Q. The best thing about your life is:

A. My wife, Libby, kids, and grandkids.

Q. Where were you born and raised?

A. On a farm in Grassland, Texas, near Lubbock.

Q. Name character traits you admire in others.

A. Integrity, vision, and passion

Q. Name a character trait you appreciate in yourself.

A. Being real.

Q. What was your most memorable destination?

A. Seoul, Korea in 1985. I visited Yoido Full Gospel Church, founded by Paul Yonggi Cho. Back then they had nearly 500,000 members.

Q. What do your future plans include?

A. Spending more time with my family and continuing to share what I've learned about church growth with other pastors.

Q. Name the person who has influenced you most.

A. Virgil Slentz, a lay leader from Hereford, Texas.

Q. What are some important keys to church growth?

A. Vision, building relationships, being flexible, having the ability to make positive change.

Q. How do you want to be remembered?

A. As an ordinary guy that God used.

Q. Where is the place that you feel most comfortable?

A. With people.

Q. What is your favorite Bible verse?

A. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails" (Proverbs 19:21).

Q. Do you have a personal motto?

A. Work hard and be real.

Q. What are your most enjoyable free-time activities?

A. Fishing, hunting, and golfing. I'm better at hunting and fishing.

Q. Describe your greatest fear.

A. That I haven't done my best. And that I could have won more people to the Lord.

Q. What is the best advice you have received?

A. Try to think outside the box. Don't take yourself too seriously.

Q. How large was Grove City when you went there in 1989?

A. It averaged 600 in Sunday morning worship.

Q. And when you left in the summer of 2005?

A. Over 3,400.

Q. How did you create a well-balanced church?

A. So many things come into play—good lay leaders, staff, prayer—it takes many things.

Q. What is your advice to church boards?

A. Don't micromanage. Let the pastor lead.

Q. What is your advice to pastors?

A. Lead. Delegate. Don't try to do everything yourself. Don't micromanage. Work as a team with the staff and/or lay leaders.

Q. What question do you get asked the most about church growth?

A. What is the "key"—but there's not one key, there are several and when you hit the right combination lock, it opens the door.

Q. Name a pivotal moment in your life.

A. January 1984, at a James Robinson convention. There I observed the power of praise—that God truly inhabits the praise of His people.

Holiness Today, November/December 2005

Please note: This article was originally published in 2005. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.