Every year on the anniversary of my ordination, I take time to reflect on the year of ministry just completed (see 2025 and 2024).
This year’s reflection comes with a particularly significant milestone: I graduated from seminary 25 years ago. It also marks five years in my current primary ministry role. Along the way, this has been a year of new opportunities, continued commitments, changing responsibilities, and meaningful transitions.
A quarter century after completing my Master of Divinity degree, ministry looks different from what I imagined in 2001. My work now spans nonprofit leadership, congregational ministry, denominational service, writing, coaching, and consulting. Each role brings different opportunities and challenges, but all offer ways to contribute and to build relationships.
Here are some highlights from another year of ministry.
White Rock Center of Hope
For the first time in my life, I am celebrating five years of ministry with the same organization. Since June 2021, I have served as Chief Executive Officer of White Rock Center of Hope. This milestone is especially meaningful because the work continues to evolve, and I am excited about what comes next.
Over these five years, Hope has experienced significant growth and transformation.
What began as a basic needs organization focused primarily on addressing immediate needs has evolved into an organization that does this work while also creating opportunities for longer-term growth focused on helping people achieve economic stability. Hope has expanded existing food and clothing programs, introduced new empowerment initiatives, and continued to explore ways to better support our neighbors in order to build an East Dallas where every person has the opportunity to thrive.
Hope’s fiscal year ended on October 31, and this past year brought record-setting results. Hope served more unique neighbors than ever before, distributed more pounds of food and more articles of clothing, and celebrated more workforce program graduates. Hope also welcomed more volunteers than in any previous year.
Behind every one of these milestones are people: staff members who bring their gifts and expertise to the work, volunteers who give generously of their time, donors and partners who make our work possible, and neighbors who are at the center of everything we do.
Five years in, I am grateful for what we have accomplished together and energized by the opportunities still ahead.
Congregational Ministry
Congregational ministry remains an important part of my life. For the fifth consecutive year, I served as a small group host and facilitator at my home church: Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ.
This year also brought a return to another expression of ministry that has been an important part of my vocational journey: serving as an interim pastor.
In March, I began serving part-time as Interim Senior Pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in downtown Fort Worth, Texas.
Serving a historic congregation during a season of transition has been both challenging and rewarding. Much of this work involves helping a congregation reflect on its identity, recognize its strengths, consider its hopes, and prepare for what comes next. It is an opportunity to listen, ask questions, encourage new possibilities, and help a community of faith move forward together.
There is also something particularly interesting about returning to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) after more than two decades away from serving in that tradition.
In addition to my ongoing congregational commitments, I also had opportunities to serve as a guest preacher. These invitations provided additional opportunities to connect with congregations in the Dallas – Fort Worth metro area.
Wider Church Ministry
My ministry extends beyond the organizations and congregations where I serve. Over the last year, I have remained active in both the North Texas Association and the South Central Conference of the United Church of Christ. I recently completed the second year of my three-year term on the South Central Conference Board.
January brought two additional opportunities for wider service. I began three-year terms on the Board of the United Church of Christ Church Building and Loan Fund and the Board of Faith & Grief.
Writing also remained part of my ministry. I have continued publishing here at So What Faith, which I started in 2009. In 2025, I published more new content than in any year over the previous decade. My pace has slowed a bit in 2026, but it remains well above average.
I have also continued serving as a coach and consultant, offering support to ministers and ministries as they navigate their own opportunities, challenges, and transitions.
These different forms of ministry remind me that there is no single setting or job description that fully defines my ministry.
So What?
Twenty-five years ago, I graduated from Logsdon Seminary at Hardin-Simmons University with a Master of Divinity degree. A few weeks before graduation, I began serving Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) as an Associate Pastor.
At the time, I could not have imagined all the different settings in which I would eventually serve. Over the years, my ministry has included congregations affiliated with multiple denominations, higher education, healthcare, and nonprofit leadership. I have served in different roles, worked alongside countless talented people, and discovered opportunities to contribute in places I never anticipated.
Returning to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) after more than 20 years away is one of this year’s interesting full-circle moments. The denomination is familiar, but my experiences, responsibilities, and perspective have changed considerably.
Another significant transition this year was concluding six years of service on the Board of the Texas Association of Charitable Clinics. This was the longest I have ever served in a volunteer leadership role. I am grateful for the opportunity to have contributed to an organization supporting charitable clinics that provide healthcare to more than 220,000 Texans living without insurance.
Looking back on this year, I am struck by both continuity and change. Some commitments have deepened, others are relatively new, and a few have reached their natural conclusion. While the settings and responsibilities have changed considerably since seminary, the opportunities to serve, lead, learn, and contribute continue.
Twenty-five years later, I am still discovering new opportunities for ministry. I am grateful for the people who make this work possible, the organizations and congregations that invite me to be part of their stories, and the opportunities to keep doing work that matters.
I am looking forward to what comes next as together we make more real God’s kin-dom on earth as it already is in heaven.