What is your background?
I am a third-generation preacher who grew up in the Pentecostal church, was ordained in the AME church, graduated from a United Methodist seminary, and now work extensively throughout the Episcopal and Anglican communion. I have 40 years of business experience in commercial real estate investment banking, development and asset management and like many who are bi-vocational I have also served the past 20 years in ordained ministry. My other academic work includes an MBA from Columbia University, BS from New York University and Certificate in Leadership from Harvard University. I have lived in Naperville, a suburb of Chicago for the past 31 years and I work at Trinity Church in NYC where I grew up. I serve on several boards including as trustee and chair of the real estate committee for Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL; as board and audit committee member for Wintrust Bank Charter (Wheaton Bank and Trust); and on the board and executive committee of Jackson Park Hospital & Medical Center in Chicago.
What has inspired you to do the important work you are now doing?
I have a passion for the work of the church in the world, starting at the neighborhood level; and I have a passion for real estate. I have been blessed with a unique role as Managing Director of Mission Real Estate Development at Trinity Church NYC that allows me to bring these passions together and serve the church and its communities. I appreciate how God uniquely prepares each of us for the calling He gives us, and I am inspired by the energy, enthusiasm, and new sense of hope and purpose I see with clergy and congregations as they embrace the potential of mission real estate development to support their ministry.
How does mission work and real estate intersect?
The work of mission real estate development is grounded in the biblical principle of stewardship and the realization that God provides everything we need to do what God has called us to do. This work starts with discerning missional clarity – what is the church called to do in its community today? Then recognizing the significance of the gift of place in the lives of people (as where we work, worship, live, play and learn). Finally, embracing that church property should serve the community, and that the church can achieve its mission through marketplace – that is engaging in the economic life of its community.
What hope do you have for the church through the work of mission real estate?
My hope is that rather than seeing its property as a burden and a liability, that churches would recognize the potential of what God has already provided to help the church fulfill its mission to meet today’s needs in each community and that churches would embrace the challenge of determining how their property may be used to achieve the double bottom line of building sustainable financial capacity and enhancing community engagement in a missionally-aligned way. As clergy and congregations embrace this work, I see churches serving more holistically the spiritual, physical, mental and emotional needs of residents in their neighborhoods; and having a greater voice in civic leadership, policy, and allocation of resources. I also see a new sense of purpose and engagement that allows parishioners to flourish, as they apply their skills and passions in the work of the church beyond its walls.
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