Wayne became the founding minister of All Faiths Unitarian Congregation in February 2001. He is a Unitarian Universalist minister, having served UU congregations in Oklahoma, Minnesota, Michigan and Florida. He was a United Methodist pastor and also served as editor of The Oklahoma Methodist Newspaper, and Creative Director of the United Methodist Reporter, as well as consulting with several general agencies, including the General Board of Higher Education and Ministries, the Black College Fund, the Upper Room, and scripted the series featured on PBS, The Other School System. Both his parents were ministers in the Pentecostal Holiness Church, where Wayne first began preaching as a General Evangelist. He was instrumental in enabling Oral Roberts’ entry into the United Methodist Church, as well as ghosting his autobiography for Doubleday, and serving as editor-in-chief of publications for the Oral Roberts Association, executive producer of television, and vice president for public affairs at Oral Roberts University.

Before entering Unitarian Universalist ministry, he served in a wide variety of nonprofit positions including television, radio, advertising, fundraising and direct mail. He was Senior Vice-President and Creative Director of the Russ Reid Company in Los Angeles, the world’s largest advertising agency for nonprofits. He ghosted more than a dozen books for others, and authored three (I Once Spoke in Tongues; Oral: an unauthorized biography; and compiled What’s a nice church like you doing in a place like this?). He has done extensive on-camera work, the most recent in SW Florida being the moderating of a panel for WGCU-TV with Ray Suarez of the Lehrer News Hour, as well as an interview with Muslim Chaplain James Yee, a former Guantanamo Air Force chaplain.

 His education includes a Bachelor of Theology, Southwestern College of Christian Ministries; a Bachelor of Arts (journalism), Oklahoma City University; and a Master of Theology and Doctor of Ministry, from Southern Methodist University (Dallas). In addition to his settled ministry at All Faiths, he is beginning his fourth year as an adjunct professor of civic engagement at Florida Gulf Coast University. He recently spent two summers in continuing education at Oxford University (Christ Church). He has traveled widely, including Africa, Europe, Latin America, North America (Mexico and Canada) and the Middle East. He wrote his doctoral project in Israel and the Occupied Territories.

His daughter, Laura Gadberry, is mother of two of his grandchildren; she was formerly on staff at Panhandle Planned Parenthood and then President of their board. Her husband is an attorney and serves as General Counsel for the Texas Nursing Homes Association.

Wayne’s son, Brett, is a real estate developer, and vice-president of Continental Real Estate in Columbus, Ohio. His wife is the mother of their two children, and an active volunteer.

Wayne and Sharon Hazelton, his former wife, adopted a third child, Carol, when she was eight and reared her until she was 19. She is a Native American of Choctaw descent. She and her husband Rick, have three children. Carol is a nationally recognized artist, and her work is available in the gift shops of the Smithsonian and the Interior Department in D.C. Elena Carol Pate was a finalist at the internationally renowned Santa Fe Art Market.

Wayne has been an activist for most of his adult life, which has included serving on the boards of two family planning agencies, as well as clergy groups in support of reproductive health care for all women. He has led successful efforts against sectarian school board policies both in Oklahoma and Florida leading to substantive changes in football game prayers, baccalaureate services, and teaching bible courses in public schools. He also led a successful city-wide effort in Oklahoma City to halt the firing of a librarian for refusing to remove two books for children on sex education. Other involvements include:

 n            “Christian Peace Witness for Iraq,” in Washington, D.C., for which he was arrested, handcuffed, fingerprinted and taken to the D.C. Anacostia jail.

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 n            Created and directed Symposium ’71, a protest against the Vietnam War, featuring William Sloane Coffin, Jr., the Rev. Joseph Lowery, et al.

 n            The lead plaintiff in a federal civil liberties suit decided in federal district court, at the 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals, and finally by the U.S. Supreme Court, which led to the removal of the cross from the city seal of Edmond, Oklahoma. 

n            Named “Visionary of Lee County” (Gulfshore Magazine); “Citizen of the Year” (Social Workers of SW Florida); “Courageous Plaintiff” award (Oklahoma Chapter) American Civil Liberties Union; appeared on national NBC Today Show twice as part of a successful effort to remove a fundamentalist bible class from the high schools of Lee County; and is a frequent “Guest Columnist” for the News-Press in Ft. Myers.