Rev. Dr. C. Dennis Shaw is a retired Elder in the Mountain Sky Conference of the United Methodist Church. He served Hilltop United Methodist Church in Sandy, Utah from July 2012 to June 2019 and Stratmoor Hills United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs, CO from November 2003 to June 2012. Dennis was in ministry within the Rocky Mountain Conference of the UMC before that in other appointments. Pastor Dennis' believes that God loves us and wants a deep relationship with us. He believes that God has showered us with Grace and forgiveness and that through the Scripture we find healing and hope. Education is a core family value. He has an eclectic education focused on excellence with two degrees from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC: a Doctor of Ministry, awarded in May, 2012, and a Master of Divinity in May 1999 (Summa Cum Laude). He also holds a Master in Business Administration (1979) from Rochester (N.Y). Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Music (1971) from Georgia State University in his hometown of Atlanta. In 1994 Dennis retired as a Regular Army Lieutenant Colonel. Military responsibilities included light infantry, human resource management, and cost analysis. His assignments took him to Alaska, Colorado, New York, Virginia, Kansas, Korea and Germany with brief excursions to other European countries and Japan. Pastor Dennis and Marilyn White have been married for over 35 years and are parents to a blended family with four adult children living in Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia and Texas. Praise God!
“We all know that parents do not make children but that children make parents … Authentic parenting is one long sacrificial act … parenting reveals the way that sacrifice at once diminishes our life as we knew it … while at the same time revealing to us larger and infinitely more fascinating forms of life … More Children Make the Parent
“I tell you that this man … went home justified before God. For all those who … humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18: 14 (New International Version) Exalt means held in high regard. Good when this high regard is by others, problematic when this high regard is about ourselves. In this passage, Jesus is … More Humility
“Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” 1 Timothy 4:16 (ESV) I suspect most, if not all, of us have heard part of the purpose of education is to help us learn how to think, rather than … More Persist
“Courage is forged in pain, but not in all pain. Pain that is denied or ignored becomes fear or hate.” Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness I think many of us know the expression, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” As Brené Brown offers in Braving the Wilderness, that expression is sometimes, but not always,true. … More Denied Pain
Mayor Elect Bradburn, incoming Council, fellow citizens of Sandy. Sixty seven years ago, President Kennedy in his inaugural address talked about a torch being passed. Today … the torch of governance for nearly 100,000 residents of Utah is to be passed … Let us be mindful that none of us created that torch but we … More Sandy Swearing-In Remarks
The Mindful Leader 