St. James Staff
Senior Pastor
Finance Administrator
Finance Administrator
Rev. Tony Bradshaw
Pastor Tony came to St. James in 2014 after serving for 12 years as pastor of St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in Lenoir, NC. His undergraduate degree is from Appalachian State University where he studied accounting. He holds master’s degrees in accounting (Appalachian State University-1980) and divinity (Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary - 2002). Prior to his ordination in 2002, Pastor Tony worked as a State auditor, Certified Public Accountant, college professor, and a university administrator. He and his wife Deborah have been married for 35 years.
Finance Administrator
Finance Administrator
Finance Administrator
Jill Irvin
Jill joined the staff as Finance Administrator in August 2015. She is a life-long member of St. James Lutheran Church where she is active in the Altar Guild and the Bells of St. James. She graduated from Wake Forest University in 1982 with a B.S. in Mathematics. She began her career in Bank Accounting/ Finance and was most recently employed as Finance Officer with Cabarrus Arts Council, a local non-profit. She is married to Frank and has four children.
Parish Administrator
Finance Administrator
Parish Administrator
Keith Sutton
Keith brings experience in business and technology. He graduated from UNC-Charlotte in 1979 with a degree in accounting and worked in the Auditing/Tax department of Cannon Mills Company. In 1983 he earned a NC Teaching Certificate from Lenoir-Rhyne University in Business Education. He taught public high school for 23 years in accounting, computer applications, computer engineering, and computer networking. He left teaching in 2007 and served for 12 years as Office Administrator at Calvary Lutheran Church.
Director of Music
Youth and Family Ministry
Parish Administrator
Rob Keene
Rob Keene earned a Bachelor of Music degree in organ performance, summa cum laude, at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. At Indiana University, Rob joined Christopher Young’s organ studio, earning a Master of Music degree. He gained admittance to the doctoral program and continued his studies for one year before seeking full-time employment as a church musician.
Rob moved to Virginia in August, 2011, to work as Organist and Director of Music at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Newport News. Prior to his appointment at Trinity, Rob served United Methodist and Evangelical Lutheran churches in Indiana for twelve years. In 2012, he began serving Jewish congregations as well. Soon after, he was appointed Director of Music at Congregation Emet V'Or in Newport News.
Late in 2019, Rob moved to Concord, North Carolina, to begin work at St. James Lutheran Church. He is happiest when rehearsing and performing within ensembles. In 2014, Rob successfully auditioned to sing with The Virginia Chorale; previously he sang in the professional core of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus. In 2017, he joined the professional Schola Cantorum at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond, Virginia. During his academic and professional careers, Rob has sung under many notable conductors, including Robert Nance, William Jon Gray, JoAnn Falletta, Charles Woodward, and Daniel Sańez.
For several years he was an instructor with Christopher Newport University's LifeLong Learning Society, leading courses on Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Mozart, and Wagner's Ring Cycle, among others.
Youth and Family Ministry
Youth and Family Ministry
Youth and Family Ministry
Mike Holt
Mike grew up in Charlotte and moved to Concord in 1991. He is a graduate of Pfeiffer University where he majored in Christian Education with a minor in Religion. He is an ordained Minister of Word and Service in the ELCA and has served in Youth and Family Ministry since 1996. He and his wife Ann have been married since 2000 and have two children, Emma and Alex.
Hospitality Director
Youth and Family Ministry
Youth and Family Ministry
Cindy Cruse
Cindy Cruse is our hospitality coordinator. Cindy was born in Charlotte and graduated from West Charlotte High School. She studied paralegal at Brookstone College. She currently works as a cafeteria associate at Hickory Ridge High School. Cindy is married to David Cruse and is the mother of Jay. Cindy enjoys baking and going to the beach.
