About the Institute

Facilitators

Facilitators are pastors or others with facilitating skill and pastoral experience, who are specifically trained for work with our groups.

Eric McKinney

Dr. Eric McKinney

Consultant

Eric McKinney joined the staff of the Institute in June 2009 after retiring from active pastoral ministry at the end of 2006, and completing a two-year stint as Interim Chaplain at Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX. A member of the Central Texas Conference, Eric served as a pastor and district superintendent for 35 1/2 years. He chaired numerous Conference committees and boards, and continues to serve as a Trustee or Board member for The Methodist Mission Home, the Wesleyan Homes, Southwestern University, and the Center for Urban Church Renewal. He also represents the jurisdiction as a member of the United Methodist Publishing House Board. Eric has been a delegate to numerous general and jurisdictional conferences, and continues to possess a passionate love for Jesus Christ and the United Methodist Church.

He resides in Georgetown, and is a parent to 3 grown children, and a grandparent to two beautiful granddaughters. He has facilitated TMF Institute Clergy Develop Groups since January 2008. 

Georjean Blanton

photo of Georjean Blanton

Georjean Blanton spends her time between Dallas and Austin guiding, mentoring, and encouraging clergy and lay people through the life-long process of spiritual formation and vocational change. Working with individuals and groups, she teaches and coaches spiritual practices, conflict management and team-building. An ordained elder in the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist church, she served churches in the Dallas area for several years before launching PathWays: A Ministry of Sacred Journeys.

She holds both a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, the latter specializing in spiritual disciplines and systems theory. She is certified in conflict resolution and received training in spiritual guidance from the Shalem Institute in Maryland. Georjean can also be contacted at 512-663-9876.

Mike Bonem

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Mike Bonem is the co-author of Leading from the Second Chair: Serving Your Church, Fulfilling Your Role, and Realizing Your Dreams and Leading Congregational Change: A Practical Guide for the Transformational Journey. He serves as a consultant and coach for churches, church leaders and denominational bodies, and loves serving as a facilitator in TMF Institute’s Clergy Development Process.

Mike obtained his M.B.A. degree, with distinction, from Harvard Business School in 1985, after having obtained a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Rice University in 1981.

He began his career as a business strategy consultant with McKinsey and Company, and has worked with many corporations and executives in the areas of strategic planning, organizational design, and change leadership.

In addition to his role as a consultant and trainer, Mike serves on the staff of West University Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. Prior to this, he has served local churches in a variety of lay roles including deacon and Bible study leader. Mike and his wife, Bonnie, have been married for over twenty-five years and have four children.

Dan Bonner

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Dan Bonner’s thirty-four years as pastoral shepherd of five growing multi-cultural urban United Methodist congregations shape his understanding of pastoral leadership: vision casting forged through personal practice of both social justice and personal evangelism, quickened by daily disciplines in the Spirit. Currently, Dr. Bonner is the Vice President of Wesleyan Homes and the President and Lead Strategist for the Center for Urban Congregational Renewal.  As facilitator with the Institute he coaches gifted Hispanic pastors within  as a mutual learning experience.

To discuss inclusive congregational transformation, hook up with Dan at dan@cucr.us or call his cell: 512.876.9145.

Tom Graves

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Dr. Tom Graves is in his fifty-third year of ministry, having been pastor in North and Central Texas and District Superintendent in North Texas. He is an award-winning author and currently Senior Adult Minister at Grace Avenue United Methodist Church in Frisco.

He lives on Red ‘Arc Farm in Lamar County with Cleopatra, a white Persian cat. He has two children and three grandchildren and was married to Linda for forty-five years until her death in 2001.

Jim Mayfield

photo of Jim Mayfield

Jim Mayfield has experience as member of a staff, pastor of a rural congregation, a county seat congregation, a young suburban congregation, district superintendent and pastor of a larger church with 31 on staff. He also worked with Dr. J.W. Thomas and members of the Perkins faculty in developing a workbook and seminar to help persons understand themselves more clearly and work with others more effectively. During his forty-five years as pastor he served in a variety of leadership positions within the Southwest Texas Annual Conference and a variety of local and state civic organizations and endeavors.

He has written United Methodist youth curriculum, two books and several volumes of privately published poetry. Today he thoroughly enjoys working with clergy through the TMF Institute for Clergy and Congregational Excellence.

Rusti Moore

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Rev. Rusti Moore is passionate about church.  She came into the United Methodist Church in 1995 and became an Elder in Full Connection in 1999.  She has been appointed to West University United Methodist Church (Houston), Sheperd UMC (Sheperd), Strawbridge UMC (Kingwood), and has been given the privilege of being the first woman to stat a new church under the Room-to-Grow program for the Texas Annual Conference, June of 2000.  Wildwood UMC is the first church to be established this millennium by the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. 

Rusti is married to Alan, a physician and pain specialist.  They have been married for 34 years.  The Moore's have two daughters Erin and her husband, Patrick, live in Dallas, Texas.  Paige lives in Austin, Texas.

Don Pike

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Don Pike is a United Methodist pastor with fifty years of experience. Having served churches with memberships of 100 to 5600, Don was the founding pastor of the Trinity church in Arlington and also served as a District Superintendent. He has served on numerous annual conference boards, jurisdictional boards and one general board. He was a delegate to six general and jurisdictional conferences. Also, he has chaired more than a dozen hospital boards and other entities.

In 1998 he retired after eighteen years as Senior Pastor at the First United Methodist Church in Arlington, Texas. He has been a facilitator in the Institute for Clergy and Congregational Excellence since its inception.

Don Smith

photo of Don Smith

Don Smith has been starting new ministries and turning around existing ones for more than twenty-five years. As a clergy member of the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, Don serves in an extension appointment capacity in the area of new church development and stewardship.

In 1995, after two successful revitalization efforts in rural and county seat churches, Don was appointed to plant the Stonebridge United Methodist Church in McKinney, Texas and served as founding pastor of that church for more than eight years.

Since leaving Stonebridge Church in 2003, Don has served as a "church planting strategist," providing support in the area of new church development for nineteen annual conferences and sixty new churches while training and assessing hundreds of prospective church planters. During this season of "ministry coaching," Don has committed himself to providing support and encouragement for pastors in high risk ministry environments.

John Thornburg

photo of John Thornburg

John Thornburg is a fourth-generation Methodist minister who, after twenty-two years in parish ministry in North Texas, created an itinerant ministry of song leading and worship consultation. He travels the country as a ‘congregational song doctor’ and has assisted the leaders of the United Methodist mission in Cameroon with the creation of their first hymnal/worship book.

He sees his work with TMF as part of the larger umbrella of what might be called a ministry of encouragement. His work is featured at www.congregationalsinging.com.