Leadership
Joe and Pennie Wright
Joe & Pennie Wright have only been married a short time, due to each suffering the devastating loss of their first mates after long and fruitful marriages. Both come from ministerial backgrounds with Joe having served as Pastor of five churches and 18 years as a Director of Missions and Pennie serving as a Pastor's wife for 32 years as well as being a Registered Nurse and Registered Respiratory Therapist. In 2018, Joe became Executive Director of the Bivocational & Small Church Leadership Network. Together, they have a heart for ministers and their families; especially, for those from small churches. They have dedicated themselves to the service of helping small churches achieve greatness through healthy leadership and obedient faithfulness. Their personal family life exemplifies their happiness with two sons and three daughters, all of whom have presented them with 13 grandchildren and hopefully, just a few more! They love the outdoors and traveling but even more, they love to visit small churches and worship with God's wonderful families of faith located all across our blessed nation.
Cohort Leaders
Randy Burns
Bro. Randy Burns has been a bi-vocational pastor at Monticello Baptist Church in Morgantown, KY since August 2001. He is married to Delia and we has two daughters: Sophia and Gloria. He graduated from Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in 2000 and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with his Masters in Divinity in 2007 and his doctorate in 2015.
Dany Daniel
Bro. Dany and his family live in Bartlesville, OK, where he has served as the Lead Pastor at Bartlesville Southern Baptist since March 2020. Dany has served at churches in Texas and Oklahoma since 2008. He earned his M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2021. Dany and his wife, Kimberly, were married in 1999, and are the parents of five children ranging from 19 to 6. Their daughter, Sarah Grace, is with the Lord. Prior to being in full-time ministry, he was a high school agricultural science teacher in Texas. In his spare time he enjoys just being with his wife, hunting with his sons, and showing rabbits with his daughter.
Lester Evans
Bro. Lester Evans has been married to Judy for more than 50 years. They have two daughters and one granddaughter. Bro. Evans has served for 13 years as a pastor, 13 years as an Associational Mission Strategist and 18 years (full time) with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina as Team Leader and Catalyst for Associational Partnerships. For the last two and one-half years and currently he continues to serve part-time as the Western Associational Partnership Catalyst with the BSCNC.
Don Heiden
Bro. Don Heiden is the pastor at Janice Baptist Church in Perry County Mississippi. He was licensed to preach at Crestview Baptist Church in 2013 and began his ministry at Janice Baptist Church in August 2017. He has been married to his best friend Mary since August 16, 1980. They met while he was serving in the USAF. They have 3 daughters, 6 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren. He became a Christian in 1979 while stationed in England.
Chris Malone
Bro Chris Malone has been serving in various ministerial roles for over 35 years and currently serves as interim pastor at Cahaba Heights Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL. He has been married to Jeanie for 15 years and they have one adult daughter and 2 grandchildren. Bro. Chris earned graduated from Southeastern Bible College in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in Ministry Leadership and is currently pursuing a MDiv at New Orleans Theological Seminary. Bro. Chris has a passion for pouring into other ministers and a heart for the local church.
Larry Orange
Dr. Larry Orange has been in ministry for over sixty years. He has served as Pastor, Director of Missions, church planter, and Dean of Mid-Continent University College of the Bible. He earned his Master’s and a Doctorate from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Bro. Larry and his wife, Janet, have three children, eleven grand children, and one great grandchild. He is now retired and enjoying gardening and raising chickens.
Josh Slater
Bro. Josh Slater and his wife, Corrie, have been married for 17 years. They have 3 awesome kids: Levi, Declan, and Eden. Josh received his Bachelor of Biblical Studies from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and his M.Div from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. His passion is discipleship and helping others grow in their knowledge and love of the Lord. You can usually find him with his nose in a book, listening to a podcast, or dancing around his house making up silly songs.
David Whitener
David Whitener has been the bi-vocational pastor of Hemptown Baptist Church in Morganton, GA since 2006. David married his wife Angie in 1983 while in college. After graduating from GA Tech, David worked in the corporate world for 15 years. During this time, David and Angie were active in ministry while living in Georgia and Northern Ireland. After surrendering to the call of God to preach, David quit his job and enrolled at Luther Rice Seminary receiving a Masters of Ministry and Master of Divinity. David served as Youth and Children's Minister at Blue Ridge First Baptist Church while attending seminary and until he felt God's further calling. Five monthes later, Hemptown Baptist called David as Pastor. David and Angie have two dauthers and four grandchildren.
Joe Wright
Dr. Joe Wright serves as Executive Director of the BSCLN. He also serves as a bivocational pastor at Three Rivers Fellowship in Waverly, TN. Dr. Wright has been in ministry for over 38 years, including 20 years as pastor and 18 years as an Association Mission Strategist. He has worked diligently to bring health to smaller-attendance churches by strengthening pastors and their families. His experience and giftedness will challenge and encourage you in your ministry.