Two Wabash alumni are among 18 Indiana pastors have been selected to participate in the Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program, a Lilly Endowment-sponsored program at Wabash College. The participants include Wabash alumni Tom Bartley ’93 and Jeff Bower ’83.
The Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program target Indiana pastors with between five and 10 years of experience following their graduate seminary studies and invites them to participate in a two-year program of leadership development and pastoral reflection.
The Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program will engage pastors in explorations of critical economic, educational, and political challenges facing Indiana communities and help them develop the knowledge and skills to become stronger leaders in their congregations and communities.
“From a number of outstanding pastors who applied, we selected a representative group with very high potential for leadership from diverse churches throughout Indiana,” said Program Director Raymond Brady Williams. “They have rich academic backgrounds and life experiences, and we look forward to lively discussions of important issues and challenges that face communities and churches in Indiana.”
Thomas Bartley is the Senior Pastor at Crooked Creek Baptist Church in Indianapolis. He majored in religion at Wabash, graduating in 1993, before earning his master’s degree in divinity from Christian Theological Seminary and an MTS from Candler School of Theological Studies.
Jeffrey Bower is Vicar at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Speedway. Reverend Bower is a 1983 Wabash graduate and has two master’s degrees from Christian Theological Seminary. He also has a Certificate of Advanced Theological Studies from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary. Bower serves on the boards of Grace Unlimited (Indianapolis Lutheran-Episcopal Campus Ministries), the Congregational Resource Center at Christian Theological Seminary, and the Advisory Board for Clinical Pastoral Care at Clarian Health. He is Dean of the Mid-Central Deanery and serves as a member of the Executive Council and the Commission on Ministry for the Diocese of Indianapolis.
Pastors involved in the program will meet on the Wabash College campus 10 times over a two-year period to meet with civic, government, business, and religious leaders to discuss issues that affect local Indiana communities. The pastors will learn about a range of topics, such as statewide efforts to strengthen public education, Indiana economic initiatives, government responses to property tax and other issues, the impact of immigration on local communities, and advances in medical research and their impact on health care.
In addition, the pastors will participate in a study tour in North America during the first year and an international study tour in the second year of the program to learn about transnational contexts.
Williams is the founding director of the program. He is the LaFollette Distinguished Professor in the Humanities emeritus and he was the founding director of the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, also funded by Lilly Endowment.
“For many years the College ran the Wabash Executive Program that developed potential for leadership in executives in business and industry,” said Williams. “The College now runs the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning that develops leadership in faculty of colleges, universities, and seminaries. So it is exciting to be part of this new profession-specific leadership program for talented pastors in Indiana.”
The program is housed in Trippet Hall on the Wabash College campus. Please contact Dr. Williams (williamr@wabash.edu or 765-361-6336) for additional information.
These pastors represent the second cohort of ministers to participate in the program:
Biographies of participants in the Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program
Eric M. Augenstein is Priest at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in New Albany. He received his master’s degree in divinity from Saint Meinrad School of Theology, a master of arts’ degree in Catholic Thought and Life from Saint Meinrad, and a bachelor’s degree from LaSalle University. Reverend Augenstein is a member of the Board of Trustees of Providence High School. At Saint Meinrad School of Theology, he serves as a Spiritual Director, Presenter for the Institute for Priests and Presbyters, and a Parish Supervisor for Pastoral Ministry.
Thomas Bartley is the Senior Pastor at Crooked Creek Baptist Church in Indianapolis. He earned his undergraduate degree in religion from Wabash College, before earning his master’s degree in divinity from Christian Theological Seminary and an MTS from Candler School of Theological Studies.
Melissa Bennett is Pastor for Youth at Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren in Fort Wayne. Reverend Bennett earned her bachelor’s degree in social work from Manchester College, and her master’s degree in divinity from Bethany Theological Seminary. She is on the Committee on Interchurch Relations for the Church of the Brethren.
Ryan Berryhill is Pastor at First Southern Baptist in Terre Haute. Reverend Berryhill earned his bachelor’s degree in religion from East Texas Baptist University. He earned his master’s degree in divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and earned his doctorate from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
Jeffrey Bower is Vicar at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Speedway. Reverend Bower is a graduate of Wabash College and has two master’s degrees from Christian Theological Seminary. He also has a Certificate of Advanced Theological Studies from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary. Bower serves on the boards of Grace Unlimited (Indianapolis Lutheran-Episcopal Campus Ministries), the Congregational Resource Center at Christian Theological Seminary, and the Advisory Board for Clinical Pastoral Care at Clarian Health. He is Dean of the Mid-Central Deanery and serves as a member of the Executive Council and the Commission on Ministry for the Diocese of Indianapolis.
Kevin Bowers is Pastor of Bethany Presbyterian Church in Lafayette. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio’s Muskingum College and his master’s degree in divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.
David Brown is Pastor at Park Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in New Albany. He received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Lynchburg College in Virginia before earning his master’s degree in divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Reverend Brown has served Park Christian Church since 2006. Outside of his pastoral ministry, he speaks on the subjects of Israel, Palestine, and the Palestinian Christian struggle for survival. His wife, Julie, serves on the pastoral staff of Beargrass Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Louisville.
Rebecca Craver is the Church Developer at Zacchaeus’ Tree Congregation in Indianapolis. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Ashville and earned her master’s degree in divinity from Moravian Theological Seminary.
Carey A. Grady is the Senior Pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Indianapolis. Reverend Grady graduated from Howard University with a major in history, and earned his master’s degree in divinity from the Turner Theological Seminary of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. While in college he was Archives Intern at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History at the Duke Ellington Collection, a Congressional Black Caucus Intern, and later a Patricia Roberts Harris Fellow on Capitol Hill for Congressman James Clyburn. Rev. Grady has served on the boards of the Neighborhood Housing Development Corporation and the Decatur Genealogical Historical Society.
Wesley Kendall is the Pastor of the Greencastle Presbyterian Church in Greencastle. He is a graduate of DePauw University and received his master’s degree in divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary. He said he believes his “family has been called to serve the Greencastle community, seeking to do justice while serving as good neighbors and citizens.” Reverend Kendall works a small farm, and shares some of what he produces with those who need food in his community.
Timothy Knauff is the Pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in South Bend. Reverend Knauff graduated with a degree in music from DePauw University, where he also earned a master’s degree in computer since. He attended and earned his master’s degree in divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. He has published in the magazine Currents in the “Preaching Helps” column. While at Lutheran School of Theology, he was awarded the Edgar Krentz Award for Biblical Interpretation.
Libby Manning is the Pastor of Ministry and Maturity at Christ the Savior Lutheran Church in Fishers. She graduated from Davidson College and attended Trinity Lutheran Seminary, from which she earned her master’s degree in divinity. She was a 2010 participant in the Festival of Homiletics Conference.
Michael Mathews is the Pastor at Holy Cross and St. Stanislaus Parish in South Bend. Pastor Mathews earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in divinity from the University of Notre Dame.
David Neuen is an Associate Pastor at High Street United Methodist Church in Muncie. Reverend Neuen is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and earned his master’s degree in divinity from Candler School of Theology.
Jason Nicholls is the Pastor of Redeemer Missionary Church in South Bend. Reverend Nicholls graduated from Vennard College and earned a master’s degree in Christian Thought from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Marquette University. While at Marquette, Rev. Nicholls served as a Teaching Fellow and Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Theology.
Thomas Ream is the Senior Associate Pastor at the First United Methodist Church in Warsaw. He received his undergraduate degree in Medical Technology from Purdue University and his master’s degree in divinity from Theological Seminary.
David Trexler is the Pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Highland. Reverend Trexler is a graduate of Purdue University at Calumet and earned his master’s degree in divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
Brent Wright is the Pastor at Broad Ripple United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. Reverend Wright earned an engineering degree from Purdue University and a master’s degree in education from the University of Colorado. He received his master’s degree in divinity from Duke Divinity School.
