Meet the Minister

Dr. Leininger was educated in the Baltimore City Public Schools and was awarded a BA in Humanities from Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, NJ. His professional degrees include the Master of Divinity from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, SC (1984), and the Doctor of Ministry from Erskine Theological Seminary in Due West, SC (1987).

A successful career in Radio and Television preceded Dr. Leininger's answering the call to ministry. He worked for stations in Baltimore and Washington before moving to Hilton Head Island, SC in 1973 to establish a new station there.

While on Hilton Head he met and married Christie Eaton. Christie is an Accountant who holds a Bachelor's degree from Emory University and a Master's from Georgia State. The Leiningers are the parents of two grown children, son David Eaton currently serving in the United States Air Force, and daughter Erin Alison, a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

Dr. Leininger has served congregations in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida prior to his work in Pennsylvania. He has been pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in Warren since 2000. He has announced his retirement effective October 31, 2008

Since the beginning of his ministry, Dr. Leininger has been active in the affairs of the larger church. He has chaired the Council of Presbytery plus being a member or chair of a number of other Presbytery and Synod committees. In 1987 he was a Commissioner to General Assembly where he was instrumental in drafting a widely-heralded study paper on "A Theological Understanding of the Relationship Between Christians and Jews." He is also active in community affairs - currently he serves with the Warren Area Ministerial Association (past president), the local Rotary Club (past president), and as Secretary of the board of the Warren-Forest Economic Opportunity Council, our local community action agency.

Our pastor is the author of a number of published articles and sermons and his work regularly appears on internet preaching sites such as The Immediate Word, Story Share, eSermons.com, etc. He is also the author of three books, A Colorblind Church, the story of the intriguing events that unfolded in the lives of two small congregations - one black, one white - in the little hamlet of Liberty Hill, SC following the reunion of the northern and southern streams of the Presbyterian Church in 1983. God of Justice: a look at the Ten Commandments in the 21st Century grew out of a sermon series preached here in Warren. As We Believe, So We Behave: The Apostles' Creed and the Christian Life is another book that was inspired by a sermon series here. Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit is a three-volume preaching resource that is primarily for those who preach from week to week. All the books are published by CSS Publishing of Lima, OH.

Mrs. Leininger is also active in the church. She is an ordained elder and has served, not only in the local congregation but in the wider church as well. She has been very active in worldwide ministries leading mission teams to Taiwan as well as to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, perfect opportunities for her to make use of her fluency in Spanish. Currently she serves on the Mission & Stewardship Committee of Lake Erie Presbytery and is involved in our Presbytery's partnership with the Presbyterian Church in Venezuela. At First Church, Warren, she serves on the Mission Committee, sings in the choir, and plays handbells. She led FPC's 2002 and 2004 Missions to Mexico, and Missions to the Mississippi and Florida Gulf Coasts in 2006 and 2007 plus 2008's Mission to Lithuania.

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