Pulpit Fill Resources

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• Rev. Mike Baughman is the Director of Product Management for The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Mike is eager to encounter and support those on the innovative edge of church, non-profit and civic engagement. He has served as author, editor and developer for a long list of curricula through Sparkhouse Press and Cokesbury. Mike learned a lot about basketball while attending Duke University and then earned a couple of pretentious diplomas from Princeton Theological Seminary (they’re both in Latin and hang in his garage). Mike is a third-generation Methodist minister and church planter (Union).


• Rev. Marianne Brown-Trigg is the campus minister and director at the Denton Wesley Foundation which serves students at University of North Texas, Texas Women's University and North Central Texas College. Marianne is an elder from the Central Texas Conference where she served as a solo pastor and spent many years in youth ministry. She holds a BA in Feminist Studies and Religion from Southwestern University and a M.Div from Brite Divinity School. Marianne and her husband, Andrew, have three daughters. They love spending time outside and enjoying their many pets.


• Rev. Jennifer Chickering is the Associate Pastor at First UMC Celina. She grew up in Massachusetts and Maryland and graduated from Hood College in 2009 with a B.A. in Sociology. She worked as a missionary for the UMC in Oklahoma before getting her Masters in Divinity from Perkins School of Theology.


• Rev. Heather Gottas is serving in extension ministry at Perkins School of Theology in the Office of External Programs, where her primary focus is expanding the certification program offerings. She holds a BA in Sociology from Ashford University, an MDiv and a ThM from Perkins School of Theology, and is beginning the Doctor of Liberal Studies program at SMU in Fall 2021. She is deeply passionate about reframing the church's understanding of human sexuality to be more holistic and authentic. In her spare time, Heather also serves as the Youth and Young Adults Minister at St Stephen UMC in Mesquite, alongside her husband who is an ordained elder. Heather and her family love a good road trip, gardening, baking, being crafty and karaoke.


• Rev. Christina Monique Winbush Hardy serves as the Director and Campus Minister at the TAMU-Commerce Wesley Foundation. Christina graduated with the Master of Divinity at Southern Methodists University Perkins School of Theology, where she was an honored recipient of the Harry Hosier Spirit Award. Reverend Hardy and her family truly look forward to working, loving on and supporting the Wesley Center students, and our community, by God’s Grace and Mercy through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She married her high-school love and bandmate Reginald Hardy. They have been married for over 18 years and have five beautiful children, Reginald Jr., Gabriel, Haven, Savannah, Isabel, and two wonderful rescue a labrador named Apollos and a rescue shepherd named Silas.


• Rev. Danielle Kim was born in South Korea and immigrated to the United States when she was 14. She was raised in Deer Park, Texas, and went to UT Dallas to study Biology. She began her journey towards ordained ministry when she was attending First Korean UMC in Richardson right across from the campus. After college, Danielle served as a secondary science educator at inner city schools before pursuing a M. Div. degree at Perkins School of Theology. While in seminary, she served two local United Methodist Churches in Bryan/College Station. Danielle’s husband, David, is pursuing his M.Div. degree at Perkins. She is currently serving as Associate Minister of Adult Discipleship at Custer Road UMC.


• Shandon Klein is a doctoral student at Southern Methodist University studying Religious Ethics and is a certified candidate for the order of Elder in the United Methodist Church. Born and raised in Charleston, S.C., she gained a rich foundation in the Episcopal Church through the influence of her grandmother, and her love of research bloomed at an early age with her love of the sciences. Her current research involves studying an ethic of control and an ethic of resistance, discerning the role of religion in cultivating these ethics, for better or worse, in both privileged and oppressed cultures. Shandon also serves as a lay delegate to General Conference and was recently elected as a student representative for the board of the Society of Christian Ethics. Shandon loves spending time with her husband, Shane, and their three fur babies. She has a love of music and dance, alongside a mild obsession with Enneagram studies.


• Rev. Andy Lewis is a native of Plano, Texas. He holds degrees from the University of Texas and Perkins School of Theology. With a concentration in premedical studies, Andy focused on medicine as a career, however, as a college senior he discerned God calling him to bring healing, not to bodies, but to souls. Andy is an ordained Elder in the North Texas Conference and, before beginning his current roles July 1, 2017, was senior pastor of First UMC Lewisville. Over the years, a consistent theme in Andy's ministry has been his commitment to ministries of justice and compassion. He and his wife, Sondra, celebrated 26 years of marriage in June, and together they have three children. In his free time, he enjoys running, reading and following sports.


• Rev. Kurt Maerschel is a Chaplain with Methodist Health Systems, working at Methodist Charlton Hospital. Kurt responded to his call relatively late in life, after a time of fundamental life challenges. He is passionate about channeling God’s love into the world and helping people of different backgrounds to connect with the divine. Currently Kurt is partaking in a certification program at SMU Perkins School of Theology in “Spiritual Direction.” Kurt immigrated to the U.S. from Germany in 1997. He is married and has four children. Fun facts: Kurt has a commercial truck driver’s license (in Germany), was a stock broker and is married to a celebrity.


• Rev. S Dianna Masters served the first part of her career as a teacher, Secondary School Principal, Coordinator of Mathematics and K-12 Mathematics Director. She graduated from Texas Christian University with a BS in Science, earned a Master of Public School Administration from Texas A&M and a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary. S Dianna is an Ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church and has served small, medium and large churches in urban and suburban areas in Glendale (Calif.), Los Angeles and Dallas. She has also served as a Director for the General Board of Global Ministries and the Women’s Division of the UMC. S Dianna has a passion for teaching and preaching the Word of God which includes leading Disciple Bible Studies in the Western and South Central Jurisdictions of the UMC. She loves the Lord with all her heart, soul and mind.


• Rev. Carol Montgomery is a Senior Area Representative for the North Texas Conference. With over 25 years’ experience partnering with congregations, families, individuals and organizations Carol enjoys serving others in the areas of empowerment, advocacy and discipleship. An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, she has served the NTC in congregational and campus ministries. Carol holds her License in Professional Counseling (LPC). Beyond her role as a ministry partner, Carol enjoys facilitating the Holy Conversations visioning process and resourcing pastors and congregations in areas of finance, leadership and innovation. She holds a B.A in Journalism from Oklahoma State University, earned a M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Texas Woman’s University and a M. Div. from Perkins School of Theology. She is mother to two amazing adult daughters and a long-time resident of Dallas.


• Rev. Don Renshaw was born in Fort Worth, and graduated from Paschal High School in 1951 before joinging the Army. He graduated from Texas Wesleyan in 1957. In 1960, Don was ordained an Elder in the Central Texas Conference the same year that he graduated from Perkins. He served in CTC congregations until 1972 when he transferred to the North Texas Conference. In the NTC he served at Ridgewood Park UMC, First UMC Sulphur Springs, First UMC Plano and Spring Valley UMC before retiring.


• Rev. Caesar Rentie is the Vice President of Pastoral Care for Methodist Health System. Caesar received a Master of Theological Studies from Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University in 1997 and currently serves as a local pastor for the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Interpersonal Communications from Oklahoma University. While at OU, Caesar played football for the Sooners. During that time, the Sooners won four Big Eight Conference titles and one national championship. Caesar was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 7th round and played offensive tackle under head coach Mike Ditka. In 1991 he was the first-round draft pick for the New York New Jersey Knights in the World League of American Football. After his football career, Caesar accepted his call into ministry.


• Rev. Owen Ross is the Director for the Center for Church Development for the the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. Owen leads the conference's work in planting, transforming and planting congregations in the North Texas area. Previously, he served as the founding pastor Christ's Foundry United Methodist Mission (La Fundición de Cristo) in Dallas. He is married and has two sons.


• Rev. Courtney Schultz was ordained as an Elder in 2019. She served as an associate pastor at Stonebridge UMC while working on her Master of Divinity degree at Perkins School of Theology. After being ordained, Courtney was the planting pastor for a re-plant/new campus plant with Grace Avenue UMC who was looking to form a second campus. Along with her co-pastors, staff and leadership she was able to see Grace Chapel through the pandemic and lead them to be positioned to begin building their new permanent church home in Prosper. Beginning in January 2023, Courtney went on leave from ministry to focus on her own health and her family's needs. She continues to be on leave, however she is grateful for the opportunity to serve churches when they are in need of Sunday morning help. Courtney lives in Prosper with her family: husband Chris, children Ethan (14), Eli (12) and Avery (7), and their dog, Carly.


• Rev. Katherine Tang is the Director of Pastoral Care at Methodist Health System. A United Methodist clergy from the Desert Southwest Conference, she recently took this position in the heart of Dallas with hopes of connecting and supporting clergy and churches in the DFW area. She is married to Rev. Anthony Tang. They have both served in the United Methodist Church for a number of years.


• Rev. Isaiah Terry is on staff at Highland Park UMC and works with college students. He graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies before heading to the Woodlands to start his journey of becoming a Youth Pastor. For the better half of a decade Isaiah has worked with youth and their families before transitioning to College Ministry. He is married to Kristian and has the joy of raising three wonderful children.


• Rev. James Woods is a bi-vocational pastor in his eighth year of service at First UMC McKinney. His duties include presiding over the weekly Communion service each Wednesday, as well as various teaching and pastoral assignments. Spiritual formation is James’s central area of focus, founding the Center for Transformative Prayer at First McKinney as a way of helping the faithful develop a contemplative approach to their walk. With a DMin from Perkins, James serves as an adjunct faculty member for SMU’s Certification in Spiritual Direction program.