Tell us about your current ministry placement.

After serving as the planting campus pastor of Berkley First, I currently continue to preach at Berkley while also overseeing children, family, and student ministries at both campuses of Birmingham and Berkley First, a multi-site United Methodist Church in Metro Detroit.

Why did you choose to join the D.Min. program at Duke Divinity School?

I am passionate about discipleship and leadership development, which in my estimation are really one and the same. I chose the D.Min. program at Duke to take my own leadership to the next level, build relationships with a cohort of excellent ministry practitioners, and learn from some of the best theological minds in the nation.

Is there an area of study you are interested in focusing on during the program or for your final project? Why is that important to you? 

I am focused on multi-site and collaborative church relationships. The post-schism United Methodist Church will likely see the merger, closure, or adoption of many local churches over the course of the next 10-15 years—as well as the planting of new ones. I hope to add something of substance to that conversation, empowering local churches and denominational structures to move into partnerships of intentionality based around long-term vision and shared missional objectives.

What else would you like us to know about you and/or your ministry journey?

All ministry is relational. I believe that a D.Min. from Duke will help open doors and prepare me for what God is doing next in my life and in the contexts that I serve.