opportunity. Raised in East St. Louis, Illinois, Aaron’s spiritual roots are grounded in the witness of African Americans who journeyed North to escape racial violence and oppression in the South. His home church, Pilgrim Temple CME Church, was founded by Black families who carried their faith with them as they built new lives in East St. Louis. “They called it Pilgrim Temple because their story was one of movement, journey, and transformation,” Aaron shared.Aaron graduated from Eden Theological Seminary in 2012 with a Master of Divinity degree. During his time at Eden, he served as co-president of AASEND and co-president of the Student Body. He was also recognized as a Juried Paper winner, served as a teaching assistant for African American Religious History, and received the student award for Biblical Interpretation.
Eden introduced Aaron to faith-based organizing while he was still a seminarian, an experience that would continue shaping his ministry long after graduation. “Eden has a great legacy of preparing ministry leaders in the church with practical and essential skills for ministry,” he said.
A unique part of his ministry is supporting the legacy and ongoing ministry of four historically Black parishes in the Diocese of Southern Ohio. His work blends pastoral leadership, justice advocacy, relationship-building, and public theology in ways that deeply connect faith to community life.
When Aaron registered in the Eden Theological Seminary Center for Lived Faith and Organizing (CLFO), he saw it as an opportunity to sharpen and renew skills he had already been developing in ministry. He was especially drawn to the theological grounding of the program and the strength of its facilitators.
“While I’ve had organizing training before, I especially appreciated that the theological nature of the work was explicit,” Aaron said. “Because the audience was made up of people with actual ministry contexts, it created a much richer experience of integrating theology and practice.”
For Aaron, one of the most meaningful parts of the experience was the relationships built throughout the program. He described the cohort experience as sustaining and energizing.
“The biggest impact for me was getting to meet a whole new group of friends and collaborators who help me feel sustained and supported in this work,” he shared. “I look forward to the ways we’ll continue partnering and sharing resources moving forward.”
One session in particular deeply challenged him: a workshop focused on abortion rights. While Aaron already privately supported abortion rights, the workshop challenged him to consider what it meant to become a more public advocate.
“I really appreciated that challenge,” he reflected.
Throughout the CLFO experience, Aaron found himself continually returning to one central conviction: theology must remain connected to real people and real contexts.
“I left wanting to have a ministry that touched the ground as much as it touched heaven,” he said.
The certificate workshops reminded him that justice work is not separate from discipleship, but an essential part of Christian witness. He also found himself becoming more deliberate about how he engages community life.
“My community is not just something on the way to church,” Aaron explained. “It is a spiritual resource that invites me to deepen my faith and discipleship every day.”
Aaron shared that the training helped deepen both the clarity and boldness of his public theology. He left the program feeling more equipped to speak faithfully and publicly about justice issues connected to the Gospel.
“I understand now why explicitly expressing theology in the public sphere is critically important to Christian witness,” he said.
As he prepared to begin ministry in a new state and context, the organizing work from CLFO provided practical tools for relationship-building and community engagement. He especially valued having Rev. Dr. Dietra Wise-Baker as a thought partner throughout the process.
When asked what advice he would give future participants, Aaron encouraged people to enter the experience expecting transformation.
“Come with an expectation of engagement,” he said. “Seek to learn and be transformed by what you are hearing.”
He also encourages participants to attend in person whenever possible, emphasizing the value of learning in community.
For Aaron, the CLFO experience continues to shape his ministry and his commitment to justice-centered discipleship. He hopes to invite more colleagues into the program so they can discover practical ways to connect faith, organizing, and public witness within their own ministry contexts.
