Meet Pastor Tom Eisenman...
Tom Eisenman is the founder and president of With You Ministries. He is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church and has served churches in San Diego, Boulder, Colorado, Danville, California, and the California Sierra Mountains.
Pastor Tom’s expressed calling is to promote the healthy inner life of Christian leaders. To this end, With You Ministries (Mt. 28.20) reaches out to companion pastors, missionaries, church staffs and their families, Christian camping professionals and students in training for ministry.
Pastor Eisenman has been a practicing Pastoral Spiritual Director since 1998. He received in the spring of 2007 a post graduate diploma in the Art of Spiritual Direction from San Francisco Seminary. He is currently seeing 30+ men and women in monthly Spiritual Direction--face to face when possible--although many of his appointments today make use of Zoom and other technologies.
Pastor Eisenman leads numerous Sabbath and Contemplative retreats for pastors each year, "Deeper in Christ" retreats and 24 hour prayer and reflection times for pastors and other Christian leaders seeking more authentic intimacy with God and more Christ-centered ministries. He plans and helps lead training retreats for other Spiritual Directors, and is a teacher and trainer for Christian Formation and Direction Ministries in Southern California. Pastor Tom works with church staffs in small group direction and staff relationship building based on better listening and deeper understanding between members. Pastor Tom is a trained and certified practitioner of the Enneagram Spectrum of Personality Styles, and assists individuals and groups in understanding their style and the styles of others, leading to better communication. Tom is a member of Spiritual Directors International and the San Diego Spiritual Directors Association. He is a trainer, retreat leader, and participant in bi-annual Spiritual Director retreats for the Pacific Southwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church. He meets regularly with a spiritual director himself, and participates in monthly professional supervision.
Tom is also noted speaker and author. Pastor Eisenman’s articles have appeared in Moody Monthly, Decision, Focus on the Family, Discipleship Journal and numerous other publications. He has written two family life courses published by David C. Cook--On My Own for young singles, and Big People, Little People for families with young children. He is the author of several publications with Inter Varsity Press including Everyday Evangelism, his best selling men’s book Temptations Men Face, and a book for families called, Temptations Families Face. Eisenman’s fantasy undersea novel, The Whale’s War, is great family reading. Tom has recently published another book with IVP, The Accountable Man, which is designed to help Christian men (and interested women) learn the skills necessary to develop deeper, more lasting and meaningful friendships. His IVP booklet entitled Temptation, has sold over 50,000 copies world wide. Tom’s writings have been published and distributed internationally. His books have been translated and released in Spanish, Pakistani, Indonesian, Portuguese, Korean, Chinese, Moroccan and even Indian Urdu.
Pastor Tom says for fun he enjoys woodworking, boogie boarding off the San Diego Coast, eating pizza, and managing his fantasy football team. Tom and his wife, Judie, have been married 61 years and live in the San Diego area. They have four grown children—Jana, Joshua, Jason, and Gabriel, and have two grandsons.
Personal Endorsements for Pastor Eisenman's Ministry
Reverend Jim Gaderlund, Facilitator, Pacific Southwest Conference spiritual Directors Network Consultant, Sustaining Pastoral Excellence, Dept. of the Ordered Ministry of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
It has been my privilege to have worked with Tom Eisenman for over a decade in spiritual direction ministries and retreat leadership. Tom is a colleague who I value highly. It has been a great pleasure to work side-by-side with him as we have offered opportunities for pastors to find refreshment, restoration, and intimacy with God.
Tom and I have partnered on Revisioning Retreats for the Evangelical Covenant Church which have offered pastors and church staff ministers the chance to step away from the busyness of ministry for a week at a time and learn new ways to live into “the unforced rhythms of grace.” Tom is a skilled teacher of many prayer practices and has been a much appreciated spiritual director for retreatants. I’ve heard their positive comments about his sensitivity and attentiveness as he has journeyed with them in spiritual direction, leading them into a deeper awareness of God’s work and word in their lives and into a deeper experience of God’s love for them.
As you may be considering Tom as your own spiritual director or as a retreat leader, I would highly recommend Tom for your consideration.
Jim Gaderlund
Reverend Joanna Quintrell, Executive Director of The Journey Center, Santa Rosa, CA
I am writing this letter in support of Pastor Tom Eisenman and his retreat and spiritual direction ministry. Tom and I have worked together on the PSWC spiritual direction team for several years. As we have participated in training retreats together, I have had the wonderful experience of watching the sensitive and Spirit-led manner in which he facilitates contemplative retreats, leads times of worship and prayer, and offers spiritual direction to individuals.
We have also served together as spiritual directors for the Evangelical Covenant’s Revisioning Retreats and on the leadership team for the PSWC’s Pastoral Spiritual Direction team. In those settings we have had the opportunity to envision and plan collaboratively, and then to serve in shared leadership in team settings. Tom is gifted and skilled at coming into a group and discerning how he can best use his gifts to be helpful to the community he is in.
Tom’s many years of experience in pastoral ministry are an invaluable background as he now focuses his ministry energies on supporting pastors, missionaries, church staffs and their spouses through offering spiritual direction, pastoral counseling and retreats. He brings a richness of resources and is a gifted, compassionate and sensitive servant of the Lord who has a big heart for people and especially those who are serving in ministry. I highly recommend him, knowing that God will be working through him to bless and encourage all whose lives he touches!
Blessings, Joanna Quintrell, Executive Director and Covenant Pastor
Reverend Jim Gaderlund, Facilitator, Pacific Southwest Conference spiritual Directors Network Consultant, Sustaining Pastoral Excellence, Dept. of the Ordered Ministry of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
It has been my privilege to have worked with Tom Eisenman for over a decade in spiritual direction ministries and retreat leadership. Tom is a colleague who I value highly. It has been a great pleasure to work side-by-side with him as we have offered opportunities for pastors to find refreshment, restoration, and intimacy with God.
Tom and I have partnered on Revisioning Retreats for the Evangelical Covenant Church which have offered pastors and church staff ministers the chance to step away from the busyness of ministry for a week at a time and learn new ways to live into “the unforced rhythms of grace.” Tom is a skilled teacher of many prayer practices and has been a much appreciated spiritual director for retreatants. I’ve heard their positive comments about his sensitivity and attentiveness as he has journeyed with them in spiritual direction, leading them into a deeper awareness of God’s work and word in their lives and into a deeper experience of God’s love for them.
As you may be considering Tom as your own spiritual director or as a retreat leader, I would highly recommend Tom for your consideration.
Jim Gaderlund
Reverend Joanna Quintrell, Executive Director of The Journey Center, Santa Rosa, CA
I am writing this letter in support of Pastor Tom Eisenman and his retreat and spiritual direction ministry. Tom and I have worked together on the PSWC spiritual direction team for several years. As we have participated in training retreats together, I have had the wonderful experience of watching the sensitive and Spirit-led manner in which he facilitates contemplative retreats, leads times of worship and prayer, and offers spiritual direction to individuals.
We have also served together as spiritual directors for the Evangelical Covenant’s Revisioning Retreats and on the leadership team for the PSWC’s Pastoral Spiritual Direction team. In those settings we have had the opportunity to envision and plan collaboratively, and then to serve in shared leadership in team settings. Tom is gifted and skilled at coming into a group and discerning how he can best use his gifts to be helpful to the community he is in.
Tom’s many years of experience in pastoral ministry are an invaluable background as he now focuses his ministry energies on supporting pastors, missionaries, church staffs and their spouses through offering spiritual direction, pastoral counseling and retreats. He brings a richness of resources and is a gifted, compassionate and sensitive servant of the Lord who has a big heart for people and especially those who are serving in ministry. I highly recommend him, knowing that God will be working through him to bless and encourage all whose lives he touches!
Blessings, Joanna Quintrell, Executive Director and Covenant Pastor
