Tom and his wife Chaundel met in High School then attended college together, becoming engaged their senior year. They have now been married forty years and have three children - Ryan (married to Brittany), Alyssa (married to Andrew Lossau) and Luke (married to Zoya). They have six grandchildren: Reese, Anna, Kate, Dottie, Amaya and Gabe.
Tom earned a BA from California Baptist University (1977), a Master of Divinity from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, California (1981) and from there went to pastor a small church in Marysville, CA. for 10 years. During his ministry a flood destroyed the church buildings and many member’s homes, and the church relocated and rebuilt and began growing again. He says, "The church grew a little while I was there...and I grew a lot!"
In 1991 Tom and Chaundel came to Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA. As a Teaching Pastor at Saddleback, he regularly speaks at the weekend services and at studies throughout the week. He also teaches DriveTime Devotions: a daily ten minute Podcast going through the Bible a chapter a week. In addition to his pastoral leadership and teaching ministries at Saddleback, Tom assists Rick Warren in teaching Purpose-Driven Church conferences to Christian leaders all over the world. Tom’s passion in ministry is to help people discover a love for the Bible and an understanding of God’s truth that changes the way they live.