major in?
I am a proud graduate of Temple University in Music Education, after which I taught for the Philadelphia School System for two years. When God intervened, I went to semniary first at Biblical Theological Seminary in Hatfield, PA, and then earned a second theological degree from Princeton Theological Seminary.
What is the strangest fact about yourself?
I received a kidney transplant in 2004 donated by my wife, Dawn. Though we didn't know it when we married in September of 1985, her blood type makes her a universal donor and my blood type makes me a universal recipient, a perfect match!
What is your favorite place to visit, travel to or vacation at?
I haven't been there in a while but Israel. All the perks of a vacation and all the blessings of being in the Holy Land.
What is your Life verse?
It's changed a couple of times as my life and circumstances have changed. But at present it is "Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:16). I am struck by and moved by the personal hopelessness that people feel. My calling has focused sharply around an urgency to reach out and preach to an increasingly secular and godless society.
Where has God taken you that you swore, when you were younger, that you would never go?
Philadelphia! My desire to go to other places has been realized only as we vacation as a family. To think about living somewhere else has always been opposed by a Greater Will. Like Jonah, God keeps sending a whale to bring me (back to) here.
What is your fondest memory?
My fifth wedding anniversary. Dawn and I were celebrating in Pittsburgh, PA as our daughters were being placed with us in adoption.
When did you feel called to ministry?
...as a seminarian. I went to seminary believing I needed to study the Bible more. But the convergence of my gifts and my call happened as a result of that study.
Who is one mentor that impacted your journey the most?
Dr. Bruce Metzger, NT scholar at Princeton (RIP). He had the most intimate relationship with Jesus and the most remarkable and scholarly brain. He always made the academics and the course work into a sermon. He always preached Jesus.
If you could go back in time and leave your 18 year old self words of wisdom, what would you tell yourself?
Be patient! As a young man I was ready to self-combust for Jesus. But God's will was more deliberate than I often was willing to accept. God knew what He was doing, even when I strongly disagreed with Him. But in the end, He did not change His timetable for me.
You tell a lot of jokes, or puns, what would you say is your favorite one?
My sense of humor just happens. Actually, I am horrible at telling jokes. Maybe it's the Irish in me but I seem to always find the humor in things.
What is one piece of advice you would like to leave future generations?
Turn to Jesus sooner than later.
"A living faith begins with the living Savior. Connecting to the Son of God who rose from the dead is the only way to connect to the life God has for the human race through Jesus. Start there, and the rest of life's pieces fit together as a result of His gracious, timely and intimate friendship."
