Neal O. Michell is Canon to the Ordinary with the Diocese of Dallas and previously served as Canon for Strategic Development. A former practicing attorney, he has served churches of various sizes in the dioceses of West Texas and in West Tennessee, where he and his wife Varita planted a church in Germantown that achieved parish status within nine months of its first Sunday service. He has served as a consultant in congregational development and led vestry retreats and workshops, focusing on vision-casting and leadership development. He holds a DMin in Church Growth from Fuller Seminary, where his doctoral dissertation was "Contemporary Anglican Worship in a Postmodern Era." He has also gone on short-term mission trips to Ukraine, South Africa, Mexico, and Honduras. In addition to his books, he has published numerous articles and has served the Episcopal Church at diocesan, provincial and national levels.