McDonald has been a pastoral counselor for over 20 years and is currently practicing at the Church Health Center in Memphis, Tennessee, a nationally recognized medical facility for the working poor. He was educated at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas; Union Theological Seminary in New York City; Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri; and the Training Institute for Counseling and Therapy of the Foundation for Religion and Mental Health in Briarcliff Manor, New York. He is a Diplomate in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. Additionally, he is a folksinger and