About the Director, Lyle Thomas
Education
Lyle received his undergraduate degree from Duke University in Music and Comparative Area Studies. His graduate work was in Social Work and Christian Education, degrees which he received from Virginia Commonwealth University and the Presbyterian School of Christian Education, respectively. He is also fully trained as a Life Coach through Lifeforming Leadership Coaching. Lyle's counseling training has come from several sources beyond his graduate education. He studied for over two years with the Christian Counseling and Training Center in Richmond in Biblical (nouthetic) Counseling. Additionally, he has received training in Theophostic ministry from Ed Smith and in prayer counseling from Mark Virkler. Experience
In addition to counseling and life coaching, Lyle has had numerous other experiences to round him out. He has taught outdoor education to kids in New England, English to Muslims in Soviet Central Asia, math and geography to delinquents in Oregon, and Vacation Bible School in Richmond and Russia. He has ministered to the poor and homeless in various capacities. His passion and vision is for citywide transformation, and so he founded and served as the director of Christian Ministries United, a coalition of over 60 nonprofits dedicated to helping broker strategic relationships for large-scale change in Richmond from 1998-2007. Under CMU’s auspices, Lyle began work forging a national coalition of ministries for the Community of Dreams Alliance, recruiting congregations to become partners for incarnational missions. Family
Lyle has been married to a wonderful wife, Diana (nee Leinbach), since 1992. Not all of that time was smooth, however, as he freely admits to his clients. His struggle to work through that dark period in their relationship had as profound an impact on his counseling practice as any of the formal training he has received. Lyle and Diana have three children, Lydia (1998), Kerith (2001), and Simon (2004). Diana left her work teaching 6th grade in Hanover public schools to raise and homeschool her children. She now teaches not only them, but other homeschooled and missionary children worldwide through The Potters School (since 2002) via the only synchronous learning model found anywhere online. Current Venue
Lyle and his family left Virginia in 2007. On staff with Church Resource Ministries, they now live in St. Petersburg Russia with a goal of serving the transformation of that city through coaching leaders into their greater purposes and serving the needs of the orphans and street kids as the Lord leads. Lyle will continue to counsel and coach those anywhere who are interested by phone (or Skype). For others, he will gladly provide a short list of Richmond area counselors whom he trusts. Check out their personal blog here . | 
