Ken Howard (priest)
Ken Howard | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Ken Howard, wearing a stole featuring both Christian and Jewish symbols (taken 2012). | |
| Born | Kenneth Wayne Howard September 19, 1952 |
| Alma mater | Virginia Theological Seminary |
| Occupation(s) | Faith leader, author, religion demographer, consultant, nonprofit executive |
Kenneth W. Howard (born September 19, 1952) is an American faith leader, author, religion demographer, consultant, and nonprofit executive – currently executive director of The FaithX Project.
Early life and career
Born in
Public Sector (1974–1989): Howard worked in the public behavior health and developmental services field in the
Private Consulting Practice (1978–1993): In 1989, Howard started a consulting practice focusing on management development, rightsizing, team building, and board management for both private, public, and nonprofit sector organizations. He maintained this practice through his graduation from seminary in 1993.
Ordained ministry
Seminary (1990–1993): Studied at
Ordination (1993): Ordained as a deacon, then as a priest in the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Washington.
Parish Ministry (1993–2016): Served as assistant rector at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Gaithersburg, Maryland from 1993–1995, focusing on leadership development, spiritual formation, and stewardship.
Left in 1995 to start a new congregation, St. Nicholas Church[1] in Germantown, Maryland, the first successful new church start in the Diocese of Washington in over 40 years. By the time he left in 2016, the congregation had experienced more than ten-fold growth,[2][3] purchased property for its eventual campus, and constructed its first multipurpose worship and gathering center.[4]
Faith-Based Nonprofit Ministry (2016–present): Howard stepped down from parish ministry in 2016 to start The FaithX Project, a 501(c)3 nonprofit
- Congregational Vitality Assessment (CVA) – A 65-question, research-based congregational vitality inventory, developed by Howard and FaithX and brought online through a partnership with the Episcopal Church Foundation.
- CVA Judicatory Platform – A customized dashboard through which a judicatory can directly administer the CVA to each of its congregations, receive anonymized results, and monitor their results over time.
- MapDash for Faith Communities – An online, interactive demographic and analytic platform for congregations and judicatories. Howard served as GIScompany he worked with to develop it).
Paradoxy (2010): In 2010, Howard authored the book Paradoxy: Creating Christian Community Beyond Us and Them, the premise of which is to help congregations "transcend dead-end divisions and transform conflict into healthy diversity united by the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit".[5] Notable critical reviews of the book include the following:
- Phyllis Tickle, a leader in the Emerging Christianity movement, called Paradoxy "one of the clearest and most concise commentaries presently available about where the Church may reasonably be seen as going in this time of paradigmatic shift."[6]
- Brian McLaren wrote in the book's foreword, "Ken Howard does what good leaders do in times of change and challenge. First, he describes where we are. Then he tells the story of how we got here. Then he gives us a vision of where to go from here [...] he simplifies without oversimplifying complex historical and philosophical developments."[7]
The Religion Singularity: A ground-breaking research paper a demographic crisis the is destabilizing and transforming institutional Christianity.
Education
- 2007 – Yale University School of Theology, New Haven, CT: Emergent Theology Colloquium (Miroslav Volf).
- 2005 – Early Church and Celtic Christianity.
- 1993 – Alexandria, VA: Master of Divinity with honors in Church History.
- 1989 – Richmond, VA: Master of Education, specializing in Human Resources Development.
- 1979 – Norfolk, VA: Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies (Education and Psychology).
Associations, Elections, and Appointments
- 2017–present: International Positive Psychology Association – Work and Meaning SIG(chair 2017–2018)
- 1993–present: Episcopal Diocese of Washington – Elected/appointed positions include: Task for Common Ground Dialogue on Human Sexuality (chair), Diocesan Council (Executive Committee), General ConventionDelegate (alternate), Bishop's pastoral representative to troubled congregations, Bishop's Working Group on Mission Canons (chair), Bishop's Working Group on Episcopal-Jewish Relations (co-chair), Ecclesiastical Trial Court (member).
- 2008–2015: Washington Episcopal Clergy Association – Elected positions include: Board Member, Vice President, Secretary, Communications Director, Program Chair.
Affiliations
- Episcopal Diocese of Washington – Howard serves as executive director of FaithX under an extension of ministry from the Diocese.
- Datastory – Howard acts as Subject Matter Expert(SME) and FaithX has an affiliate relation.
- Esri – FaithX is an Esri Partner organization.
Books
- "Paradoxy: Creating Christian Community Beyond Us and Them." Published by The FaithX Project (2016, 2nd Edition). ISBN 978-1557257758.
- "Excommunicating the Faithful: Jewish Christianity in the Early Church." Published by The FaithX Project (3rd Edition, 2013).
Publications
- "Grounding Discernment in Data: Strategic Missional Planning Using GIS Technology and Market Segmentation Data," Socio-Historical Exploration of Religion and Ministry (2019), 1(2).
- "The Religion Singularity: The Religion Singularity: A Demographic Crisis Destabilizing and Transforming Institutional Christianity," International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society (2017)[8]
- "A New Middle Way? Surviving and Thriving in the Coming Religious Realignment," Anglican Theological Review (Winter 2009/2010)[9]
- "A Comprehensive Expectancy Motivation Model: Implications for Adult Education and Training," Adult Education Quarterly (May 1989).[10]
References
- ^ "Jewish Christianity in the Early Church on Amazon.com" Jewish Christianity in the Early Church. ASIN B001DEV8YY.
- ^ Talty, A., et al. (1996). Directory of the Diocese of Washington and Journal of the One Hundredth Annual Meeting of the Convention of the Diocese of Washington. Washington, DC: Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Washington.
- ^ Talty, A., et al. (2012). Directory of the Diocese of Washington and Journal of the One Hundred Sixteenth Annual Meeting of the Convention of the Diocese of Washington. Washington, DC: Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Washington.
- ^ "Diocese of Washington News: St. Nicholas Dedicates its New Church Building" St. Nicholas Dedicates its New Church Building (2009). Accessed August 19, 2012.
- ^ "Paradoxy on Amazon.com" Description of Paradoxy on Amazon.com. Accessed August 22, 2012.
- ^ "Emergence Christianity: An Annotated Bibliography of Relevant Books" Commentary by Phyllis Tickle. Accessed August 22, 2012.
- ^ "Paradoxy" Archived 2010-11-20 at the Wayback Machine Review of Paradoxy and Excerpt of Foreword, by Brian McLaren (2010). Accessed August 22, 2012.
- ^ "International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society, Volume 7, Issue 2" Website to read and purchase the article. Accessed March 10, 2021.
- ^ "Anglican Theological Review, edition 44" Website to read and purchase the Anglican Theological Review (Winter 2009/2010). Accessed August 19, 2012.
- ^ "A Comprehensive Expectancy Motivation Model: Implications for Adult Education and Training" SagePub archive of Adult Education Quarterly. Accessed August 19, 2012.