Pastor Qualley was born and raised in northern Minnesota and attended Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, with degrees in Chemistry and Mathematics and a Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. Both his internship and first 16 years of parish ministry were at Grace Lutheran Church in Miami Springs, Florida. He was active in youth ministry in both local and state settings. He served as chairman for Campus Ministry of South Florida, chaired the Lutheran Council of the United Sates in the southern region of the country, was the Spiritual Director of the Cursillo program in Miami, and held various leadership roles in the community. Pastor Qualley has served the past 20 years as Senior Pastor at Lord of Life. This congregation has grown to become "One Congregation on Two Locations". He has served as County Commissioner on Aging, Chairman of the Higher Education Board of Metro D.C., on the Executive Committee of the Lazarus Project in Haiti, Board of Lutheran Housing Coalition, and Executive Board of the Metro D.C. Synod, and leads workshops on leadership and visioning.

Pastor Qualley is married to Sandi and they share two children and three grandchildren. His hobbies include gardening, traveling, woodworking, music and theater.