(2017) My name is Dennis Russell Whalen and I am 50 years old. I am married to Julie Ann (Hutt) Whalen and we have six wonderful children: Julian, Katarina, Alexandria, Dennis, Jocelyn, and D’Artagnan. Julie and I have been married since 1993 and we currently live in Daugherty Township near Sylvania Hills cemetery (on Marion Hill Road).
I was born on April 19th, 1967 at the old hospital in New Brighton to Henry and Susan (Holzworth) Whalen. I have a brother and sister who are raising their families in the area. In 1985, I graduated from New Brighton High School and attended the Pennsylvania State University – Beaver campus for a degree in Computer Science. Upon completion of my degree, I worked at such fine places as Bell Communications Research (DOD division of Bell Labs) in Piscataway, NJ, the John’s Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD, and Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, PA. In 1993, I decided to team up with two other partners and started ServiceWare, Inc. ServiceWare was an entrepreneurial, high-tech start-up that flourished in Oakmont, PA. By 1999, ServiceWare employed over 350 people world-wide and I was the Chief Technology Officer of the company leading a staff of 60. While ServiceWare had plans of going public, I decided to step away from the company. In 2001, I once again teamed up with a partner and started another company in Pittsburgh, PA that focused on the management of policies and procedures. The company was soon acquired by an international professional services firm named Resources Global Professionals (RECN). In 2007, I decided to diligently pursue an education in pastoral ministry and stepped down from my managerial position at Resources Global Professionals. I was asked to stay on with the company as an hourly employee and, to this day, continue to enlist my services as a software developer for their products.
I was baptized and brought up Lutheran while attending Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Brighton. The pastors and teachers at Trinity had a lasting effect on my personal life of faith. Although I moved away from the area for a while, I began regularly attending Trinity with my wife soon after our return to New Brighton in 1993. During this time, I taught Sunday school and played guitar for the children. In 2001, while teaching the high school class at Trinity, I realized that I needed some additional training in the Bible. I attended the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS), a conservative seminary that recently celebrated 200 years, because of its conservative Biblical teaching and locality to my home. As I attended the classes during the evenings, I began to feel the calling of the Holy Spirit to pastoral ministry. In 2003, my family and I decided to attend Rehoboth Evangelical Lutheran Church in Baden, PA. Our reasons to change membership were complex, but the focus was to seek out a pastor interested in mentoring me and preparing me for pastoral ministry. I believed we had found a pastor and congregation that could do that. In 2007, I entered into candidacy with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American (ELCA). I was asked to attend Gettysburg Theological Seminary (GTS), a Lutheran seminary within the Southwestern Pennsylvania synod of the ELCA. I audited GTS for one week and during my stay there I quickly realized that the seminary teaching was not only based on a liberal theology that I did not believe to be Lutheran, but also a Christian theology that I could not agree with. I decided to withdraw my candidacy papers from the ELCA and begin to examine Lutheran denominations that were traditional, conservative, and Bible believing. In 2010, I graduated from the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary with a Master in Divinity and a GPA of 3.94. I began discussions with the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), attended LutheranCORE meetings, and kept my eye on the newly formed North American Lutheran Church (NALC). I am excited about forming a traditional, Bible believing, Lutheran Church in the Beaver County area.
I was called to lead Lighthouse Lutheran Church in April of 2011. This is my first call. I was ordained by the LCMC on May 22, 2011.
I was born on April 19th, 1967 at the old hospital in New Brighton to Henry and Susan (Holzworth) Whalen. I have a brother and sister who are raising their families in the area. In 1985, I graduated from New Brighton High School and attended the Pennsylvania State University – Beaver campus for a degree in Computer Science. Upon completion of my degree, I worked at such fine places as Bell Communications Research (DOD division of Bell Labs) in Piscataway, NJ, the John’s Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD, and Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, PA. In 1993, I decided to team up with two other partners and started ServiceWare, Inc. ServiceWare was an entrepreneurial, high-tech start-up that flourished in Oakmont, PA. By 1999, ServiceWare employed over 350 people world-wide and I was the Chief Technology Officer of the company leading a staff of 60. While ServiceWare had plans of going public, I decided to step away from the company. In 2001, I once again teamed up with a partner and started another company in Pittsburgh, PA that focused on the management of policies and procedures. The company was soon acquired by an international professional services firm named Resources Global Professionals (RECN). In 2007, I decided to diligently pursue an education in pastoral ministry and stepped down from my managerial position at Resources Global Professionals. I was asked to stay on with the company as an hourly employee and, to this day, continue to enlist my services as a software developer for their products.
I was baptized and brought up Lutheran while attending Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Brighton. The pastors and teachers at Trinity had a lasting effect on my personal life of faith. Although I moved away from the area for a while, I began regularly attending Trinity with my wife soon after our return to New Brighton in 1993. During this time, I taught Sunday school and played guitar for the children. In 2001, while teaching the high school class at Trinity, I realized that I needed some additional training in the Bible. I attended the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS), a conservative seminary that recently celebrated 200 years, because of its conservative Biblical teaching and locality to my home. As I attended the classes during the evenings, I began to feel the calling of the Holy Spirit to pastoral ministry. In 2003, my family and I decided to attend Rehoboth Evangelical Lutheran Church in Baden, PA. Our reasons to change membership were complex, but the focus was to seek out a pastor interested in mentoring me and preparing me for pastoral ministry. I believed we had found a pastor and congregation that could do that. In 2007, I entered into candidacy with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American (ELCA). I was asked to attend Gettysburg Theological Seminary (GTS), a Lutheran seminary within the Southwestern Pennsylvania synod of the ELCA. I audited GTS for one week and during my stay there I quickly realized that the seminary teaching was not only based on a liberal theology that I did not believe to be Lutheran, but also a Christian theology that I could not agree with. I decided to withdraw my candidacy papers from the ELCA and begin to examine Lutheran denominations that were traditional, conservative, and Bible believing. In 2010, I graduated from the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary with a Master in Divinity and a GPA of 3.94. I began discussions with the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), attended LutheranCORE meetings, and kept my eye on the newly formed North American Lutheran Church (NALC). I am excited about forming a traditional, Bible believing, Lutheran Church in the Beaver County area.
I was called to lead Lighthouse Lutheran Church in April of 2011. This is my first call. I was ordained by the LCMC on May 22, 2011.
