The Institute for Clergy Excellence

Larry Dill, Executive Director

Larry Dill has been Executive Director of the Institute for Clergy Excellence since February 1, 2003. He and his wife, Peggy, are the parents of two sons, Randy, an Assistant District Attorney, in Madison County, Alabama; and David, an Episcopal Priest, and grand parents of Ella, Lena and Sloan.

Larry was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and grew up in a Methodist pastor’s family. He is a graduate of Birmingham-Southern College where he majored in History/Political Science. He completed his seminary training at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, where he received the Master of Divinity with a major in Systematic Theology and the Doctor of Ministry in worship and preaching. He served as pastor of rural, suburban, new church, and urban appointments prior to appointment in 1994 to Trinity United Methodist Church, Huntsville, Alabama.

Larry is a member of Leadership Birmingham and Leadership Huntsville/ Madison County. He is a past president of the Minister’s Association of Greater Birmingham and of Eastside Mental Health Center. In 1987, he was chosen Citizen of the Year by the Eastern Area Chamber of Commerce in Birmingham, Alabama.

Jeanie Baker, Director of Operations

Jeanie Baker serves The Institute for Clergy Excellence as Director of Operations. A life-long United Methodist, she is a member of Trinity Church, Huntsville. Jeanie served as Senior Pastor’s Secretary at Trinity for six years. When she indicated her intention to retire at the end of 2002, Larry invited her to join him in the ICE office. After considerable thought, she accepted. Her willingness to join the ICE staff has made the difference in the immediate efficiency of the office and is a sign of her commitment to the church and to excellence and preaching in worship leadership.

Jeanie is married to Doug, a retired U.S. Army Colonel now employed at CSC in Huntsville; and the mother of Stephanie, a computer software consultant, Rachael, of Fayetteville, North Carolina and grandmother of Anna.

Marty Bibee, Director of Development

Marty Bibee is the Director of Development for The Institute for Clergy Excellence. Marty began her career as a production artist for Women’s Missionary Union in Birmingham, Alabama and worked in advertising for Whirlpool, Sears, Magnavox and KitchenAid. In 2000 she began providing graphic and video support for Trinity United Methodist Church in Huntsville. Marty is excited about what pastors are learning and the opportunities for travel and experiences they are planning for the future.

Marty is married to Steve, an executive for Gartner. They have two daughters, Elizabeth, a senior at the University of Alabama, and Rebecca, a freshman at Birmingham Southern College.

Facilitators

Jeff Armbrester is the pastor of Toney United Methodist Church near Huntsville, Alabama. A graduate of Candler School of Theology, Jeff grew up in Munford, Alabama where he was an electrician before entering candidacy for ordained ministry. His wife and three sons share his ministry through the church and a strong Scout ministry.

Jeff is an alumni of the Asbury ICE Group. As that group closed out its three-year study, Jeff reflected: “The Asbury Peer Group provided a place for me to fully awaken to life. I rediscovered gifts that have been asleep within me for a long time. It felt good to awaken those gifts of leadership, allow them to stretch, and to strengthen. God has used this group to awaken me from my slumber.”

Bart Bowlin is serving in his eighteenth year of ministry and his second as minister of Blountsville UMC. A native of Florence, Alabama, he is a graduate of Coffee High School, the University of North Alabama, and Asbury Theological Seminary. Bart and his wife, Liz, have five children.

Bart is an alumni of the Macaroni Group ICE experience. He shares his reflections on studying in the Holy Land: “As I teach and preach on having a vision, on crossing the Jordan and walking around the walls of Jericho I see those places in my head and I feel them in my heart. Somehow the experience of being in those places comes out in the understanding and passion I have when I teach and preach. Whether it is talking about the Jordan Valley, receiving the Holy Spirit in Caesarea, or stories about Jesus my preaching has more power to it, because I have been to those places.”

David Carboni has served the North Alabama Conference since 1986. He is currently the Senior Pastor of Highlands United Methodist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. He graduated in Industrial Design from Auburn University and completed his Master’s of Divinity at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.

David has served on many district and conference committees. He has retired from the United States Army Reserves as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Chaplain’s Corps. He is married to Kay and have three children, Beth, Paul and Mark.

David enjoys Auburn sports, traveling and golf.

Kelly Clem began her appointment to Holmes Street UMC in June 2006. Raised in South Carolina and northern Virginia, Kelly graduated from Furman University with a BA in Psychology. She also holds degrees in Divinity (M.Div. - Duke University) and Counseling (MA - University of Alabama in Birmingham). Kelly has served on the General Board of Discipleship (1996-2000), and is currently on the New Life Emmaus Board, the Conference Board of Pensions, and the Board of Trustees of Huntington College. She also serves on the faculty of the Institute for Clergy Excellence (ICE) and is presently leading a peer group. Kelly was a delegate to General and Jurisdictional Conferences in 1996 and 2000.

Michael Collins is the senior pastor at Charity Chapel Church in Pensacola, Florida. He grew up in Milton, Florida and attended Pensacola Junior College and the University of West Florida, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts in 1977. In 1979, he received his Master’s Degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. In June 1979, Michael and his wife, Pam, returned to Pensacola to pastor this congregation of Christian believers. They have three adult sons, Jeff, Ben and Matt.

Michael is an alumni of the Pensacola ICE Group. He is excited about being a facilitator for a new ICE group and says “The greatest value of the ICE experience when compared to various other continuing education opportunities is the level of connection and intimacy we achieved with the presenters. The learning experience was rich as we gathered in Buchanan’s office, Callahan’s house, Campolo’s school, and Sweet’s study. We were particularly aware of the value of the context of our meetings with these leaders.”

Harriet Bryan Harris has served Salem UMC since 2007. Previously she served appointments in Erin, Tennessee and Raleigh, North Carolina. Harriet grew up in Giles County,Tennessee. She earned a B.A. from the University of Mississippi and an M.Div. from Duke University. Always willing to travel and study when funding is available, she also earned a diploma in divinity from the University of Saint Andrews (Scotland) as a Rotary Club Ambassadorial Scholar. Harriet is married to DeWain Harris.

Harriet is an alumni of the Nashville ICE group. In her final report to the ICE faculty from that experience she expressed her gratitude: “I cannot say thank you enough for the experiences I have had which would never have been possible otherwise. I cannot fathom how I would have EVER visited emergent churches, Saddleback and met in a small group setting with some of today’s most insightful scholars, theologians, and professors. How can one say thank you for such a magnanimous, life-altering gift?”

Drew Henry is an Associate Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Drew is from Alabama. Life took him to Argentina, where he served 7 years as a PC (USA) mission volunteer. While in Buenos Aires, he became fluent in Spanish and completed his graduate theological studies at ISEDET. Drew has been an Associate Pastor here since 2002. In addition to sharing general pastoral responsibilities, his particular focus is on Mission and Evangelism - helping the congregation to strengthen their hands of service and outreach. Drew and his wife, Tamara, enjoy raising their two young sons. While life can be busy, they love getting the boys outdoors. Drew is an avid reader, a home baker, and an occasional carpenter. You’ll often find him listening to bluegrass or in the kitchen preparing a meal to enjoy with family and friends.

Bob Hurst is the pastor of the United Church of Huntsville, United Church of Christ and has served there since 2001. Before that he served churches in Illinois and Pennsylvania. He was ordained in 1975 after graduating from Yale Divinity School. He grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and earned his BA from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He also holds a D. Min from the Chicago Theological Seminary. Bob was a participant in the Round Table ICE Group, and he is now facilitating the Birmingham Faith and Culture Group. Bob and his wife Beth live in Madison, Alabama, and they have four children and five grandchildren.

One of Bob’s principle interests in ministry is the use of multi-media in worship and preaching. He creates all of his own media for worship, and especially enjoys using Adobe Photoshop, Premiere, and After Affects.

Brent McDougal began serving as the Coordinator for the Alabama Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in October of 2006. A graduate of Emory University and Beeson Divinity School of Samford University, Brent has served churches as pastor and associate pastor in Birmingham and Haleyville. He received his doctorate in Political Science from the University of Alabama in 2006, a cross-discipline study of politics and religion in international relations.

A member of the ICE Transformers Group, Brent believes in the value of peer learning to shape, direct and inform ministry. He enjoys spending time with his family, fishing and reading.

Bill Morgan grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and was educated in the public schools there. He received his college degree, and later, an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree, from Birmingham-Southern College. At Vanderbilt University Divinity School Bill earned the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees. Presently, Bill is the Senior Pastor of Canterbury United Methodist Church in Birmingham. Before then, he was the Birmingham-East District Superintendent in the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church. Prior churches served include First UMC Tuscaloosa; First UMC, Athens, Alabama; Wesley Memorial UMC, Decatur, Alabama and others. At the current time, Bill Morgan is a Trustee of Birmingham-Southern College, a member of the United Methodist Board of Discipleship and member of the Southeastern Jurisdiction Episcopal Committee.

Bill has studied and traveled in England, Germany, Canada, France and Israel. He enjoys reading, running, exercise and movies. He is the husband of Dianne Weekley Morgan. They have two adult sons, Bailey and Andrew.

Michael O’Bannon is the senior minister of First United Methodist Church, Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Michael was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, and attended the public schools. He graduated salutatorian from Deshler High School and attended Birmingham-Southern College from the summer of 1966 until his graduation in May of 1969, cum laude, with a double major in ancient Greek and Latin. From there he attended the seminary at Vanderbilt before transferring into the graduate program in Hebrew Bible and Biblical languages. A life-long Methodist born to life-long Methodists, he was ordained a Deacon in the North Alabama Conference (1970) and transferred into the Tennessee Conference before being ordained Elder in 1975. Michael has been pastor, Wesley Foundation Director, and Vice-President at Martin Methodist College. He taught Hebrew at Vanderbilt while a graduate student; and he taught religion, philosophy and ethics at Martin both as interim and adjunct. Michael is married to Dee (Debra), who works in Nashville; and they have one daughter, Amy who lives and works in New York City. Together, Michael and Dee are interested in cooking and traveling, especially in Dee’s little convertible. For years, Michael has been working on a novel, but admits that it is difficult to find the time to write at leisure since he devotes so much time to research and study for Bible study, teaching and preaching.

P. Alice Rogers, Assistant Professor in the Practice of Congregational Leadership, serves as the Director of the Teaching Parish Program and Director of the Contextual Education II Program at Candler. An elder in the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, Rogers served as the pastor of rural, urban and suburban local churches for seventeen years. Her current work focuses on ministry in the small membership church, vocational discernment for ordained ministry, planning Christian worship and contextual education. She is coeditor of two books: Contextualizing Theological Education, Pilgrim Press, 2008 and Equipping the Saints, Pilgrim Press, 2010. Rogers holds a BA from Converse College, 1983; an MDiv from Duke University, 1986; and a DMin from Emory University, 1998.

Phil Schroeder is currently the Associate Director of Connectional Ministries for the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. His focus is existing church development. Phil provides empowerment and guidance to half of the five ministry areas: Outreach, Parish Life and Witness; he is a recognized consultant on all aspects of local church life.

Phil and his wife Elizbeth have been married for over 22 years and have three children, Daniel, Kathryn and Paul. Phil graduated from the Wharton School of Finance at the University, of Pennsylvania and the dual degree program in business and theology at Emory resulting in both an MBA and an MDiv. During his Doctor of Ministry work at the United Theological Seminary, he completed three books with Abingdon Press entitled Using the Five Senses to Tell Gods Story: Children’s Sermons for the New Common Lectionary - Years A, B & C. He has taught Religious Leadership and Administration as adjunct faculty at the Candler School of Theology in both the MDiv. and Course of Study for the past 13 years.

Phil is a national DISCIPLE Bible Study trainer and has chaired the Equitable Compensation Commission for North Georgia. For fun, Phil enjoys a challenging game of Scrabble or a thoughtful film.

Scott Thayer is Minister of Bethany Memorial Church and Chaplain of Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia. He and his wife Jeanne have a son Michael. Scott writes of his personal ICE experience, “My experience as a part of a peer group with ICE had a transforming effect on me personally and a positive impact on the congregation I serve. My group developed a close circle of friendship as we encouraged one another and held each other accountable for the work of preaching and worship leadership. I was so favorably influenced by my experience with ICE that I am excited at the prospect of being considered as a future Facilitator. I want to be a part of a process for a new group of people, helping to guide them toward the goals that they set for themselves. I see this as a way to give back something to the ICE program.”