About

My Biography: Academic, Intelligence Analyst, Priest
(Click here for my CV)

I am on my third career, and while I enjoyed the other two, this one is perfect.

My first career was as a political scientist.  I picked political science as a field because it was broad enough to allow me to pursue many of my interests: psychology, religion, conflict, even the paranormal.  I was doing pretty well; presenting papers at all the right conferences, receiving grants, publishing papers, and working on my dissertation.  I had also found my real calling within the discipline, teaching, and received several awards for doing it well.  When The Ohio State University hired me to a full-time teaching and support position, I knew that it would be clear sailing for the rest of my life.  We bought a house for our growing family and started to settle in.  Then 9/11 happened and everything changed.  That’s when my second career really began.

I had joined the Army Reserves in 1987.  They taught me Russian, the basics of intelligence tradecraft, how to fall from perfectly good airplanes, and how to lead.  I was pretty good at it and was promoted to staff sergeant and platoon sergeant within five years.  Later on, I was appointed to the Military Intelligence Warrant Officer Corps.  In 2001, I was part of a small research detachment that did projects for the Army’s intelligence production center.  After 9/11, they mobilized us so that we could provide full-time intelligence support to the war in Afghanistan.  When my mobilization ended in 2003, I stayed on as a civilian intelligence analyst.  My training as a political scientist really paid off.  In addition to my work as an analyst, I designed curriculum and taught classes on analytic tradecraft.  By 2007 I was at the top of my game.  I received several awards, including “Civilian of the Year”, “Instructor of the Year”, “Civilian Meritorious Service Award” and was a member of the “Team of the Year.”  But after all those years supporting the war, with the long hours, travel (including two tours in Afghanistan), enough was enough.  It was time to retire from the reserves, give up my civilian position, and start my third career.

When I was mobilized to in 2001, I found myself away from home and, despite the Army’s best efforts, some free time on my hands.  Rather than waste it on video games, I took advantage of the opportunity to spend more time at church.  There was an Orthodox mission in town that appreciated my energy and enthusiasm.  Within a few months of my arrival, I was meeting with our bishop to come up with a course of discernment and study for the priesthood.  I was ordained as a deacon in 2004 and finished my seminary studies in 2005.  Upon my return from my second trip to Afghanistan in 2007, my wife, my bishop, and I all agreed that it was time to take the next big step: the priesthood.  Which is how a Georgia boy ended up preaching Christ in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and … and loving it.

The beauty is that I get to do all the wonderful things that come with being a priest, and I still get to teach!  Not only do I get to design and lead courses on anything that strikes my fancy at the parishes I serve (and we have had series on everything from Messianic prophecy to Orthodoxy and the paranormal), but I have also had the opportunity to teach graduate seminars in political science at the Naval War College and all kinds of interesting things at St. Sophia Orthodox Seminary.  Plus I get to live full-time with my wonderful Pani Matka and our four children.

Oh, I also get to blog and podcast.

Which is why I created this site.  This allows me to share my research and thoughts on all my varied interests, from spirituality to the paranormal.  I hope that you enjoy it!