I grew up as a Catholic, and later attended a non-denominational charismatic church before I met the Friends at Malone College. At Malone I majored in Bible and Theology and was preparing to go into the pastorate. While I was there a number of life-changing things happened to me: I met my wife-to-be, Emily Miller—we fell in love, got married (2001), and now we have a beautiful daughter—and I became a youth pastor at a Friends church for Evangelical Friends Church—Eastern Region. It was at Barberton Evangelical Friends Church that I began reading Quaker history and theology and found myself increasingly drawn to the tradition. During this time I started recognizing myself as a Quaker because the narratives I was hearing so deeply resonated with my life as a Christian.

Later we moved to Pasadena, California, where I began work on my Master of Arts in Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary and where I now continue my doctoral work. My interest in Quaker theology and history only increased upon my arrival at Fuller. Since my first quarter I have been pursuing two main questions: (1) Why is there is so little resemblance between the fervor and activism of early Friends and our current churches/meetings? and (2) Should we do something about it? You might call these questions my basic “research program” because they have fueled my investigations ever since.

These questions are what prepared me for having interest in the convergent Friends, a community of Quakers across the various traditions who are interested in the emerging church and engaging our contemporary culture in meaningful ways, all the while taking seriously the Quaker tradition and its practices. This interest led to framing my doctoral work: I am working to demonstrate how traditions transition into new cultures and what this looks like theologically as well as practically.

My hope is to one day be a professor of (Quaker) theology and Western culture and quite possibly help lead some kind of “convergent” Quaker meeting. In terms of current Quaker connections and experience: I am a contributor to http://www.quakerquaker.org QuakerQuaker.org; I enjoy leading workshops on convergent Friends; this past summer I had the great opportunity to study at Woodbrooke Quaker Study Center under the tutelage of Ben Pink Dandelion; and I recently joined the editorial board for the Quakers Uniting in Publications (QUIP) Youth Book Project. And if that's not enough, I sometimes find time to blog at http://www.gatheringinlight.com.

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