Our Story

​LeaderPaths originated in idea form in 2010 as a Leadership & Discipleship experiential learning event. First called "Leader Legacy" in 2012, a great group of high school students from a church in North Carolina embarked on the very first "Sage" pathway learning biblical wisdom and leadership through experiencing the life of George Washington. Two years later the LeaderPaths experiences became a mainstay for the church with other churches, schools, and organizations asking when the trips would be available to them.

But experiential trips were not the only aspect...they were culminating events in a focused discipleship environment.  That environment brought freedom, hope, and understanding of purpose to all ages by encouraging people to know their identity in Christ and "become nerdy theologians passionate for Jesus".  Our team, all of whom were impacted by the discipleship environment are working together to  share with you pathways of confident discipleship. 

The founder of LeaderPaths, Shane Lakey, had grown tired of the accepted psychology of human development (which changes often) and the role churches, schools, and corporations stereotypically, yet often inadvertently, play in continuing the trend of emotional dependence.  Shane, an experienced counselor and pastor with entertainment and corporate world experience, decided to do something about it, and he put together a small team of people with whom vision was cast. The result was highly successful discipleship events and environments; LeaderPaths is now bringing that environment of learning, wisdom development, biblical discipleship, and biblical transformation to your group!   

If you are looking for a fresh, yet timelessly proven, approach to discipleship and development, LeaderPaths is available to come alongside you and your organization.

 

Our team

SHANE LAKEY
​Founder, President

Shane's bio

Shane Lakey is a pastor, biblical counselor, leadership coach, and educator with over twenty years of experience working with the next generation and their families. After serving 14 years in pastoral ministry, Shane continued in his passionate calling for intentional discipleship through counseling  and leadership development with CrossLife Ministries where he serves as Executive Director. 
Before pastoral and counseling ministry, Shane’s experience included working in professional sports, live entertainment, audio/visual design and integration, and hospitality.
Shane believes that every career opportunity and step he has taken has been in preparation for relating the deeper truths of theology and philosophy in a down-to-earth, relatable manner that invites others into the deeper freedom of God's truth.
Shane holds bachelors degrees in Theology and Communications from Houston Baptist University and a masters degree in Professional Counseling from Liberty University.  He is a Certified Christian Counselor and Certified Pastoral Counselor through the Board of Christian Professional & Pastoral Counselors.  He is the author of multiple experiential leadership development curricula, a personal coach to young adults across the Southeast, and a certified SYMBIS Facilitator.  He and his wife, Rebecca are the parents of three children residing in Raleigh, NC.

MATT FERRI
​contributor
​

MATT'S BIO

Matthew Ferri is a graduate of Regent University’s Government program. Though bound for law school, God, in His gracious providence, placed a call on Matthew’s life for vocational ministry where he currently serves as Associate Pastor in East Tennessee.

Matthew’s educational background produced in him a love for the classics, philosophy, and above all else, for Christ Himself. Though a sinner, God’s truth set him free unto peace with God. Because of this, Matthew’s desire for the clarity of truth is the pinnacle of his efforts in discipleship, both personally and with others. In hindsight, every endeavor was guided by God’s hand to prepare and equip him for where he is called now. Matthew has served in both the public and private sectors of employment, through which his love for theology was honed and refined as he engaged with the world.
 
Matthew and his wife Danielle are blessed to have three incredible boys and a loving church family. They enjoy time together reading, hiking, and living in the freedom that only the Spirit of God can provide. 

RONNIE TATE
​Contributor
​

RONNIE's bio

Ronnie Tate received his formal education at Fayetteville Technical Community College and Bladen Community College. He is a paramedic and a Registered Nurse.  He currently serves as a Registered Nurse at a major hospital in North Carolina.  Ronnie became interested in history, philosophy, and theology while he was in high school.  Since then, he has developed his knowledge in these areas through extensive self-study and experiences across the globe.  Ronnie has a passion for teaching and hopes to help young Christians learn to stand firm on truth in a society which emphasizes critical theory and in a church which too often promotes the social gospel.  He currently resides in Fayetteville, NC with his wife and 2 sons. He is working toward a career as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. 

PHIL DEAN
Vice PResident, Curricula

phil's bio

Phil is a lifelong resident of Hope Mills, North Carolina.  He graduated from South View High School in 1979.  After attending UNC-Wilmington for one year, he returned to Hope Mills, married, and began his family.  Despite a successful career in sales, Phil's passions turned toward educating the next generation. 
Phil, pursuing a career shift to education, graduated with honors from Fayetteville State University in 1998 with a B.S. in History Education.  He began teaching at South View High School in the fall of 1999.
In 2006, he completed a Master’s Degree in Education. 
During his time at South View he coached football, basketball, softball and women’s tennis. He also served on various committees during his tenure at South View.
Phil is a member of Southview Baptist Church in Hope Mills, NC  (over thirty years).  During his time at Southview Baptist he has served as a Journey Group leader, a youth leader, a deacon, and is currently a member of the Corporate Board, serving as its chairman.
As a youth leader, he became part of the LeaderPaths group on the initial Sage trip in the summer of 2012.  He has been a part of numerous other LeaderPaths trips.  His focus is on experiences and curricula for the trips.

JOSHUA BOVEE
​Logikos Coordinator

JOSH'S BIO

​Joshua Bovee serves in full time church ministry in Tennessee and is a graduate of Carolina College of Biblical Studies holding a Bachelor's in Biblical Studies & a Bachelors in Apologetics.  Josh is pursuing a Masters of Divinity in Apologetics at Southern Evangelical Seminary.
Josh received his classical training while getting his Apologetics degree where his eyes were open to finally understand the critical thinking he had always used during high school.
​Josh's passion is to educate our youth about the dangers of our culture by teaching the natural and special revelation. Teaching the classical approach to apologetics, and educating the youth about opposite religions that are rooted in bad philosophy. An educated Christ follower is a dangerous Christ follower.

 

Guiding Philosophy & Principles

Purpose: To live out an unquenchable passion for Truth compelling us to discipleship of others through education, experience, and transparency.  
Vision:  To equip within this generation and future generations an ever-increasing knowledge of and fulfillment in God that joyfully transforms by renewing minds, that discerns in a confused culture, and that possesses vision for the future in light of eternity.
Values:
Sufficiency of Christ
Truth & Grace
Spiritual Maturity
Logical Honesty, Classical Approach
Sound Doctrine
Eternal Mindset
​Love for God and His creation

 

Statement on Theology

​The Bible
The Bible is the infallible, inerrant, and inspired Word of God; it is authoritative, divine revelation.  The veracity of the Bible has been confirmed repeatedly through critical academic scrutiny and remains the most published, most read, most translated, most widely circulated collection of writings in all of history.
The Trinity
The Trinity is the unity of three distinct yet fully divine persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; these three are one true, eternal God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
God
God, the Father or first person of the Trinity, is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. God is fully omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, not given to learning or "openness."
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, is truly God and truly man, having two natures inseparably united in one divine person without confusion, mixture, separation, or division. Each nature retains its own attributes. In the incarnation, Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a perfect life among us, was crucified, dead, and buried, rose on the third day, ascended to heaven, and will come again in glory and judgment. He is the only Mediator between God and man.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son, and dwells in the hearts of believers, effecting regeneration and operating in their sanctification.
Creation
God, by the word of His power, created ex nihilo the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. He preserves and governs all His creatures and all their actions according to His most holy, wise, and powerful providence.
Man
After God made the other creatures, He created man, both male and female, in His own image, but because Adam sinned and woefully fell in his responsibility, he and his posterity entered into a state of moral corruption and moral inability according to God’s standard becoming estranged from their Creator, thus giving rise to naturalistic thinking and deserving death as the punishment for sin.
Atonement
Because all have sinned, atonement must be made in order for man to be reconciled to God. Jesus Christ made a complete atonement for His people through His substitutionary atoning death on the cross. He imputes His righteousness to all believers securing us full redemption for all who repent of their sin and trust in Him alone for salvation.
The Law
The moral law perfectly reflects the unchangeable character of God and forever binds all people, believers as well as unbelievers.
The Church
Christ has established a visible church (those true believers), which is called to live in the power of the Holy Spirit under the authority of Holy Scripture, preaching the gospel of Christ, administering the sacraments, calling all believers to full maturity of faith, and exercising discipline.

 

Statements on Cultural Ideologies

Theism vs Naturalism
The generations coming up in our culture today are tired of being lied to, but have not understood the tools of discernment that God has graciously provided.  They bounce from one cause or culturally popular idea to the next without recognizing the futility, but eventually struggling from the futility.  Depression, anxiety, and ADD diagnosis are at an all-time high, and hopelessness abounds under the cloak of existentialism.  With the negative impact of attractional church and poor discipleship, this existentialism is just as prevalent in the church as it is outside of the church.  Cultural Marxism has feasted on the easy prey of those languishing under the hopelessness, and now the culture feels used and scared.  In essence the generations who hate being lied to have bought into lies.
The root issue behind these struggles is the ages old battle between Theism and Naturalistic Materialism (or Naturalism).  Theism is the doctrinal, philosophical premise that if God created, there is order and purpose to all Creation; therefore, a life outside of this order will naturally bring consequence that highlights a need for true transformation of belief and action. 
Naturalism is the philosophy spawning the doctrines of humanism which presupposes the absence of a theistic being leaving humanity as the peak of living beings.  If humanity, in and of itself, is the peak of existence, then in essence humanity is its own god, and morality and ethos are subjective ideologies allowing humanity to destroy itself under the false pretenses of a gnostic intelligence and absence of objectivity.  This ideology has spawned the doctrines below that have been proven repeatedly by history, philosophy, science, and theology to be harmful to those operating under their false pretenses:
Subjective morality
Social gospel
Social justice
Identity politics
Gender Identity
LGBTQ+ agenda
Progressivism/Marxism/Mutualism/Socialism/Communism
Darwinian Evolution/Macro Evolution

Naturalistic philosophy preaches that humans are perfectible by their own work, according to man’s standard. It seeks to divide men from one another and from God. Christian Theism seeks to unite all men under the banner of truth and as followers of the one true Creator. It calls its followers to a higher standard than that which is laid out by man. Christianity preaches the truth that all men are by nature sinful and unclean, and that only through the propitiation of Christ can we be atoned with Him.

For the reasons above and the desire to see people living in the freedom of Truth, LeaderPaths rejects the shifting sand philosophy of naturalism. LeaderPaths embraces classical Christian theism for its immutable philosophy that answers the deepest inquiries with consistency.  Unlike the gnostic approach to naturalism, Christian theism is revealed to all of humanity through scripture and evidenced in the creation, which is founded on the unchanging nature of God.