1) Where are you currently serving? Please share a bit about the work/ministry in which you are involved.
I serve as the Director of the National Benevolent Association XPLOR Program. XPLOR is a ten-month service residency year within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for adults 21-30 seeking to explore the connection between the life of faith and the work of justice. (XPLOR programming is currently on hiatus as NBA navigates our best responses to the pandemic). I have served in this role for six years. I attended DLI in my first year working with NBA.
2) What are some of your memories from your time in DLI?
I attended the Disciples Leadership Institute in 2014, in Salt Lake City, UT. Favorite memories include using free time one afternoon to go with several participants exploring the city by public transit, and then getting massages and a meal together. I remember a very powerful closing worship experience led by a person in active recovery from self-harm and addiction. I also remember missing my departure flight and being grateful for one of my co-participants, Rev. Delesslyn Kennebrew, who let me bunk with her for one extra night at the retreat center. We went shopping for shoes together!
3) What skills, experiences and/or knowledge did you gain by participating in DLI?
I experienced an enormously diverse group of emerging leaders within the denomination who were seeking to bring their faith to bear on the major issues facing society and church: racism, environmental degradation, immigration justice, indigenous rights, and more. I especially heard and learned in this group about the history and relationship between a colonial US church and Canadian Disciples and one takeaway I had was to stop speaking of the “national church” and instead speak of the “general” church, which truly is inclusive as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. I experienced a growing relationship, trust, and friendship among many people who I still encounter and serve within ministry.
4) In what ways has this participation shaped your understanding of ministry and, in particular, what it means to be a leader?
The network of relationships I began building at DLI has been especially impactful in my faith and work commitments – to have a broad framework and access points to think through the most important questions, opportunities, and faith perspectives within the church and beyond. This greatly informs the questions I bring to my work, the wisdom I am able to draw from, and the ways I am able to help further build trust and relationship among emerging Disciple and other leaders.