Dr. Steve Scheibner

In My Seat – A Pilot’s Story

Steve Scheibner knows what it means to have someone die in his place, not once, but twice. On September 10th, 2001 Steve was packed & scheduled to be the pilot of American Airlines flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles the next morning. However, after a series of orchestrated events his feet were still on land when sadly all 87 passengers of flight 11 perished at the World Trade Center.

We all remember where we were when these tragic events happened, join us at The University of the Pacific Alex J. Spanos Center to hear Steve’s miraculous story.

Steve Scheibner Bio

Steve was born Oct. 21st 1960 in Royal Oak, Michigan. His parents worked for the Michigan Central Railroad and lived in a modest home in Livonia, Mich. In 1972, Steve graduated from Unionville High School in 1978. He earned a B.S. in Economics from West Chester University in 1982.

Upon graduation, he joined the U.S. Navy and was commissioned and trained as a pilot in 1983-84. He was deployed three times in four years flying the P3 Orion. Steve left active duty in 1991 and was hired by American Airlines the same year. He currently flies the Boeing 757 and 767 out of Boston’s Logan Airport normally flying routes that take him to the west coast. His total flight time is well over 12,000 hours. During the late 90’s, Steve started his graduate education at Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary in Lansdale PA.

In July of 2000, Steve founded Cornerstone Baptist Church.. Steve has remained active in the Navy Reserve. In 2001, Steve was asked to design and teach a course in Navy Core Values. The course has found broad acceptance and Steve is a highly sought after trainer and motivational speaker. More than 10,000 service members have attended his Core Values seminars, since it’s inception in early 2002.

Steve married his college sweetheart Megan and life together to date, has included eight children and 15 moves. They are instrumental in the lives of young parents, and travel extensively, teaching weekend parenting seminars. Steve recently adapted and taught his Navy Core Values training to the entire student body and faculty of Clearwater Christian College in Clearwater, FL. He is also the author of several books and studies.

In 2006  Steve was awarded a Master of Arts in Theological Studies, and a Master of Arts in Christian Ministries in 2007. Steve earned his Doctor of Ministry degree in May 2011 from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. His dissertation topic was the role of parents in the character development of children.

Steve and Megan enjoy opening their home to young people and you will usually find a crowd at the Scheibner’s house. In his spare time, he sleeps, watches the Red Sox, and drives his children to sports practice, all while attending weekly meetings of Overachiever’s Anonymous.

Steve is currently a Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve and a First Officer for American Airlines. He recently retired as Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church of Topsham, ME. to become the President of Characterhealth Corporation; a non-profit conference ministry aimed at equipping parents to train the next generation of character-healthy leaders.