Who Is duke?
Who am I? Good question! I discover and forget daily and thank God for the great friends who remind me to find my identity in the love and mercy God has shown me in Christ.
I did not grow up in Church. I did not know where the book of Genesis was in 1995. A miraculous moment prior to a head-on-collision forever shifted my life journey. A passion was born in me to hear the life changing voice--of the Living God--I heard prior to leaving the evening of that crash. There would be other crashes of various forms in my life and hearing the voice of God in the midst of them has made all the difference in my experience.
After some time in the music business in Nashville, TN I was led to seminary. I thought I went there to get everybody saved! I ended up realizing I barely knew what it meant and I needed to be saved more than anybody I knew. I began a conversation with God. I asked all of my questions, offered all my doubts and woke up three times a night saying, "Jesus, where are you?" I wanted to know God in my life and in the world not just in the afterlife! In May of 2001, God showed up and made it plain I was loved beyond my ability to do anything about it. This was a decisively freeing moment for me. God's grace wrecked my perfectionism.
I discovered the only thing in life that is perfect is the Love of Christ. It was quite humbling but also took the pressure off I'd put on myself for so long and struggle with still from time to time. I believe knowing the reality of this God who is Love inside (i.e. The Inner Hue) is the only way to become a gracious person to the core--patient both with our own shortcomings and limits and others as well. And yes, I believe this is a lifelong journey...
Some Basics on My Background:
- UNC Charlotte, B.A. Political Science
- Asbury Seminary, M.Div. - Spiritual Formation Concentration
- Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation - Personal Spiritual Deepening Program
- Aravaipa Valley Canyon Ranch - Richard Rohr's Men's Rite of Passage
- Christian Healing Ministries - School of Healing Prayer
- Graduate Theological Foundation, D.Min. - Spiritual Direction (Benedictine & Contemporary Expressions of Spirituality)
- First Health - Clinical Pastoral Education (Extended Unit)
- Greenville Health System - Clinical Pastoral Education (Resident & 2 Time Stellar Star Recipient)
- 14 Years Teaching/Retreat Ministry Experience
