Gene is an avid backpacker and hiker in the Rocky and Sierra Nevada Mountains. He and his wife Lorri have walked the 500-mile El Camino de Santiago, the French Way from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela, a pilgrimage that shaped much of what he now teaches about the interior journey. They have three adult children, five grandchildren, and one cairn terrier who has opinions about everything.
When he's not on a trail, you'll find Gene at a kitchen counter working on a pie, in a coffee shop with a dark roast and a good conversation, or somewhere in March losing his mind over a March Madness bracket.
Gene spent nearly four decades in pastoral ministry before a growing restlessness about the shallowness of modern spiritual life sent him back to the roots. That search led him to Princeton Theological Seminary, where he completed a Doctor of Ministry in Theology and Spiritual Formation, and eventually to the founding of The Compass Institute, a place dedicated to recovering the ancient practices of soul formation for the contemporary church.
He currently serves as Director of the Doctor of Ministry program in Spiritual Formation and Leadership at Epic Bible College & Graduate School, and is the author of Trekking: A Guidebook for Spiritual Transformation. His work has taken him from leading one of Canada's largest churches to training spiritual directors on six acres at the edge of the Glacier wilderness in Montana, a journey he would not have predicted, and wouldn't trade.
While trekking an ancient pilgrimage route across northern Spain, my wife and I paused one evening on a quiet lakeside patio. The waters were peaceful and calm after a stormy afternoon. On the glassy surface, a weathered wooden boat rested serenely, tethered to a steadfast point—anchored and unwavering. This image left a lasting impression, serving as a vivid symbol of the unshakeable, immovable convictions that guide The Compass Center. The Compass Center is:
The compelling ideas, the revolutionary ways, and the transformative possibility of living our lives under His influence and in His presence are awakening us to a deeper, truer way of being human.
The great story of Scripture is God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—tirelessly drawing us into deep, abiding, intimate communion with Him--and with one another.
We are dwelling in the words that God loves and gave to us as a precious gift to fill us with awareness of Him and His ways.
The power of the contemplative stream of Christian spirituality is helping us open the eyes of our soul so we can pay attention to what God is up to in our lives, situation, and world.
