Harold was born in Twin Falls, Idaho. His parents, who remained married all of their lives, provided Harold with a stable, supportive and loving family life. Harold’s family moved to Boise when Harold was about six years old. Boise, bordered by majestic mountains on the north and rolling plans and desert land towards the south provided a host of experiences to Harold as he grew up. He learned to appreciate the beauty of the plains; he was inspired by the arid and grace of the desert regions; and he fell in love with the mountains, hiking, backpacking, skiing and picnicking in the mountains as often as he could. He graduated from Borah High School in 1970.

Harold’s adolescent period was not one of roses, however, being marked by rebellion during a time in our nation’s history when rebellion was “cool.” Having made some poor choices in high school and his first years of college, Harold got involved in the “hippie” culture and it was not until he was about 23 that he realized that there had to be more to life than this lifestyle offered. At that time, Harold’s spirituality deepened and he was able to move from the life of a hippie to life in the church as a pastor. In pursuit of pastoral credentials, Harold graduated from Northwest Nazarene University in 1977, received his M.A. from Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA in 1980 and an M.Div from the Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO in 1982. In all of these, Harold’s primary emphasis was philosophy and religion. Following his graduation from the Nazarene Theological Seminary, Harold became a Methodist and was ordained in the United Methodist Church in Fayette, MO, May 29, 1987.

In 1989, Harold moved to Denver, CO to attend the Joint Ph.D. Program of the Iliff School of Theology and the University of Denver.  While attending the program, Harold taught philosophy and religious studies at the University of Denver, Regis University, Metropolitan State University, Red Rocks Community College and a host of other colleges in the Front Range Area.  Harold graduated with his Ph.D. in 1999.  His area of emphasis was theology, philosophy and cultural theory.  His dissertation was in the area of ethics and systems theory.

During his 30+ years of ministry, Harold did a great deal of counseling, especially in rural areas where counselors were not very plentiful.  It was at this time that Harold came to two realizations.  First, he realized that for the most part ministers were not adequately trained to do counseling.  The few counseling, or more properly, pastoral counseling courses that they had in both college and seminary gave them a little of what they needed, but most lacked an adequate ground in counseling and therapy models.  In addition, pastors are often called upon to work with couples and families and almost all pastors lack any background in systems theory and the models of family and couples therapy that grow from it.  Harold realized that neither he nor other pastors were adequately prepared to do counseling although they are often called upon to do just exactly that, and when there are no other qualified counselors around, they may be pressed into service where they are not adequately prepared.  Second, realized that he truly enjoyed counseling, and early in his ministry he began to entertain the prospect of obtaining more education and the proper certification necessary to do therapy.

Harold’s interests in counseling, however, took a detour when he decided to get his Ph.D., not in counseling, but in theology, philosophy and cultural theory.  Harold’s area of interest was directed towards philosophy and cultural theory more than it was theology, but as he worked on his dissertation, he realized that we live in a world defined by systems theory, but we often define the people living in that world in non-systemic ways.  Put differently, Harold realized that if we are to truly understand a person’s place in their world, old individual models of human development simply do not work.  In response to that, Harold developed a way of thinking systemically about the self and what that meant for ethics.  Interestingly, when he successfully defended his dissertation, his director asked him to identify one area in which he felt that his work made the greatest contribution.  He replied a systemic view of the self and its implications for responsible living.  Harold now seeks to apply that insight to counseling theory and practice.