About

Glenn Maris Wagner was born in Elmhurst, Illinois as the second son of David and Doris (Rhodes) Wagner. He was an active member of First United Methodist Church of Elmhurst. He was also involved in scouting, Indian Guides, Little League Baseball, Pop Warner Football, Children’s Theater, and the YMCA Swim Team. He attended summer camp annually for fourteen years at YMCA Camp McLean in Burlington, Wisconsin and paid for his camp fees each year by selling YMCA thin mints door to door. In High School Wagner served as a Camp Counselor, President of the Methodist Youth Fellowship at First UMC, and Senior Class President at York Community HIgh School. Wagner earned money for college expenses working as a: house painter, punch press operator, and in retail sales for E.J. Korvette Department Store.

After graduating from Hope College, Wagner taught English and Bible to Taiwanese University students in Kaohsiung, Taiwan as a short-term missionary for the Reformed Church in America and the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan. While he was working on his masters of divinity degree at Yale Divinity School, Wagner served as the youth minister at First United Methodist Church in Meriden, Connecticut from 1976-1977, In the summer of 1977 he served as the summer pastor for Beach United Methodist Church in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. From 1977-178 Wagner interned as a chaplain in a drug and alcohol unit at the Connecticut Mental Health Center and for Clinical Pastoral Education at Yale New Haven Hospital followed by a year of residency from 1978-1979 in Clinical Pastoral Education at Pine Rest Christian Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Wagner was ordained a deacon in the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1976 and an elder in 1982. In 1979 Wagner was appointed associate pastor in Freeport, Illinois at Faith United Methodist Church while studying to complete his Doctor of Ministry degree at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. His degree focused on developing leadership for small groups in the church. Wagner helped plan for several week long “Lab Schools” for the training of Sunday School teachers. In 1985 Wagner attended the Billy Graham School of Evangelism.

Following graduation from Garrett-Evangelical, Wagner became the pastor of 800-member First United Methodist Church in Harvard, Illinois from 1986 through 1992. While in Harvard, Wagner served as President of the Harvard, Rotary Club. He also received training as a teacher of Disciple Bible Study, an in depth, high commitment Bible Study program that Wagner continued to lead for interested parishioners for 30 years.

In 1992, Wagner moved back to Michigan to lead the congregation of Community United Methodist Church in North Muskegon. While in North Muskegon, Wagner graduated from the Muskegon Area Leadership Academy and acted as the vice president for several health project initiatives including the Community Mental Health board for Muskegon County and of Hospice of Muskegon-Oceana. He served as a member of the Board for the Muskegon Community Health project.  Wagner also served as vice chair of the North Muskegon Charter Commission that wrote a new city charter. He authored the charter's preamble. The charter was adopted by an 80% majority. Alongside this work, Wagner acted as the chairman of the West Shore Committee for Jewish Christian Dialogue.

While serving in North Muskegon, Wagner also led several community efforts, including the Community United Methodist Church Rocket Team, a student organization made up of students from Mona Shores, Reeths-Puffer and North Muskegon public schools that competed in the Michigan Rockets for Schools competition. Under Wagner's leadership, the team was named State champion four times and finished second in the state twice while also winning individual awards for tabletop display, website design, payload, oral presentation, and actual flight.

During his tenure in North Muskegon Glenn co-hosted a prime time talk show, “Sundays Lessons” that aired twice weekly for seven years on Muskegon area cable television. The ecumenical program featured local clergy sharing conversation about weekly Biblical lectionary texts.

In 1996 Glenn served as one of the representatives from the West Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church to the meeting of the World Methodist Council held in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

With other Muskegon Area United Methodist Clergy Glenn helped to facilitate an annual Super Sunday leadership training event designed to inspire and equip church leaders for a variety of roles in ministry.

In 1999 Glenn participated with his family in a pastoral exchange program sponsored by the World Methodist Council and served for a summer the congregations of Poppleton, Rufforth, and Hessay on the York Circuit of the British Methodist Church in England. Rev. Daniel Mwailu and his family from England served Community United Methodist Church in North Muskegon that same summer.

In 2006 on Wagner’s final Sunday after 14 years as pastor in North Muskegon, in honor of Wagner’s thirtieth anniversary of ordained ministry, his family, friends, and congregations served established an endowed and named Glenn M. Wagner scholarship at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. The scholarship has been assisting a deserving ministry candidate with educational expenses at the seminary every year since. Bishop Sharon Rader was the guest preacher for the occasion. As the Superintendent for the Grand Rapids District in the West Michigan Conference in 1992, Rader was instrumental in Wagner’s appointment to serve as pastor in North Muskegon.

In 2006, Wagner was appointed pastor at Holt United Methodist Church in Holt, Michigan as the 45th pastor in the church's 161-year history. During his eight years of pastoral leadership in Holt, the congregation retired its debt, created more accessible and energy efficient buildings, expanded mission outreach to the community and became involved in Christian leadership training. He was named "People’s Choice" pastor for Holt by the Lansing State Journal three times in eight years and provided leadership for the Lansing District Board of Church Building and Location and the West Michigan Conference Nominating Committee. He also served as a member of the West Michigan Conference Board of Ordained Ministry.

Wagner returned to Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in 2010 to become a certified clergy coach through the school and the Samaritan Counseling Center.

Following his service in Holt, Wagner succeeded Rev. Daniel Duncan as the pastor of United Methodist Church of the Dunes in Grand Haven, Michigan in July 2014.  In Grand Haven during Wagner’s tenure, the church retired its mortgage and played an active role in community ministries like Kid’s Hope, Family Promise, and Mission for Area People.

Throughout his ministry, Glenn was an active supporter and organizer of mission work week experiences for youth and adults in parishes he served. Teams served in John’s Island South Carolina, Henderson Settlement and Red Bird Mission in Kentucky, and the Navajo United Methodist Mission School in Farmington, New Mexico.

In August 2015, Wagner was selected as one of two co-chairs of the United Methodist Michigan Conference Design Team by Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey. The decision was made following an affirmative vote to combine the West Michigan and Detroit Annual Conferences. The Design Team, made up of 26 members from around the state of Michigan, have worked to design an annual Methodist conference for the over 800 United Methodist congregations in Michigan.

As a result of the Design Team collaboration, 2016 saw the beginning of the two areas holding a joint conference in Acme, Michigan at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa. In 2019, the Detroit and West Michigan Conferences combined to form the Michigan Conference.

In 2016, Wagner released his first book, entitled God-Incidents: Real-Life Stories to Strengthen and Restore Your Faith.

Wagner retired from full-time pastoral ministry in December of 2016.

Wagner is currently a regular contributor for Michigan United Methodist Communications online publications MIFaith, and MIConnect. In 2021 Wagner’s MIFaith article, “What Would Wesley Think?” received second place honors from the United Methodist Association of Communicators In the category of writing: Non-Fiction Story, Annual Conference/Local Church Division. In 2022 Wagner’s article for MIFaith, “A Lawyer with a Gift” received third place recognition from the United Methodist Association of Communicators in the same category.

Education

Glenn Wagner is a 1971 graduate of York High School. He attended Hope College in Holland, Michigan. Wagner graduated with a B.A. with honors from Hope College in 1975. The year before he graduated from Hope College, Wagner attended the American University of Beirut and the Near East School of Theology. While there, he was the starting forward for the 1973 Lebanese National Championship basketball team for the university. He went on to receive the Mersick preaching prize in 1976 and earned his Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School in 1978.  Wagner completed his Doctor of Ministry degree in 1986 from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. In 2000 and 2009, Wagner traveled to Jerusalem to further his education in the history and geography of the Bible at Jerusalem University College.

Wagner married his wife Nancy (Oosting) on August 30, 1975 in Fremont, Michigan. The Wagners are proud parents and grandparents.