James D. Austin

Ph. (512) 327-1335

JAustin@Westlake-umc.org

I am currently Associate Pastor at Westlake UMC, Austin, Texas, and finishing my third year of Covenant Connection. I expect to be ordained in Spring, 2010. I attended Duke Divinity School, 2003-2006, as a Lilly Fellow, earning a M.Div. degree in Spring, 2006, Magna Cum Laude. While at Duke, I served as a chaplaincy intern at Duke University Hospital, a regional cancer and heart care center. In Summer, 1994, I served as Ministerial Intern at Reveille United Methodist Church in Richmond, Virginia. Prior to receiving my call in 2002, I finished a book-length manuscript, Eve’s Blessing, which I plan to rewrite.

In the last year, I have participated in training for new church starts and revitalization at the New Church Leadership Institute in Arkansas. I have also been developing an intergenerational men’s ministry at Westlake UMC called “Men2Men.” I served as Westlake’s Director for Church Transformation, 2006-2009 and as part of the planning team and Communications Director for Westlake’s “Imagine No Malaria” campaign. I have developed and led “The Genesis Seminar,” a 12-week multimedia seminar focused on revitalizing faith through ten revelations found in Genesis; and “Encountering Jesus,” a ten-week multimedia seminar on Jesus. I plan to hold a new community seminar in the Spring of 2010, “Beyond Creationism.” My ministry was recognized for innovative programming in 2007 & 2008, for an innovative approach to the Westlake Ministries Fair and for a Thanksgiving event called “Pilgrim’s Potluck: A Journey to Thanksgiving,” a Thanksgiving dinner and play. While at Westlake, I developed a new website that includes a workflow editing process in which staff and committee leaders directly edit their pages of the website. 

From 1986-2003, I was a professional researcher and writer living in Austin, Texas. I have close to twenty years experience as an analyst, author, and lecturer on state, national, and international issues. I have a background in organizational psychology, foreign policy, and American history. In graduate school, I pioneered research methods in the application of cognitive psychology to organizational decision-making. I also worked on a television documentary for WGBH-TV, “Vietnam: A Television History,” a thirteen-part series that aired in the 1980s. From 1986-1996, I carried out contract research and writing for corporations and CEOs. Some of my clients included Motorola, Continuum, Bombardier, and Texas TGV (the Texas high-speed rail corporation). 

Prior to this, I served as Special Assistant to the Governor of Texas from 1983-1986:

·        I was responsible for managing the foreign relations of the State of Texas, coordinating the visits of foreign trade missions to Texas, and the development of international business in the state, 

·        appointed to the staff responsible for developing the high-tech industry of Texas,

·        appointed by the Governor to provide strategic planning and oversight for the 1986 Sesquicentennial Celebration, a multi-site event which a total of approximately 200,000 people attended, including then Vice-President George Bush, Sr., and the diplomatic representatives of eighty-five countries,

·        responsible for organizing and coordinating the economic development trip of the Governor of Texas to Japan,

·        served as the Governor’s representative on the staff responsible for organizing and coordinating the visit of The Prince of Wales to the State of Texas in 1986. 

Education

M. Div., Duke Divinity School, Spring, 2006, Magna Cum Laude, 1976

M. Phil., with Distinction, Political Science and Political Psychology, Yale University, 1976

M. A., International Relations, Yale University, 1973

London School of Economics, 1969-1970

B. A., Magna Cum Laude with Honors, Political Science and Economics, Tulane University, 1971

Summer School, Harvard University, 1968

Career Experience

New Church Start Training, New Church Leadership Institute, Fayetteville, AR

Associate Pastor, Westlake United Methodist Church, 2006-2009

Chaplaincy Intern, Duke University Hospital, Spring, 2006

Ministerial Intern, Reveille United Methodist Church, Richmond, Va. Summer, 2004

Professional researcher, writer and lecturer, 1994-2003

Corporate Consultant, 1986-1994

Special Assistant to the Governor of Texas, 1983-1986

Director of International Business, Governor's Office, State of Texas, 1985-1986

Instructor, Department of Government, University of Texas at Austin, 1980-1983

Consultant, Washington, D.C., 1977-1979

Consultant, "The Vietnam Project," Public Broadcasting Corporation, May-September, 1978

Fellow, International Security Studies Program, Woodrow Wilson Center, Smithsonian Institution, May-September 1978

Acting Instructor, Department of Political Science, Yale University, 1976-1978

Teacher’s Aide, Project Counteraction (remedial reading program), Fort Worth Independent School District, Summer 1968

Fellowships and Honors

Second Place Prize, John Ness Memorial Award, General Board of Archives and History of the United Methodist Church, 2005

Lilly Fellow, Duke Divinity School, 2003-2006

Phi Beta Kappa (top 4% of class)

Omicron Delta Kappa (Honorary Leadership Society)

Letter of commendation, British Foreign Office, March, 1986

Resolution of Commendation, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, June 1986

George Washington Medal for Oratory, Freedom Foundation

Author, "The Psychological Dimension of Intelligence Activities," in Intelligence: Policy and Process, edited by A.C. Maurer, M.D. Tunstall, and J.M. Keagle, Westview Press, 1985.

Participant, Conference on U.S. Elections, sponsored by the Aspen Institute Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany, October 1986

Selected one of the top ten teaching faculty at the University of Texas, 1983 and 1982

Participant, Conference on Intelligence, United States Air Force Academy, 1983

Grant for the Seminar on Intelligence, sponsored by the Consortium for the Study of Intelligence (twenty participants selected in a national competition)

Research Grant, Truman Foundation, 1977

Grant for the National Security Education Seminar, sponsored by the National Security Program, New York University (twenty-five participants selected in a national competition), 1976

Prize Teaching Fellow, Yale University, 1976-1977

University Fellowship, Yale University, 1974-1976

Participant, European Consortium for Political Research, University of Essex, Great Britain, 1973

Frazier-Jelke International Studies Fellow, Yale University, 1971-1973

Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Achievement Award, Tulane University, 1971

Participant, Student Conference on U.S. Affairs, United States Military Academy, 1970

Participant, Junior Year Abroad Program, Tulane University, 1969-1970

Scholar's Program, Tulane University, 1968-1971

Dean's List, Tulane University, 1967-1970

Previous Areas of Training

Decision--Making and Management

Organizational Psychology

International Relations

American Culture and Government

Foreign Policy and National Security

Foreign Travel

I traveled extensively in Europe and Asia including the countries of Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, Hungary, The Republic of Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia (formerly the Soviet Union), West Germany, East Germany, and areas of Asia, including Japan and The People's Republic of China.

Service in the Methodist Church