Just a Queer Baptist Minister from Southern Appalachia who likes to talk about faith, money, and vocation. Learn more about me and my work as an entrepreneurial minister below.
I was born and raised on an Apple Farm in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Working in the orchard alongside my Father and Grandfather helped ferment my understanding of vocation and call from an early age. During this time, I learned a lot about the place I called home, the economic realities at play, and the resiliency that was required by the generations that came before me.
I pursued by B.A in Education at Emory & Henry College in Emory, Virginia where I was both a Bonner Scholar and a part of the Honors Program. Both of these experiences helped me to explore the concept of place, God, and justice - slowly expanding my imagination of what is possible.
During my Senior year of college I came out and faced the ugly reality that many Queer kids in conservative theological cultures face. I lost most of my family, my friends, and the place I had called home for so many years. Thankfully, I had a strong support network at Emory & Henry who still encouraged me to explore God's call on my life at a time when I was more angry with the Divine than comforted.
After a long search, Wake Forest University School of Divinity felt right and I dove into my three year M.Div. Degree searching for answers. At Wake, I was affirmed and allowed to question and be angry with God. I was allowed to doubt even as I sharpened my ability to proclaim. At graduation, I still did not see a future for me in traditional ministry, but for perhaps the first time in my life I felt authentic. I graduated understanding my relationship with God to be just that: mine.
Oh the challenges of being a young professional navigating the world. Of course I had worked up until this point - doing odd jobs that helped me pay for my schooling. Still, I had this belief that once I landed my first full-time job my financial worries would be over. The joke was on me. I struggled. I had a respectable job, was living a low-cost lifestyle and, yet, I was still struggling to pay my bills, focus on debt, and save. At this moment, I questioned a lot and was hard on myself for taking out as much debt as I had. However, I still had this hope of what could be and began the process of seeking out my own financial literacy education and thinking more holistically about my vocation.
I was ordained into the Gospel ministry by Wake Forest Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This experience was powerful not just because it was my answer to a tugging God had placed on my heart, but also an opportunity for me to be affirmed in my ministerial call by a Baptist church. This beautiful congregation helped me reclaim my Baptist heritage in a way that was grounded in justice and affirmation of all God's creation. Their motto is one that I carry with me to this day: All are welcome, no exceptions!
Just a few years following my ordination, that same Wake Forest Baptist Church had to make the hard decision to close after 66 years of progressive ministry. During this time, they invited me to become the Pastor of the church helping them discern their next steps and close down in a way that honored its legacy. You can imagine all the emotions involved with such an experience and the hard conversations we had to have around money. In many ways, this experience helped me begin to reimagine the role of church and the many different ways ministry can present itself in the world.
My latest chapter has focused in on my work around vocational exploration and financial formation. Faithonomics was officially incorporated in 2021 with a mission of helping faith-inspired leaders lean into their call without sacrificing their personal or financial wellbeing in the process. Today I am putting a lot of my 'credentials' to work serving as a financial educator, vocational companion, and entrepreneurial minister. I know my life has more chapters in store, but I am excited to be leaning more fully into this one for now.
In 2021, I was selected to participate in Do Good X's Startup Accelerator for Faith-Inspired Entrepreneurs around the idea that has become Faithonomics!
In April 2024, I was highlighted as an 'innoFaither' by innoFaith for my vision around Faithonomics' Doers Creative and reimagining vocation.
In May 2024, I was named an Invested Faith Fellow and received a grant from the Invested Faith team to further the work of Faithonomics.
In 2024, I joined the Finance Faculty of The Board Of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to bring the financial formation work of Faithonomics to their CREDO Conferences.
In 2022, I had the honor to journey alongside Wake Forest Baptist Church as their Interim Pastor as they navigated their decision to close their ministry following 66 years of progressive ministry. Together we mourned, we laughed, and we imagined a new future.
In 2023, I partnered with The Winston-Salem Foundation to establish The Wild Imagination Fund to help fund the anti-poverty work of Winston-Salem based nonprofit organizations.
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