Our Guest for this Episode – Rev. Mike McClenahan:
Mike McClenahan, Solana Beach Presbyterian Church
Facebook, instagram: @mikemcclenahan
Blog: mikemcclenahan.blogspot.com
Church website: solanabeach.church
Our Guest for this Episode – Rev. Matt McClure:
Our Guest for this Episode – Mike Johnson:
Prior to that, Mike served as resident pastor at New Life Church in Spring, Texas, planted and pastored Community Life Church in Missouri City, Texas, and also developed and implemented the Texas Leadership Development Network, which was the predecessor to Ascending Leaders. Mike has also helped church leaders refocus and has been involved in the city-reaching efforts in the greater Houston, Texas area.
Mike is the core author of most of Ascending Leaders’ material. He sees his calling and gifting as being a faithful tool for creatively forming others. His passion is to help people grow and serve effectively as discipled leaders in God’s Kingdom.
Mike, his wife, Gina and their two children, Emmelyn and Nicholas, have made Sugar Land, Texas their home since 1990. He recently became a grandparent to two amazing granddaughters, whom he adores. Mike enjoys gardening with his wife and family activities, such as traveling and camping. He also enjoys friends and reading.
Our Guest for this Episode – Terry Looper:
Terry Looper is the CEO and founder of Texon LP, a midstream energy company that was founded in 1989. Texon was voted #1 in Houston revenue for private companies in 2011 and for a second time in 2019 was named one of the regions “Top Workplaces” by the Houston Chronicle. Texon views its core values and employees as the key to its mission of being the best service provider in its industry. Terry and Doris, his wife of 51 years, have two married daughters and five grandchildren. Terry’s passion is discipleship and liberating souls.
Our Guest for this Episode – Rev. Bob Johnson:
From 2003 to 2018, Bob served as the Executive Pastor at Chapelwood United Methodist Church, a church of over 7,000 members and 11 weekend worship services in Houston, TX. Prior to that appointment, he served for 7 ½ years as the Senior Pastor of First United Methodist Church of Mineola, TX. He retired at the end of 2018.
Bob was born and reared near Boston, Massachusetts. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Lowell Technological Institute (now the University of Massachusetts at Lowell) and was employed for 12 years by the DuPont Company, first in Gibbstown, New Jersey, and later in Beaumont, Texas. Bob believes his experience in the secular work world proved to be a real asset in his ministry. Prior to entering the ordained ministry, he served in various capacities in lay ministry, including Sunday School teacher, youth counselor, evangelism work area chair, finance committee member, and lay leader.
In 1987, Bob responded to the call to ordained ministry and was appointed as a student pastor to the Edom/Sexton Chapel charge in the Tyler district of the Texas Annual Conference while he attended seminary at Perkins School of Theology at SMU. After graduating with high honors with a Master of Divinity degree in 1991, Bob was appointed to serve Payne Springs UM church in the Palestine district followed by his first appointment to Chapelwood UMC in Houston in 1993. After 3 years as the Minister of Discipleship and Singles at Chapelwood, where he and lay colleague Marilyn Brown developed the curriculum “Discover Your S.H.A.P.E. for Ministry and Life,” he was appointed in 1996 to be the Senior Pastor at First United Methodist in Mineola. While there, church attendance increased from 160 to nearly 300 as the church expanded to a second campus. In late 2003, Bob was reappointed to be the first Executive Pastor at Chapelwood where he remained until his retirement.
In 2012, Bob became frustrated that he lacked a sufficient answer to the question, “What is the gospel?” Despite being in ordained ministry for 25 years by that point, he realized that the usual answers to the question about the Good News did not take adequate account of the Old Testament, which comprised two thirds of the Bible. During a sabbatical that year, he began work to answer his own question. That work led to teaching, and then writing and publishing, The Genesis Project: The WHY of Discipleship.
Bob continues to serve on the Texas Annual Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, a position he has held for over a dozen years. In that capacity, he has led several peer learning groups and served as the Psychological Officer. He also served as the chair of the Central South District Clergy Excellence Team and as a member of the District Leadership Team. In retirement, Bob remains a coach for the Vibrant Church Initiative of the Texas Annual Conference and is an adjunct discipleship coach with Ascending Leaders. He also continues to coach individual churches and leaders and conducts teaching workshops and revivals.
Bob is married to Susan, and they have three married adult children; Michelle, Lauren, and Eric, and four delightful grandchildren, Ella, Claire, Ruthie, and Calvin. Susan is a retired elementary school teacher who loves to volunteer and do community service.
Our Guest for this Episode – Rev. David Horner:
Our Guests for this Episode – Debbie Swindoll and Julia Johnson:
The experiential elements that were required within the degree program produced a significant life changing experience. After graduation, she realized that she wanted to bring elements of her training into the local church. For the last decade, she has been working with colleagues to create discipleship materials for churches that will guide them into a deeper heart transformation and more intimate relationships with God and others.
Julia has a 27 year career in the mortgage industry and has now served as the Small Group Director at Grace Fellowship for over 10 years. She experienced how God moves when we abide in Him and has embraced the joy and challenges to keep moving on in her personal journey with Christ. Her experience with Ascending Leader’s DiscipleForward and DiscipleOn Communities have had a profound impact on her and how she leads and she wants to share it with others.
Our Guest for this Episode – Paula Taylor:
Our Guest for this Episode – Matt Neely:
Our Guest for this Episode – Matt Neely:
