Meet Our LeadingSmart Cohort Leaders

It is my absolute pleasure to introduce our four cohort leaders for the LeadingSmart Executive Pastor Coaching Network.

Throughout the next year, Taleah Murray, Dennis Richards, Milan Ford, and Trace Rorie will be joining us for our 2-hour Coaching Network sessions. During the second hour of the session, members of the Network will be divided into four cohorts based on church size. These cohorts will be sent to separate Zoom breakout rooms where they will meet their cohort leaders. 

We would love for you to get to know a little about our cohort leaders before you meet them on Monday, January 25th.

Taleah Murray

Taleah Murray started as the Executive Assistant to the Senior Pastor at Crossroads Christian Church in Corona, California in 2007, and was unconventionally promoted to Executive Pastor five years later. She has spent the last eight years developing organizational strategies, coaching communicators, stepping into any and all gaps, and leading leaders as the Executive Pastor of Ministries.

Taleah is an Enneagram junkie, has a newfound passion for studying the Bible through the Middle Eastern lens, and is always up for crazy adventures with her husband and their three kids!

Dennis Richards 

Born in St. Louis Missouri, Dennis Richards has lived coast-to-coast throughout his life. Privileged to be raised in a Christian home, Dennis trusted Christ as his savior at an early age and pursued his personal journey with the Lord with passion. His early career focused on the interior design industry, where he held positions in marketing for companies that serviced the commercial architectural and interior design communities. 

For the past sixteen years God has opened the doors for Dennis to apply his business acumen to help churches in leadership positions to grow and multiply the kingdom. He has served as Lead Director of Connections at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship, Executive Pastor at Hill Country Bible Fellowship-UT in Austin, Preston Trail Community Church and as the Executive Pastor at Christ Fellowship in McKinney, Texas.

Dennis has been married to his wife, Susan, for thirty-seven years. They have two adult daughters and enjoy being the grandparents to five beautiful grandchildren. Dennis and Susan have resided in North Texas for twenty years. Outside his love for God and family, Dennis is a musician and passionate lover of all things guitar. 

Milan Ford

With over two decades of ministry leadership experience, D. Milan Ford has served alongside some of the most influential churches and faith-based organizations in the country. After serving as Marketing Coordinator for Chick-fil-A Restaurants, an Executive Consultant for Vanderbloemen Search Group, and an Executive Pastor for ARC churches in both Austin (Texas) and Charlotte (NC), Milan currently serves as the Executive Director of Operations at Turning Point Church, located in McDonough, Georgia. He and his wife, Imani are the parents of three children, Kayla, Aliyah, and Ethan.

Trace Rorie

Trace Rorie currently serves as the Executive Pastor of Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana. After serving for thirteen years within the arts department at GCC as a musician and creative, Trace left his staff role at the church to pursue a career in leadership and organizational development within the marketplace. After spending the last handful of years coaching and consulting with numerous global organizations and brands, he returned to Granger to help lead the church in the XP role he currently occupies.

Husband to Stephanie and father to Addison, Caden, and Evelynn, his family is always his first ministry. To him, there's no more fulfilling a role than leading and loving his family well.



The LeadingSmart Executive Pastor Coaching Network will be meeting on the 4th Monday of every month from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM CT. Our first meeting of 2021 will be on Monday, January 25th. You can sign up for the Network or find more information here.