Hi.  My name is Jeff Harlow.  I am a husband, a father, a pastor in the United Methodist Church, an instructor for Norfolk State University in Norfolk, VA, and Virginia Union University in Richmond, VA, and a consultant for a few non-profit organizations, including churches.  I am an applied theologian, a data analyst, a pastor, and I assess organizational effectiveness, although I’m not sure how all of these fit together.  I love my family!  I love dogs, all of them, everywhere.  Lately I have developed an obsession with worms — composting — vermiculture.  I wonder about a lot of things (including the worms).  I wonder why I love to mow lawns, and I wonder why I am curious about dandelion seeds.  I love to read and write and teach, and I live in Virginia.  While I am not a huge sports fan, I am totally a Penn State football fan.  Must be something about nostalgia.  

Jeff is the pastor of Enon United Methodist Church in the Richmond District of the Virginia Annual Conference.  Along with his responsibilities as a local pastor, Jeff is the Chair for the Conference’s Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministries and is a member of the Conference Common Table.  He also serves as a member of the Conference’s Immigration Work Group.  Jeff received his Elder Orders in 2007. 

Jeff also teaches courses in research methods and spirituality in social work for Norfolk State University School of Social Work and Virginia Union University Department of Humanities and Social Sciences.  Jeff was also the founding director of The Social Science Research Center at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia where he served on their faculty for six years (1998-2004).  He holds a bunch of degrees revealing only that he has much more to learn:  a B.S. in wildlife biology from Pennsylvania State University (’79), a M.A. in theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (’85), and a Ph.D. in social policy from Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research (’98).  Jeff has worked as a data analysis consultant, a program evaluator, an organizational development trainer, a research center director, and a university instructor.  The job he misses the most, though, was in high school and college when he worked for Ernie at Traylor’s Nursery in Beaver, Pennsylvania.  He dug holes and planted trees and enjoyed the quiet clarity of the work.   

You can contact Jeff at jeff@unpackingideas.org.