Dr. Rich Denning (Dr. D) graduated from West Carteret High School in 1983. He received the call to preach in 1993 and left Denning Construction and Land Surveying (his father’s business) to attend college. He graduated from Emmanuel College (now University), Franklin Springs, GA with two undergraduate degrees, Erskine Theological Seminary, Due West, SC with a Master of Divinity, and earned his doctorate at Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA.
He is a licensed and ordained minister through the NC Conference of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church and Open Door Baptist Church. He has served in pastoral ministry for 30 years. He is a certified teacher through the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and has taught high school four years. He is a certified instructor through the National Center for Construction and Research (NCCER) and teaches carpentry classes at Wayne Community College. His classes cover a variety of topics and aspects of the trade including: safety, drafting/drawing plans, woodworking, framing, and service work to the school/community. His desire is to help train students to be carpenters and woodworkers. Students learn skills that will assist them as homeowners, church members, missionaries, future contractors, or woodworking hobbyists!
Coming from a family of builders, Dr. D has had the opportunity to be raised and mentored in the trade by his father, Art Denning. Working in the family business, Denning Construction Company and Denning Land Surveying Company, from his childhood through his thirties, provided Dr. D not only business skills but a passion for building things. In addition to working in the family business, he has also worked for a residential contractor framing houses, has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, and worked with Century 21 as a licensed NC Real Estate Broker. He recalls building docks and seawalls with his dad in Carteret County as being some of his most enjoyable moments.
Dr. D’s wife, Teresa is the Administrative Assistant in the Elementary Office at Wayne Christian School. They reside in Mount Olive with their children Joshua and Jessica (and their two cats, “Kit-Kat” and
“Tater-Tot” and their black lab, Harley). Since Dr. D’s dad passed in 2019, woodworking has become a treasured hobby. You can find various woodworking projects around the Denning home.
Connecting hurting people with a healing Savior is the aim of Dr. D’s pastoral ministry. When we are hurting, we want to someone to walk beside us. Common throughout the Bible is the image of the shepherd caring for his flock. Be it in leading them to calm places to drink the living water, finding them when they are lost,
or defending them from attackers, the shepherd is a constant presence of comfort and assurance. While we know we will always fall short of the love of our Shepherd (Jesus), pastors do their best to act as shepherds for others. Dr. D believes the church is a “hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.” His passion is to provide encouragement, insight and biblical guidance during times of crisis, change, personal and family difficulties. We all go through times when we need one another’s help. There are seasons when we grieve, discover healing, restoration, and rejoice with one another. In the simple words… we do life together as the “Body of Christ” (the church).
Pastoral counseling is designed to help people reconcile their past and present issues. In working with people, Dr. D relies on the fact that the Bible contains absolute truth and is sufficient for addressing life’s spiritual and relational problems and that the presence of the Holy Spirit is essential. Therefore the Bible becomes the primary tool in bringing a person’s concerns and issues to resolution while relying on the Holy Spirit for results.
His passion is to provide encouragement, insight and biblical guidance during times of crisis, change, personal and family difficulties. That is the essence of pastoral counseling. The goal as a pastoral counselor is to help resolve challenges. The objective during a counseling session is to listen, clarify, and offer hope, encouragement, prayer and sound biblical advice.
Pastoral counseling is not mental health care and should not be substituted for professional therapy or counseling, especially if you are already under the care of a paid professional counselor. Dr. D has an Associate of Art’s degree in Education, a Bachelor of Art’s degree in Pastoral Ministry, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Regent University School of Divinity. He is a licensed and ordained minister of the Gospel. Though not a licensed professional counselor he is a minister and is trained to address many situations and life challenges. There are some counseling situations that are beyond his expertise and such cases professional counseling is recommended and/or referred.
Dr. D has helped other ministers through his life and leadership coaching. Coaching is different than pastoral counseling in that coaching helps move people who are not currently experiencing problems into the development and obtainment of certain goals. Coaching is designed to help people who do not need reconciliation of past issues but need help moving forward in their personal or professional lives. Coaching is a collaborative effort between the client, the coach, and the Holy Spirit. It seeks to produce goal-oriented outcomes for a better present and future. It is planned, pro-active, biblically based behavior that provides clear direction and focus. Dr. D’s certification is through Lifeforming Leadership Coaching and he utilizes Lifeforming coaching techniques and materials. His goal is to help clients discover God’s divine plan for their life and assist them in moving forward in living a life with purpose that matters. His specific area of specialization is in coaching other pastors, ministers, and church leaders.
“The Bible is not boring; people are boring;
don’t bore the people with the Bible”
– Howard Hendricks
