Born and raised in Pontiac, Michigan, David P. Brien attended Moody Bible Institute (Chicago, Illinois) and graduated from the Detroit Bible College (later William Tyndale College, now defunct) with a bachelor of religious education. He received his master of religious education degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, Kentucky) and his doctor of ministry degree from Beeson Divinity School of Sanford University (Birmingham, Alabama). He has served in a variety of church staff positions in both Michigan and South Carolina, including music and youth director, minister of education, pastor, and interim pastor. He also served as the director of missions for the Screven Baptist Association in Summerville, South Carolina. He's retired, and he and his wife, Claudia, are the proud parents of two sons, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.