A Life That Bears Light
ALEX HILL, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY & BELONGING AND ZACK VAN FAROWE, STUDENTShare
Not every calling begins with certainty. Often, it begins with questions.
Zack Van Farowe, a senior majoring in psychology and religion, sits down with Alex Hill, Director of the Center for CommUNITY & Belonging, to reflect on the path that led them both toward ministry. What starts as a conversation about choosing Ashland and finding community quickly deepens into something more personal: a candid exchange about doubt, formation and the work of becoming the kind of leader others can trust.
Zack speaks about the questions that shaped him, how apologetics gave language to what he was already wrestling with and how mentors at Ashland helped him see that ministry is not built on argument, but on humility. Alex reflects on his own unexpected path from collegiate athletics to pastoral leadership, including the season he stepped in to guide a grieving track team after the loss of a coach. In that moment, leadership was no longer about performance. It was about presence.
Together, they consider what it means to shepherd well, to listen before speaking, to empower rather than control and to remain faithful when the path ahead is not fully clear.
This is a conversation about lives in motion. About influence formed in community. About pursuing a calling not for recognition, but for service, and learning to walk toward it with others beside you.
Listen to the full episode
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