A Brief Bio

Phillip Michael Garner is a poet, a storyteller, and theologian. He is passionate about presenting Christian faith in the competing field of religious ideology. He is part historian, philosopher, social critic and always theological. His religious formation is complimented by an enduring imagination continually seeking words to articulate hope and possibility for a better world. Garner's formal education was attained at Azusa Pacific University where he received M.Div. M.A.R. and  D. Min. Degrees. He is an avid and eclectic reader, as is reflected in his personal library. His desire for learning and diverse experiences has contributed to his work as an innovative and competent interpreter of a vast array of theological efforts.

Mike was raised in a small town, in a citrus valley in California. His journey to becoming a poet, storyteller and theologian is preceded by a life full of love, work, and adventure. At thirteen he worked as a picker alongside migrants in the orange groves of Ventura County (more info). Mike’s first trip to the Philippines was during his time as a helicopter crew chief in the USMC 1974-1978. Mike was handing out Bibles on the streets of Olongapo in 1976 when he met his first wife (she passed away in 2017). Upon being honorably discharged he worked with his father in their plumbing and hardware business.

In the eighties Mike made several trips to the Philippines and lived on the Island of Leyte with his wife and their children. During these years, he taught at Zion Bible College, was instrumental in the beginning of Living Word Christian Fellowship, and spoke in churches across the Visayan Islands (more info). He has served as a bi-vocational pastor in California, a missionary, and a college professor. Mike has participated in, and led, numerous trips abroad in Africa, South America, and Asia, ministering to the needs of people living in dumpsites, to street children, tribal people, trafficked females, incarcerated persons, and in local churches. His international experiences among the poorest people in the world provide the backdrop for the pathos in his poetry and the practical applications of his theology.

Mike is the father of three children who have given him twelve grandchildren. In April of 2017 he moved to the Philippines and married Abbey Losaria Garner (a Visayan). Abbey is an International Chef and an Artist. In March of 2023 Mike and Abbey relocated to Nashville Tennessee.

The following paragraph is an excerpt from the forward written by Brandon Galford in Dr. Mike’s book

‘Theological Adventures’.

"By applying a hermeneutic of suspicion and treating the text as literature that must be interpreted and not simply ingested at face value, Garner unlocks genuine meaning in passages that seem to portray God as violent. He argues that nonviolence is central to the divine nature. This is not a peripheral idea. 'God hates violence' is a quote that I've often heard Mr. Garner use. In every communicative forum - personal conversations, class lectures, books, online articles and blogs, Facebook and Twitter posts - Garner can be found positing this theological assertion: There is no violence in God".  

I invite you to learn more about my journey to nonviolence, and the development of my theology through reading my books, my website, the personal stories included in my book Theological Adventures and from the essays in my Stories and Theology blog.

- Phillip Michael Garner -