(Contact info for Tony is on the church staff page)
Tony has always had a heart for people. Growing up, he lived in the country and his parents both worked full time.
But even in spite of that, the 5 bedroom house had 2 extra bedrooms that would be for guests (foster kids, friends who needed a place to stay, foreign exchange students, etc.)
Yet even so, he never got a strong sense of how tough it could be for some people. He never fully understood people’s struggles like lack of transportation or not having a safe place to stay.
And it wasn’t because his family was rich. They didn’t go without needs. But the closest they ever got to living hand to mouth was when a UAW strike laid off one parent. And even then it was still a single income household for a bit.
Fast forward to October 2017.
- He’s living in the Elkhart County area
- He’s got a family – and he saw the movie Robots (2005) and the quote from Bigweld: “See a need, fill a need!” has really resonated with him
- He’s working for the Elkhart County Jail in the IT department
- He’s working through his seminary degree to become a pastor for the United Methodist denomination
One day, Tony’s talking to the United Methodist superintendent of the district for the Elkhart county area. Tony had heard of the work release program that was going at St. Mark’s through his IT job (he’d always had the work release people on his heart). And because of this, he mentioned it in passing while catching up.
That’s when the superintendent says, “How’d you like to be a pastor?”
Tony goes, “Pastor where?!”
“St. Mark’s”
The ask was surprising, because Tony wasn’t even through seminary yet.
So that conversation happened in October of 2017. Tony sought the wisdom and counsel of God, his mentors, and his family.
A month later he said yes, and in January 2018 he came on board as pastor of St. Mark’s. Part of that decision to say yes was Tony realizing that this was an opportunity to be the church instead of just going to church.
And there have been other influences on Tony that have impacted the way he sees God’s Mission. Some of these are just a few of the books he’s read and enjoyed:
- Move Toward the Mess: The Ultimate Fix for a Boring Christian Life by John Hambrick
- The Hole in Our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us? The Answer That Changed My Life and Might Just Change the World by Richard Stearns
- Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle
Post Script: because this bio wasn’t written by Tony, we’re also going to embarrass him a bit. We at St. Mark’s would like to say that Tony’s heart is worn on his sleeve, and we’ve been blessed to call him our pastor. The future looks bright for God’s People and where St. Mark’s will go.
Post Post Script: Tony also enjoys singing worship music throughout the day and has an excellent voice: see a duet he did