Meet our Pastor and His Family
Linda and I have been married since 1980. We started out
as high school sweethearts in New Hampshire and got married
days after graduating from college. We have been blessed (starting
in ’84) with three wonderful children – Bob, Greg,
and Kathryn. The boys are in college and working; Kathryn is
finishing middle school and active in sports and chorus. What
a joy are such gifts from God!
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Linda has been a teacher in both private and public schools. She’s
taught fourth grade at Burtonsville Elementary School since 2000.
Recently, she took on the position of staff development teacher there.
Linda has a master’s degree in gifted education and is working
on her National Certification. (I’m pretty proud of and thankful
for her too!)
As for me, I’ve been an officer in the Air Force, helped to
start, grow and sell an aerospace company, and became a “probationary
elder” in the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United
Methodist Church in 2003. I have a master’s degree in electrical
engineering, having specialized in applied electromagnetics (especially
stealth technologies) and worked in that area for twenty-three years.
I grew up in the church and cherish many fond memories of our youth
group outings. I’ve served in many positions and capacities
in the church, especially since 1988. In 1997, I had a wakeup call
from God that blessed my socks off, gave me power over some things
I had been struggling with, and offered me the peace of Christ that
I just wanted to share and lead others to.
And so, here I am. I completed my master’s degree in divinity
at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington. (What a fantastic experience
and gift that was!) While there, I did my internship at Oak Chapel
starting in 2001. I was appointed as the associate pastor in 2003,
and now serve as pastor. I am truly blessed to serve God and God’s
people in this place! You’ll understand why when you meet these
people and see what we’re up to.
Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I believe the Bible is the inspired
word of God and contains all that is required for anyone’s salvation.
I am an evangelical in the Methodist tradition; and I cherish and
believe very strongly in the biblical traditions and doctrines of
the United Methodist Church. Our Social Principles are a baseline
for my prayerful, personal discernment. The Wesleyan Way of Scriptural
Salvation maps extremely well onto my experiences and onto what I
know to be both scriptural and reasonable. Therefore, I strongly believe
that every person has the privilege to experience a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. And, I believe that each person
is called to respond to the grace of God in their lives through regular
worship, personal witness, and on-going acts of compassion and justice.
I am a Methodist, but I love all those who love the Lord and who
seek to grow in him and serve in his name. My greatest joys in ministry
are preaching the gospel, meeting new people, visiting to talk and
to pray, and encouraging, enabling and watching others discover the
love of Christ that comes from their growth and service experiences.
Some of my joys outside of the church are kayaking, fishing, hiking,
woodworking, reading, and walking in the woods with my wife and our
Labrador.
I can’t wait to meet and to learn about you now!
Bob
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