Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand

I’ve been in parish ministry in the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand since 1977, and in my present parish of Mount Maunganui since 1985. My passion is the local church. I’m keen to see new initiatives and ideas implemented to ensure that the Kingdom of God grows in this nation. I am very keen to look at new “models” for church in the 21st century.  “We must look for ways of making Jesus and the Gospel more appealing to people who do not know him and have little desire to know him.”

I am an elder and session clerk of the Somervell congregation in Auckland, and have served the local, regional and national church in many roles. I’m a retired businessman, and have started a number of new companies in New Zealand and overseas, raised large sums of capital and brought research-based businesses to New Zealand. Currently I am chairman of the Church Property Trustees.

I have a passion for reading about, thinking and enacting leadership. I’ve conducted extensive research on a number of prominent New Zealand and Australian leaders and won the “unlimited” scholarship for the executive Strategic Leadership Programme in Millbrook in 2003. I’ve since lead a number of courses for the Institute for Strategic Leadership. I’m a regular writer, seminar presenter and executive coach for leadership in both profit and not-for-profit organisations. I lead one of the largest Presbyterian Churches in New Zealand, St Columba @ Botany, in Auckland.

I am an elder at East Taieri Church and am employed by Presbyterian Support Otago as Director of Communication and Fundraising. Over the last 20 years, I have worked extensively with New Zealand not-for-profit organisations, including churches of various denominations as well as para-church organisations. I’m on the Council of Assembly, a committee member of the Presbyterian Foundation, was previously a Policy Group Co-convenor and worked on the Mission Project Funding pilot.