Pastoral Care Pastor

My responsibilities at church are...I (along with volunteer team members) provide pastoral care support, encouragement, prayer, and visitation to people who are sick or injured and are in the hospital or otherwise unable to come to church. Additionally, I coordinate the prayer team that meets weekly in the Chapel as well as the safety, security and medical team, and also the meals ministry.

My favorite thing about being at Northview is...Cindy and I appreciate the heart for the unchurched (both here and around the world) that Northview has. Not many churches have the passion that Northview has about those who don’t attend a church regularly or may have never attended church at all. A lot of churches talk about it, but few go to the extent that Northview does to attract them and make them feel welcome and a part of the church family. Northview is a place that makes you want to come to church!

If I had my dream vacation I’d...We would take as much time as needed and travel around the world. We would do this partially by luxury cruise ship in order to experience the things that are best appreciated by sea, and partially by a privately chartered Lear jet….Hey, it’s a dream so we’re going first class all the way!

If you want to read a good book get...Anything written by C.S. Lewis. My favorite is “The Problem of Pain."

If I could do a hobby for a living I’d...I suspect that if I had to do it for a living, I would no longer enjoy it as much. Perhaps I would become a tour group leader for bird watchers. Or maybe I would be a naturalist onboard an Alaskan cruise ship that gets to see people’s reaction the first time they see a whale breech in the sea, a bald eagle in flight, or sea otters resting on broken pieces of glacial ice floating just in front of them.

My favorite team to cheer for is...To be perfectly honest, Cindy and I don't care much about organized sports. We have, however, recently taken notice of the character of Colt’s coach Dungy as well Peyton Manning when they are interviewed or written about. Maybe this makes us Colts fans? I think it might.

The best movie I’ve ever seen is...“Field of Dreams” from 1989 starring Kevin Costner. It isn’t really a movie about baseball. Baseball was just the model they used to tell the story and illustrate the fantasy. "Field of Dreams" is a movie about life, about regrets, and about being given an opportunity to make amends for or even re-do the things that are regretted most. For Costners’ character, it was about the regrets he had concerning his relationship with his father. It was about re-connecting the bond they once had that was broken during his adolescence and was never mended before he died. There is little else in a man’s life that bonds him to his dad as much as “having a catch” together in his childhood back yard on a hot summer day. That is why the author used baseball to tell such a powerful story. “If you build it, they will come."

My most rewarding volunteer activity is...Chaplaincy is by far the most rewarding volunteer activity I do. I serve as chaplain for the Delaware and Hamilton County Sheriff’s Offices, as well as the Carmel Fire Department. To be with the members of those departments and represent them as I work with the citizens of our city and county is an honor. In times of crisis, or times of happiness, chaplaincy is a truly awesome experience. I previously served for five years as a volunteer chaplain at Riley Children’s Hospital.

If I didn't work at Northview I’d...Retire!