Elinor Brown is an ordained Cumberland Presbyterian minister and member of West Tennessee Presbytery. She is the Discipleship Ministry Team Leader and works at the Cumberland Presbyterian Center in Cordova, Tennessee. She and her husband, new grandparents to Evelyn, live in Memphis as does their daughter Sydney and son in law Brian. Elinor loves to make clergy stoles, swim and play with Evelyn in her leisure time. Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue . Source: https://www.freemusicar...
Aug 03, 2021•54 min•Ep. 54
Brent Wills - Education : Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Middle Tennessee State University, Masters of Education degree from Middle Tennessee State University, and Master of Divinity from Memphis Theological Seminary. Vocation Experience : Served 11 years as a high school geometry teacher before going to seminary. Current Ministry and Vocations : Pastor of Jerusalem Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Murfreesboro Presbytery serving this congregation for 13...
Jul 27, 2021•52 min•Ep. 53
Rev. Kip Rush, the first full time pastor of the new Brenthaven Church, has been a life long Cumberland Presbyterian. Raised in Austin, Texas, he grew up in the St. Paul Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He answered the call to the ministry in 1983 and after a year at the University of Texas, he moved to McKenzie, Tennessee to attend Bethel College. While at Bethel, he met and married his wife, Jodi. Kip graduated from Bethel in 1986 and later from Memphis Theological Seminary (1990), where he ser...
Jul 20, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 52
Rev. Dr. George Estes has been on the Cumberland Road all his life. As a Cumberland Presbyterian minister for more than fifty years, he has served pastorates in Tennessee, Indiana, Arkansas and Texas. In 2014 he retired after twenty years with the denomination’s mission agency. He remains involved as interim and supply pastor and occasional writer for Cumberland publications. He and his wife Janie reside in Germantown, Tennessee, with their dog Jesse. They have four adult children. Music is prov...
Jul 13, 2021•38 min•Ep. 51
Rev. Jim Fisk is the minister at the 1st Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Russellville, Arkansas. He is married to Linda Fisk and the father of candidate for the ministry Matt Fisk. Jim has been a minister since 1983 with Cumberland Presbyterian congregations in Walkerville, Harrison, Dover, Hector and Monticello, Arkansas and Burns Flat, Oklahoma. He is a member of the WRBC and hobbies include photography and golfing. Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue . Source: https://www.freem...
Jul 06, 2021•48 min•Ep. 50
Reverend Christopher Martin is a 35-year-old child of God. He accepted Jesus Christ at a young age and accepted the call to preach in 2010. While taking classes through the Hiwassee Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America (CPCA), he was introduced to his wife Stephanie through her dad, Rev. Edmund Cox, who was finishing classes at the time. Chris has been very active since his ordination in 2012. Chris is currently serving as: the senior minister of Robinson Chapel CPCA, the ...
Jun 29, 2021•48 min•Ep. 49
Rev. Jimmy Byrd is the minister of the Clarksville Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Clarksville, Tennessee. He has been serving there since January 1, 2021. He is married to Jennifer and has two sons, Daniel and Matthew. He grew up the son of a preacher man - the Rev. James Byrd - and has spent his whole life in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He enjoys traveling, music and movies (especially from the '80s). He also enjoys watching his boys play soccer and baseball. Music is provided by Pie...
Jun 22, 2021•38 min•Ep. 48
Rev. Paul Earheart-Brown is the minister of First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Olive Branch, Mississippi. He is originally from Memphis, Tennessee and is a third-generation Cumberland Presbyterian minister. Paul graduated from Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee in 2015 and from Memphis Theological Seminary in 2018. Paul loves attending church camps and retreats and working with youth and children. Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue . Source: https://www.freemusicarchive...
Jun 15, 2021•43 min•Ep. 47
Derek Jacks is the pastor of Homewood Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama and the director of graceCONVO, the youth winter gathering of Cumberland Presbyterians in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. He is a graduate of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University. He is married to his wonderful wife Cindy and they have three children, Ava, Braden, and Drew as well as the Legendary Jonas the Cat. Derek enjoys listening to music, reading theology, and baseball. He actively coaches his sons a...
Jun 08, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 46
Rev. Alan Meinzer is the minister at the Barron Fork Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Mount Pleasant, Arkansas and teaches at the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville. He has been serving Barron Fork for eight years. Alan says, "I am blessed to be partnered in life and ministry with my wife Beverly. I am also blessed by my daughter Natalie and her husband Wyatt." Music is provided by Jason Shaw, Words . <a href="https://audionautix.com/">Creative Commons Music by Jason S...
Jun 01, 2021•45 min•Ep. 45
George C. Ladd: 1) Brief Biography I was born April 14, 1958 and raised on a farm near Santa Fe, Tennessee, near Columbia. I was educated in the public schools of Columbia. In college I studied accounting and computer science. Realizing that I was not going to pass the Differential Equations course required for a Computer Science degree, I saw that I could leverage the courses I had taken in Religious Studies to obtain a Degree and graduate quickly. In the late 1970’s at University of Tennessee ...
May 25, 2021•44 min•Ep. 44
Rev. Duawn Mearns is a native of Hector, Arkansas. He graduated from Bethel College with a degree in Sociology in 1999. He graduated from Memphis Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity in 2003 and was ordained by the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination in 2003. Duawn served the Hopewell and Mt. Zion Cumberland Presbyterian congregations while in seminary and after graduation he served the Burns Flat Church in Oklahoma for 4 years. He then accepted a call to the Lake Hamilton Church in A...
May 18, 2021•31 min•Ep. 43
Rev. Iwao Satoh is the minister at Louisville Japanese Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Iwao can be translated as "Peter" and "Solid Rock" derived from Matthew 16:18. Iwao was ordained by Japan Presbytery in 2001 and ministered at Sagamino Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He moved to Louisville, Kentucky to start a Japanese-speaking congregation in 2010. Since 2010, he has driven to Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama to organize Japanese faith communities. These communities are cu...
May 11, 2021•34 min•Ep. 42
David Kurtz writes: I was born in Memphis, Tennessee and grew up in the Faith Lutheran Church where I was baptized and confirmed. After graduating from Frayser High School I went to Savannah College of Art and Design. After doing quite poorly due to SCAD's proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, my father called me home to get a job and grow up. I came home and soon married my camp sweetheart, Bevin who also grew up Lutheran. We met at Camp Clark Williamson (CCW), a Cumberland Presbyterian camp, counse...
May 04, 2021•42 min•Ep. 41
Dusty Luthy is currently serving as the pastor of Denton First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Denton, Texas. Previously, she was the associate minister at New Hope Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Paducah, Kentucky where she began as the youth director in 2013. During this time, she also worked as a clerk at the McCracken County Public Library. Dusty finished her Master of Divinity degree from Memphis Theological Seminary (MTS) in December 2019 and was ordained in the Cumberland Presbyterian...
Apr 27, 2021•34 min•Ep. 40
Pam Phillips-Burk has served the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination for the past 18 years. In July 2018, she became the Team Leader for the Pastoral Development Ministry Team. Prior to that time, she served on the Missions Ministry Team in the areas of Women’s Ministry, Leadership Referral Services and Congregational Ministries. Pam earned her Master of Divinity degree from Memphis Theological Seminary in 1994 and was ordained by Hope Presbytery. She continued her studies at McCormick Theologi...
Apr 20, 2021•42 min•Ep. 39
Rev. Dr. Thomas Dishman Campbell was born in 1939 in Decatur, Texas. He attended primary and secondary school in McKenzie, Tennessee and graduated from Bethel College (now Bethel University) with a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Divinity from Cumberland Presbyterian Theological Seminary (now Memphis Theological Seminary, and a Master of Theology and a Doctor of Ministry from Brite Divinity School of Texas Christian University. He has served congregations in Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi,Texas...
Apr 13, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 38
Rev. Abby Cole Keller is a minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and is currently serving at Scattered Seeds, an online worshiping community. She received her Masters of Divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga in 2006. Before attending Seminary, she received her BA in Family and Community Services from Berry College in Rome, GA (2002). Both she and her husband Josh are local Greenevillians. They are the proud parents of two lovely daughters, Katy (12) and Claire (10) ...
Apr 06, 2021•39 min•Ep. 37
Andy Kettle is a lifelong member of the Clarksville Cumberland Presbyterian Church, where he is an ordained elder, Sunday school teacher, and a youth leader. He serves on several church ministry teams, and is in the regular rotation to lead liturgy and men’s breakfast devotionals. Andy is a graduate of Austin Peay State University with a Business Administration degree, and is employed at 84 Lumber Company as an Outside Sales Coordinator. Andy is an avid woodworker and furniture maker. Several ye...
Mar 30, 2021•29 min•Ep. 36
Reverend Dr. Cory D. Williams is the senior minister at the Dyersburg Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Dyersburg, Tennessee. He is originally from Middleton, Tennessee and graduated from Bethel University and Memphis Theological Seminary. He spent ten years in the corporate world in marketing and sales. He served the Brunswick Cumberland Presbyterian Church for eleven years while also working at Memphis Theological Seminary as the chief information officer. Cory loves Jesus and enjoys Fly fishi...
Mar 23, 2021•33 min•Ep. 35
Reverend Mary Kathryn Kirkpatrick states: I was born in Bryan, Texas, during one of my father’s final exam weeks at Texas A&M University. One professor allowed him to miss his exam in order to be at the hospital while my mother delivered me. That professor said, “If the baby is a boy, you’ll get an A. If it’s a girl, I’ll give you a B.” I supposed my father was fortunate to get a B! That’s an example of the world that I was born into. We moved about seven times before I was two years old. I ...
Mar 16, 2021•40 min•Ep. 34
Reverend Jen Newell is serving as senior minister at the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Cleveland, Tennessee. She has been serving there for over 14 years: first as a part time children/family director, then as the associate minister following ordination and as senior minister since 2013. Jen graduated from UT-Chattanooga with a degree in economics and minors in political science and music. Jen is a Program of Alternate Studies (PAS) graduate and an occasional PAS instructor. She worked...
Mar 09, 2021•39 min•Ep. 33
B. J. Mathis states: My full name is Bobby Lynn Mathis Jr but most know me as B.J. I was born in New London, Connecticut but have spent the rest of my time in Tennessee. My favorite place on earth is Crystal Springs Camp in Kelso, Tennessee. I love animals and I currently have three fur babies, Lady, Sheldon and Snickers. I am a fourth generation Cumberland Presbyterian on my mother's side, growing up and professing faith in the Bates Hill congregation in McMinnville, Tennessee. I earned a Bache...
Mar 02, 2021•32 min•Ep. 32
Reverend Garrett Burns is the Associate Chaplain of Bethel University, serves as the Director of Community Engagement & the Whosoever Will Ministry Bridge, at Fulton Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and is a Chaplain in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He graduated from Bethel in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Christian Ministry and earned a Master of Divinity degree from Memphis Theological Seminary. Rev. Burns is married to Jessica Olten Burns who directs a home school community...
Feb 23, 2021•32 min•Ep. 31
Reverend Terra Sisco shares: I was born and raised in Pope County, Illinois in the southern part along the Ohio River. It is a county that is large in geography with a large population of deer, fish and wildlife but small population of people. It is a beautiful place to live however it doesn’t have much for people. After graduating Pope County High School in Spring, 1997, I attended Bethel University which was then known as Bethel College in the fall of 1997. I graduated from Bethel in the Sprin...
Feb 16, 2021•34 min•Ep. 30
Reverend Jeff McMicheal was born in Harrodsburg, Kentucky on July 29, 1961 into a wonderful family as the youngest of three kids. He is a life-long Cumberland Presbyterian and his father was an elder in the Harrodsburg Cumberland Presbyterian Church. His mother, a Sunday School teacher and part-time pianist. Jeff attended his first Vacation Bible School when I was two-weeks old. Any time the church doors were open, he was in attendance with his family. Jeff accepted Jesus Christ in 1970 when he ...
Feb 09, 2021•33 min•Ep. 29
The Rev. Dr. Perryn Rice is the Senior Pastor of the Lake Highlands Presbyterian Church in Dallas, TX where he, his wife, Terri, their son, Jonathan Perryn, and their daughter, Lauren Endia, reside. Perryn has served as the Moderator of the Brazos River Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America (C.P.C.A.), and as the Stated Clerk (Executive Secretary) of the General Assembly of the C.P.C.A. He has also served as a member of the Board of Trustees for Bethel University in McKenzi...
Feb 02, 2021•52 min•Ep. 28
Nathan Wheeler in an ordained minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and serves as their Coordinator of Youth and Young Adult Ministries for the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination. Nathan grew up in Gallatin, Tennessee and felt called into ministry as a teenager attending St. Luke Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Madison, Tennessee. He attended Bethel University (College at the time) where he earned a degree Bachelor in Science in Psychology. He went on to Memphis Theological Seminary...
Jan 26, 2021•35 min•Ep. 27
Elea Brown Forester is a Cumberland Presbyterian from Memphis, Tennessee. She is a history major at Maryville College and is discerning a call to ministry. She enjoys playing guitar, going on long walks, and laughing at inappropriate times. Music is provided by Punk Rock Opera, I Wanna to be a Machine . https://files.freemusicarchive.org/storage-freemusicarchive-org/music/ccCommunity/Punk_Rock_Opera/Punk_Rock_Opera_Vol_II/Punk_Rock_Opera_-_13_-_I_Wanna_be_a_Machine.mp3 (2) Additional Comments: U...
Jan 19, 2021•16 min•Ep. 26
Cynthia Paulk's Faith Journey I was born in Jacksonville, Texas and raised in Texas and eastern New Mexico. My father’s work required that we relocate every couple of years so I learned independence and developed the ability to “start again.” I was raised in Presbyterian churches across Texas and eastern New Mexico. I took catechism classes in New Mexico and joined the church in Junior High. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t “believe,” but my real walk of faith would begin much later in life...
Jan 12, 2021•26 min•Ep. 25
