As a speaker, Tom has been hired to speak to corporate and church-related audiences throughout the United States and in Canada and Asia. His speaking experience stems from 10 years as a pulpit minister, 10 years in radio broadcasting, and as a voice talent for more than 15,000 radio & TV commercials and 3,000 corporate videos broadcast in all 50 U.S. states and internationally.

As a writer, Tom has published hundreds of articles nationally, stemming from his 20-year role as the editor of a national trade magazine. In 2016, the American Society of Business Publications Editors honored him with a Gold Medal for Investigative Journalism and with the Stephen Barr Award for Feature Writing, the “Crown Jewel” of the annual national AZBEE Awards.

His educational background includes two master’s degrees and a PhD in New Testament. His doctoral work investigated Christian assembly practices of the first century, challenging the common notion that “worship” is the purpose of the Christian assembly. 

His local nonprofit work spans more than 30 years and many organizations, such as the United Way of Lee County and the Dixon Public Schools Foundation, and he has been the pronouncer for the Regional Spelling Bee for more than 40 years.