Preston was born in Cottonwood, Arizona, grew up in Southern California, and spent his high school years in a small town in Kansas. He went to college at Cal Western University on Point Loma (San Diego) and attended seminary in Boston.
Preston has served six United Methodist churches in this Annual Conference including: La Jolla (as associate), Honokaa, HI (a town of 1500 on the Big Island), Poway/Rancho Bernardo (a new church start), La Mesa, Santa Clarita, and Garden Grove. Preston has taken numerous responsibilities beyond the local church at denominational levels, and has taken additional training in areas including: conflict management, clowning, sexual ethics, preaching and healing. Recently, he traveled with other United Methodists to Palestine. Preston speaks about his experiences in Palestine to interested groups throughout the Annual Conference.
Preston collects clowns and crosses, and TiVo’s Myth Busters, Dirty Jobs, Grey’s Anatomy, and Dancing with the Stars. He loves reading Hillerman and any type of biographies. He is married to Jean (40 years) and has two sons both of whom are married. He has five grand-children who he never sees enough. Preston is passionate about preaching and teaching and is known as a mentor for young clergy.