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Born in 1954 and raised in western Pennsylvania, Dave was baptized as an infant and reared spiritually in the Presbyterian Church. He later began attending United Methodist congregations as a young adult, while attending Ohio University in Athens. Dave received a bachelor's degree in journalism at O.U. in 1976.
He and his wife, Janet, have three grown children and four grandchildren.
While working for the Dayton Daily News in the summer of 1992, Dave began for the first time to consciously sense that God was calling him to the ministry -- a call to which he finally surrendered the following spring. He then enrolled as an evening student at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, continuing to work full-time for the newspaper while earning his master of divinity degree over a five-year span and taking steps toward ordination in the United Methodist Church.
During this period, Dave also served part-time stints as a student-associate pastor at Memorial UMC in West Carrollton, Ohio, at Faith UMC in Middletown, Ohio, and as a pastoral associate at St. Paul UMC in Dayton. In June 2003, Dave was ordained as a “full elder” in the United Methodist Church.
When asked about his relationship with God, Dave responded by saying it "is that of one whose life has been touched by amazing grace through Jesus Christ, for which I feel a profound gratitude and a longing to serve. The relationship is complicated by my own human weakness and shortcomings; but like the bumper sticker says, 'Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven.' I am often disturbed by my capacity to let God down, but like Paul I keep pressin' on, and I'm continually astounded by God's unbounded grace."
Dave adds: "I truly love being a pastor, and I thank God for the privilege of serving."
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