Official Business:

Tyler is a pastor in the United Methodist Church and is also very weird when it comes to the stereotypical pigeon-holes that are associated with those labels.

He works with churches, non-profits, and other organizations in reimagining their identity and developing their impact. He also speaks, writes, and consults with both individual leaders and groups, as requested.

Tyler's community work can be found at "The Farmhouse" which is an organization that exists to foster health in their place by practicing "Place Economy" and specifically at their community gathering called "Farmhouse Sabbath".

Background:

(enough of the generic, 3rd person pronoun thing).

Childhood

Raised as a pretty standard American with the exception of a chaotic family (which I guess is still pretty standard) and the arrival of a sister. From India. Who is also deaf — I grew up educated, relatively affluent compared to global standards, & quite normal according to Midwestern perspectives.

My childhood put me on a trajectory of discovering the importance of:

Vulnerability — as I grew up in the sports world and received the ego that rooted my value in my appearance and success,
Fostering healthy relationships — which in a family of divorce, domestic assumptions, and moving schools halfway through high school, has been a challenge,
Realizing how unhealthy so many parts of my life, character, and place are — from an ecological awakening to my consumeristic eating habits, I guess you could just say I actually started to grow up.

As I have begun to see my life more clearly, my goal has become to pursue the recovery of health — of making things as they are meant to be.

Ideological Journey

I come from a Christian background flaunting participation in over seven (yes, 7!) different denominations from Catholic to Universalist (we were a confused bunch, ok?).

I had my deconstructive acceptance of atheism around 18 and then, dissatisfied with the lack of potential in that culture and with having seen the potential of what The Church could be, I proceeded on a journey to reimagine the church. This led to a stint in California where two things happened:

I discovered my pressing question — "How do we make the world more like it's meant to be?"
Our first child was born unexpectedly...like showed up to the hospital not knowing we were pregnant and had a baby a few hours later.

Both pieces led me to drop out of school.

It was then that I was pushed into the concept of "Place" and was compelled, especially by some rather firm voices of mentors around me, to move back to my place...not because Ohio is great (it's not), but because it is mine. It is where I have a shared history and, therefore, a responsibility. It is where I am known, where I belong, and where I have the knowing to help impact where it needs to go next.

So I set out, not to change the world, but to make my place healthy and put a dent in changing the world.

Where I Am Now & What I Do

This took me to rural Northwest Ohio where I became a leader of a community organization that exists to make our community as healthy and flourishing as possible (also called a church — but lots of church people have decided we aren't actually a church) where I work to practice a community that helps lead our place into its future.

In doing that, I also feel compelled to share this voice with people and places I don't have direct contact with. So I create content to help lead the culture of places that aren't mine to move into their future.

That's what this platform is all about.

As I learn and discover and change, I wanted to share the practices, ideas, and stories that I'm picking up...

...and because communication is the only trade I've ever forged, I'm gonna have to do it by sharing that content with you.

So there's me, my spouse Vanessa, and our three children (two of which have strange birth stories that I embed throughout the writings) all trying to figure out this journey of Becoming Human while living in a community that we experience that journey with.

If you really want to know who I am, just read it all.
You'll find gems of what you're looking for in there somewhere.

This would be a good one to start with. Or the "Dirt Filled Tequila Bottle" is good.

And then this.