I became a member of the church when I was 18 years old. I was converted from
the Jehovah’s Witness religion after a detailed study of Daniel 2, Mark 9:1,
and Acts 1-2. Two weeks after my baptism, I enrolled in the Nashville School
of Preaching under the direction of Brothers J. Roy Vaughn, J. Noel Meredith,
and Charles Chumley. This program enabled me to have a structured pattern of
study that would have taken years to match on my own. The pace of the program
was intense, due to my lack of knowledge of organized religion outside the Jehovah’s
Witnesses. This was brought to light when in my first singing class, I had to
lead a song but did not know a single song that the church sings. The instructor
knew of my situation and let me go at the end of the class in order to learn
one the following week and I chose “Standing on the Promises” as the one I would
lead. Many members of the church take for granted attending Sunday School, having
the Lord’s Supper, and the things I had never done. With the training I received
at the Nashville School of Preaching and the kindness of the brethren, I rapidly
filled in the gaps and became able to worship at ease.
In 1978 I married my high school sweetheart and we have a daughter who is 23
at the time of this bio. She attended Lipscomb University and graduated with
her Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in graphic design. She will be married October
20, 2012 and my wife and I will enter the phase of empty-nesters. We live in
the same city where both of us grew up and I have preached in the county as
associate minister, youth minister, pulpit minister, and on-call fill-in minister
since 1980. My wife earned her Associate of Science degree from Ashworth College
in Early Childhood Development and her Bachelors of Arts from Theological University
of America in Music.
I attended Nashville State Technical Institute (now Nashville State Community
College) and earned my Associate of Science in Computer Science. I attended
Bellevue University on-line and earned my Bachelors of Science in Business Information
Systems and also a Masters in Business Administration. I attended Theological
University of America and earned my Masters of Arts in Leadership and Administration
and a Doctor of Ministry in Leadership and Administration. I earned a Chartered
Property Casualty Underwriters (CPCU) designation which carries earned bachelors
and/or masters level hours from the American Council on Education (ACE) through
the American Institute for CPCU. I am also a licensed property casualty insurance
agent. I enjoy studying and learning new things.
I am happy to be a part of this university and enjoy teaching leadership and
realize that this area is one of the critical areas of the church. It is often
stated in our Bible classes by members that our issues of the past and present
can be traced to lack of leadership in many congregations. Instead of standing
firm on the Word, often leaders shrink back and hope situations will go away.
In this area of study, we tackle many of today’s issues and work together to
find Biblical solutions. I hope to “see” you in class soon and we can explore
the Scriptures together. This university fills a void that exists in our society
today and we are thankful for Dr. Benton for his foresight in founding this
institution.