He was born at Upminster, Essex and educated at Southwell Minster Grammar School and Westminster College. After teaching and working for the Inter-Varsity Fellowship, he trained for the ministry at Richmond College. He was chaplain at Hunmanby Hall 1971-1974 and served in the Hull Mission 1974-1977 and as New Testament tutor at Cliff College 1977-1986. After two years in charge of the Longton Central Hall, he moved to the Home Mission Division 1988-1995. He was President of the 1995 Conference and then became Secretary for Evangelism in the new Connexional Team. He retired to Knaresborough in 2000.
Among his publications are Methods of Mission (1979) and (with Ian Randall) a life of Donald English (2003).
In his capacity as musician, hymn-writer and composer, he published thirty of his hymns and songs in Singing Faith. He contributed tunes to Partners in Praise (1979), The Big Blue Planet (1995) and Hymns and Psalms (1983), including both words ('Born in song') and tune ('Chatsworth') of HP 486; SF 21, written to celebrate the bicentenary of Wesley's visit to Paradise Square, Sheffield on 15 July 1779. The words echo the statement that 'Methodism was born in song' in the Preface to Methodist Hymn Book (1933). Four of his hymns and five tunes are in Singing the Faith. New Creation was a full-length musical work for choir, soloists and congregation. He is deputy chairman of the Pratt Green Trust and co-editor of its 'HymnQuest' project.