Dr. Paul McGuinness: Faculty Spotlight

by Julie Jeffery Manwarren 

Dr. Paul McGuinness (’99, ’03, ’15), otherwise known as “Dr. Mac” to his students, is the director of Clarks Summit University’s Intercultural Studies program. Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, McGuinness moved to the US as a child, where his father pastored a church in Westwood, New Jersey. 

“I knew early on that I wanted to be a pastor,” said Dr. McGuinness. “I saw in my dad something I wanted to emulate. He wasn’t a hypocrite. The pastor I saw on Sunday was the dad I saw at home on Monday. His staying power in ministry became a part of me. I saw faithfulness modeled in him over 35 years in one place.” 

In that small church, Dr. McGuinness met Aimee Selvaggio (’99, ‘03) who would later become his wife. The couple has four children. 

Dr. McGuinness came to Clarks Summit University as a freshman in 1995. Although he had his heart set on youth ministry, God grew in him a burden for global ministry. 

“Looking back, global ministry and global pursuits were such a big part of my life,” said Dr. McGuinness. “I didn’t set out to do that; I just set out to serve God. But I see it as a theme in my life.” 

From being born in Zimbabwe to taking missions trips in high school, Dr. McGuinness was exposed to a biblical worldview and global ministry early on. He went to Austria and Japan in high school. “It was in Japan, as I spent time in the Word and prayer, that I felt that God had something to say to me, personally,” Dr. McGuinness said. “It really confirmed what was coming—the move to Baptist Bible College (now CSU) and into ministry. I had full confidence that CSU was the next step. It is interesting looking back now that that call came during global ministry in a foreign setting.” 

One Thing 

Although it has taken a few different forms, Dr. McGuiness has not deviated from God’s call into ministry. It led him to get training at CSU. “I didn’t visit other schools, I didn’t even consider other schools,” Dr. McGuinness said. “That summer in Japan confirmed for me that CSU was the place. Early on, God showed me that once I knew what the next step was in anything, I was to do that and sit tight there and stay faithful there.” 

Three degrees and almost 30 years later, Dr. McGuinness has been equipped, trained and planted at this university—all to serve and glorify the Lord. 

As a freshman at CSU, Dr. McGuinness and his best friend got lost trying to visit a church on the other side of town and ended up at Parker Hill Community Church (now LCBC). “What was an unintentional visit ended up being the one church I’ve stayed at for 28 years,” said Dr. McGuinness. His stay included both attending and pastoring. 

“I remember realizing that I kind of stick with one thing,” said Dr. McGuinness. “I dated one girl. And I stayed with her. I came to one school; I graduated from here three times, and now I teach here. I went to one church, on accident, because I got lost, and ended up pastoring there for 20 years. It’s just interesting how that has been a theme in my life,” said Dr. McGuinnes. “I guess my advice is this. Find that one thing. That one place, that one ministry, that one calling and just go deep there.” 

Walk This Way 

While serving part-time as a pastor and taking classes at Baptist Bible Seminary, he ended up going on a missions trip. “About that same time, I was taking Dr. Jim King’s class, ‘World Missions and the Local Church’, and it was blowing my mind,” said Dr. McGuinness. “I began to see a better way of doing ministry in a global setting.”  

He led a missions team to South Africa in 2002. “I saw that Americans would come in to Americanize the Africans. I thought, ‘Why are we teaching our African brothers and sisters that they have to be American and do things the American way before they could be good Christians?’ That trip was a turning point for me.” 

At his church, he was asked to work full time as assistant to the pastors and later pastor of global ministry. “Never once did I set out to be a global ministry pastor. It was just the next right thing to do. It was what God called me to do.”  

Dr. McGuinness would lead missions trips to Kenya, Haiti and South Africa and build up the believers there, coming alongside communities so that they could thrive long after he, his team and American supporters pulled out. He also partnered with the 410 Bridge, a Christ-centered, non-profit organization helping to redefine the war on poverty through community development in poverty-stricken nations. 

“God showed me that I didn’t need to leave to do global ministry,” said Dr. McGuinness. “I could do it here. I could mobilize the local church to send people, sponsor kids and give financially to communities around the world. At our church, we saw two communities we supported come to the point of sustainability.” 

Dr. McGuinness earned his doctorate from Baptist Bible Seminary in 2015. His philosophy of missions and global ministry fueled his doctoral dissertation that led to his book, “Walk This Way: A Better Path to Global Engagement,” published in 2015. His years as a pastor and a study on the principles of leadership in the apostle Paul’s life resulted in a second book, “Follow Me: 21 Timeless Leadership Lessons,” published in 2020. 

CSU 

Dr. McGuinness began teaching at Clarks Summit University as an adjunct professor in 2017 while he served as a pastor. By 2020, he knew God was leading him to take a new step. 

Dr. McGuinness is going blind. He has a hereditary disorder called retinitis pigmentosa. Diagnosed as a child, Dr. McGuinness knew that the rods and cones would degenerate to the point that he would eventually lose his sight. 

Currently, he has terrible night vision and poor peripheral vision. He doesn’t drive. As a pastor, it was getting harder to navigate the new buildings and places of a growing ministry at his church.  

“After COVID hit in 2020, we all worked from home for six months. I did fine in my own living room and in my familiar home environment, but when we went back to church, I couldn’t see a thing.” 

“Even though I loved my job as a pastor, when I went back to work at the church after six months of being home, I realized my sight disorder had become a major problem. Every new environment takes me a while to figure out,” he explained. “At church, we had the office, the auditorium, the crowded hallways, and were a multi-site ministry. I also had funeral homes and cemeteries, food giveaways in the parking lot, and ministries in the community. It was overwhelming the number of environments that I had to navigate. When I was home, I just had one familiar space. It was all contained.” 

God began to make it clear to Dr. McGuinness that it was time for him to make a change in ministry. Dr. McGuinness joined CSU faculty as the director of Intercultural Studies. 

“It was crystal clear,” said Dr. McGuinness. “With my eyesight failing, God was leading me out of the pastorate and to teach at CSU. When I started, I asked if I could have the same classroom every time. And I’ve been in this building since 1995. Any other university would be overwhelming to me with my sight issues. I could figure it out, but it would be a challenge. But here, I can find everything. I have been on this campus, and in this building for 28 years now. It’s pretty remarkable.” 

Dr. McGuinness leads missions trips with CSU students and alumni. In the spring of 2023, he led a team to Kenya. A trip to Guatemala is planned for 2024.   

“I don’t know how God works in you, but this is how He’s worked in my life. I never had any idea what the destination was, but He always made the next step really clear. If you just keep taking the next step and do the next right thing—don’t worry; we aren’t there yet. I always felt like if I took matters into my own hands and picked the destination, I could lay this out in a much more linear way. But then I’d never know if I was at the right destination. I have to give it over to God and let Him lead me step by step.” 

Long after his sight is gone, Dr. Paul McGuinness will still see one thing clearly. That the God who saved him as a boy, gave him a call for ministry as a young man, who led him to one woman, one church and one school is worthy of his one life.  

“This one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13b – 14