User:Shoney1/sandbox

Senior Pastor Highland Christian Center Dr. Shon Neyland, a charismatic religious leader who was raised in New Orleans and served as a military chaplain in Hawaii and a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is the new senior pastor of the Highland Christian Center in northeast Portland, a historically African descent and diverse congregation that was most recently led by their beloved pastor Dr. W. G. Hardy Jr. who died last year.

Originally trained as an industrial engineer, Neyland served in the Air Force as a nuclear launch officer and as an aerospace flight commander in the Milstar Communications Satellite program. At the same time, he and his wife of 34 years, Madeline, have served as devoted evangelicals, finding churches in communities from England to Abilene, Texas.

Neyland comes from a religious family. His dad was a church deacon and musician and his mom served as a worship leader and singer. Highland church leaders say there is an atmosphere of joy and relief in having new leadership to fulfill the late Pastor Hardy’s vision of a church founded on firm biblical principles and an active involvement in the community. Neyland has authored four books. His latest “The Courage to Stand: A New America” touches on the state of our society today, exploring race and religious stereotypes. He writes, “It is time to eliminate the antiquated race and color identification terms of "black" and "white" and begin a new nomenclature--we are Americans!” He describes his philosophy of life as centered on unconditional love and a positive attitude, qualities that comes through his exuberant preaching style, a warm sense of humor and a dazzling smile. Pastor Neyland and his wife have three adult children and one grandchild.

Military Career Dr. Shon Neyland enlisted in the military in 1984 as a logistic management specialist. He was commissioned as an officer in 1991. Dr. Neyland was licensed into the ministry in 1988, ordained in 1990 with the Church of God in Christ and became an Air Force Chaplain in 1999. He has pastored several large congregations and at one time was the Senior Pastor of the largest worship service in the Air Force with over 5,000 in attendance weekly. Dr. Neyland was a Colonel in the Air Force and his final assignment was as the Command Chaplain for Pacific Air Forces where he was responsible for advising leaders and ensuring the spiritual care of over 46,000 people at nine installations. A brief summary of Dr. Neyland's military career includes: Command Chaplain, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB Ohio where he was responsible for Advisement of Senior Leadership within the Command, Spiritual Care for over 80K workforce, and Functional Supervision of 85 Chaplain Corps members. As Deputy Chief, Plans and Programs, Office of Chief of Chaplains, Headquarters USAF, Pentagon, Washington, DC. In this capacity he spearheaded strategic communication and implementation of the Air Force Chaplain Corps Strategic Plan. Further, he oversaw the development of Air Force Chaplain doctrine and the production of resources for 2,200 Air Force Chaplain Corps serving 800,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve, and civilian forces worldwide. As a student of National War College, Dr. Neyland studied National Security Strategy, analyzed nuclear nonproliferation and defense strategies for warfare and reviewed military strategies for warfare. While serving as a Deputy Commandant at the Chaplain Corps College, Dr. Neyland prepared and trained future Air Force Chaplains for duty in the Air Force. Dr. Neyland also served as a Flight Commander in Space Operations for Milstar Satellite and as Chief of Plans and Programs. He was also a Flight Commander in Officer Training School and A Missile Combat Crew Commander where he served on alert in the nuclear enterprise. A true patriot who loves serving God and people, he honed his skills over the years and has taught and literally preached around the globe.

Motivational Speaker As a motivational and inspirational speaker, his words have brought hope, spiritual renewal, and increased faith to tens of thousands of military members, civilians, and their families. In fact, he has conducted over 45 marriage retreats and counseled over 4,000 individuals and couples, providing personal well-being and marital insights. Dr. Neyland has authored four books including, Loving When You Don’t Feel Like It and his latest book, The Courage to Stand. Dr. Neyland has received over 100 distinguished awards and decorations throughout his career for outstanding service to his nation. He has been married to his beautiful wife Madeline for 34 years and they have three adult children and one grandchild.

Academics Building strong families is critical to Dr. Neyland. He is committed to mentorship, coaching, and reaching young teens and adults as they strive to find their place in the world. He believes mentorship is the foundation to growing productive, strong youth and adults. At each location he has served, he has instituted programs that included outreach to children, youth, young adults, singles, couples, and families. Dr. Neyland espouses the family model in all instances and emphasizes connection and relationship development in building resiliency for all. Dr. Neyland believes education, drive, determination, and high work ethics are keys to success. He has garnered seven (7) Academic degrees including; an Associates of Science degree in Logistics Management, a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology, a Master of Arts in Religion Degree, a Master of Divinity degree (equivalency), a Master of Science degree in Community Counseling, a Master of Science degree in National Security and Strategy, and a Doctor of Ministry degree.