I remember the night at a high school youth rally in Pittsburgh when I said to my brother, “I’m going to preach.”  The journey wasn’t always straight forward, but in the end, that’s what I’ve done.  More importantly, it’s who I am.  Growing up in a nurturing Christian home, “The Call” to ministry came easily; then on to Asbury College followed by a Masters of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary.  From there, my first appointment was a three-point charge (three small churches) in Western Pennsylvania, but my Michigander wife introduced me to the great lakes of Michigan and that’s where I have spent most of my ministry. With one exception:  I served for seven years as a staff member at the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry and literally traveled the world on behalf of the United Methodist Church. Along the way I never lost my original calling or my love of preaching. Today in retirement, my preaching is often from behind a laptop rather than a pulpit, more writing and less speaking (though I am happy to preach whenever I get asked…Hint! Hint!).  I welcome you to my website and invite you to follow my “Monday Memo” blog.  Check out my new book “Thirty Days with E. Stanley Jones” and get in touch.  I look forward to hearing from you.

The Rev. Dr. John E. (Jack) Harnish

From Robert Cornwall  “In 30 Days with E. Stanley Jones we encounter a missionary to India, a statesman, an interfaith leader, a preacher, an advisor to Presidents, and a social justice prophet who was a friend of Mahatma Gandhi. It was Jones’ biography of Gandhi that influenced Martin Luther King, Jr. While Harnish’s devotional book is not a biography, it does give the reader a true sense of the person Stanley Jones. ” read more…