A native son of Oklahoma City, Wes Lane received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Oklahoma. After graduating in 1981, he spent the next twenty-one years as an Oklahoma County prosecutor, which included serving for almost six years as the Oklahoma County District Attorney. During his tenure, he accumulated an exceptional trial record, winning about ninety-five percent of his jury trials.
Wes served as the President of the Oklahoma District Attorney’s Association in 2005 and as Vice-President of the National District Attorney’s Association. He’s a former Chairman of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services Commission. He was introduced to Pinnacle Forum in the early 2000s when Ralph Palmen hosted a breakfast in Oklahoma City.
“I later attended Pinnacle Forum’s National Conference,” Wes recalls, “and I was blown away! People were talking about cultural transformation, a subject of great interest to me. Concepts like the Seven Mountains of Cultural Influence and the importance of engaging culture at higher levels were new and inspiring.
“Then in 2004 the Forum sent me a CD of a speech by James Davidson Hunter called To Change the World,” Wes continues. “He talked about the key methodology of cultural transformation; how it’s not brought about by great figures but by gatekeepers who wielded strategic influence through networks.
His interest in cultural transformation wasn’t academic or passive. Wes put time and effort into changing his own community for the better. “Eighteen months after leaving the DA’s office, I Partnered with some Christian leaders, including David Green, Kirk Humphreys and Tom Hill, to start SALLT (https://www.sallt.com).
“Salt and Light Leadership Training (SALLT) is an organization whose mission is serving Christian leaders from the public, private and social sectors by helping them leverage their passion, skills and influence for the common good of the city.”
The inspiration and model of SALLT is William Wilberforce and the Clapham Circle. These were men and women of influence who, because of their Christian worldview, brought both an end to slavery and a renewing of British culture to the benefit of all its citizens some two hundred years ago. (https://www.sallt.com/about.php)
“My personal passion has been to help leaders stop looking at themselves as leaders who happen to be Christians but rather to see themselves as Christian leaders who have been assigned by God to a sphere of influence. Wilberforce is a great example.”
Along the way, Wes found time to write Amazingly Graced, (https://www.weslane.org/?page_id=474) a true account of some of the high-profile cases tried during his time in office. It’s a transparent look into his belief system as well as an insightful glance into the lives of public figures—Wes and his wife, Dr. Lori Hansen Lane, a facial plastic surgeon.
Pinnacle Forum continues to feed the passion God has placed on Wes’s heart. After an initial attempt failed, he started a Forum group in Oklahoma City that remains a source of challenge, accountability and encouragement in his life. In 2011, he was invited to join Pinnacle Forum’s National Board.
Wes has always been active and has little sympathy for those who say they’re too busy to participate in a group like Pinnacle Forum. “People make time for what’s important,” he says with conviction. “We all need opportunity to have our iron sharpened by fellow leaders.”
To find a Pinnacle Forum in your area, or to see about starting one, contact the National Support Center at info@pinnacleForum.com.
