26; ordained elder with 12 years of experience serving congregations in Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania

Bachelor of Arts in English, Asbury College
Master of Arts in Classical Languages and Literature, University of Kentucky
Doctoral Studies in Classics, The Ohio State University

Co-Pastor of the Pleasantville FMC and Human Resources Manager for United Community Independence Programs, a non-profit human services agency providing home and community based supports and services for persons with developmental disabilties in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Previous Experience: 12 years pastoral ministry; 8 years teaching at the undergraduate level

Married to Sharon Freed, also an ordained elder in the FMCNA who pastors the Pleasantville FMC and serves as a chaplain at the Polk State Center for adults and youth with developmental disabilities.
One son, Adam, 15 years old; loves music, history and the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien.

I believe that the goal of our life on earth is to be transformed more and more into the likeness of Jesus Christ. I believe that as this process unfolds in a person’s life, they increasingly produce the same kinds of results in others’ lives as Jesus did. I believe that this combination of personal transformation and interpersonal influence restores us to God’s original design for human community, and that it also prepares us to spend eternity in the presence of a holy God.

I further believe that such life transformation occurs as our hearts and minds are changed (made new) by the work of the Holy Spirit bringing God’s Word to life within us. I believe that everything that happens to us is used by the Spirit as He helps us interpret our experiences through the lens of Scripture.

I believe that many Christians fail to progress spiritually because the Word of God does not occupy a central and formative place in their lives. They have been seduced into equating the goal of life with their own material welfare and emotional happiness in this life and a guaranteed spot in heaven. It is my observation that many believers lead lives characterized by internal dissonance, stress and guilt because their professed faith is largely disconnected from how they view the world, how they interact with other people, and how they make day-to-day life decisions.

I believe that this same selective and superficial use of Scripture explains why, by and large, the evangelical church in America huddles in our religious ghettos, emerging only to rant about a narrow range of social issues or to register ourselves every few years to support a conservative political and economic agenda. I believe that in contrast to all this, God intends His people and His Word to authentically engage the whole culture and systems of the world in ways that demonstrate real spiritual power, rather than just good political organizing.

Because I believe these things, and based on my particular gifting, life experience and passions, I understand a significant part of my life’s calling to be in making God’s Word accessible to persons of all levels of spiritual interest and development, and all levels of formal education. More than anything else, I want to help people address the real, gut-level issues in their lives that prevent them from becoming all that God intends them to be. I want to help people learn how to ask questions of what they read in the Bible, and where to go to begin to form answers to those questions. I want to help “pew potatoes” become enthusiastic students of God’s Word.