Philip Huston, M.Div. ’08, has been on a journey of integrating faith, vision, and action from his time at Duke Divinity School to founding Lifehouse, a nonprofit organization in Carlsbad, N.M. that addresses substance use and mental health challenges.
As the executive director, Huston oversees a comprehensive continuum of care for individuals facing these issues, a role he describes as profoundly transformative.
Faith-Driven Impactful Community Change
Huston began his career serving in the local church for over a decade following his graduation. “I really enjoyed it,” he recalls. “However, I have never been a part of something where I see life transformation happening every day like I do now with Lifehouse.”
Recognizing a dire need for substance use and mental health treatment in his community, Huston founded Lifehouse to address those pressing realities.
Under his leadership, Lifehouse has grown to become the largest provider of residential treatment and sober living services in Southern New Mexico. Its innovative model includes services embedded in jails, schools, hospitals, and mobile crisis response units.
Huston’s commitment to making a difference has not gone unnoticed. Lifehouse was recently recognized as the top addiction treatment center in New Mexico and is on track to become the state’s first rural Certified Community Behavioral Health Center.
“There is nothing like seeing someone succeed after overcoming substance use and mental health challenges,” Huston says. “I have found an area that had even greater need and possibility than I imagined.”
Huston’s work demonstrates how faith and hard work can drive impactful change in people’s spiritual, mental, and physical well-being.
Foundations for Visionary Leadership
“My role now is primarily administrative, and little of my education taught me about administration,” says Huston.
“However, my education at Duke taught me to integrate faith and theology into all of my thinking. This has proven invaluable in approaching new problems in unknown territory.”
Huston says his time at Duke earning a Master of Divinity degree helped shape his approach to problem-solving and leadership. “I think often people and organizations are limited by what they imagine is possible,” he explains.
“Bringing faith and theology to problem-solving and visioning transforms what we imagine to be possible and therefore expands what we can achieve.”
For Huston, his degree still intersects with his work in unexpected ways. He says, “Duke provided an excellent education that intersected Christian thought and scripture with contemporary reality and vision for the future. This is applicable in traditional church work, but I have found it also prepared me for an unexpected calling that has exceeded anything I could have imagined.”
This holistic perspective has been instrumental in addressing the complex challenges faced by Lifehouse and its clients. Huston’s theological education provides a foundation for inspired creativity, enabling him to devise unique solutions in uncharted territory.