Dr. David Felty
Accepts Calling as Minister
Dr.
Dave Felty (or Pastor Dave) was born in Ashland, Kentucky. He went to grade school in Jackson, Ohio and high school in Dayton, Ohio. He attended "Camp Christian" in Ohio for seven years while growing up. It was there that he discovered his calling to Christian ministry.
He earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy (Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with Honors) at the University of Kentucky and received his doctorate in philosophical theology from Lexington Theological Seminary at the age of twenty-five. In addition, he has studied in the graduate schools and medical schools of the University of Kentucky and the University of Virginia.
Dr. Felty served as pastor of First Christian Church in Willmington, Ohio during the 1970s. Then, for a number of years, he pursued his ministry in the world of higher education. He served as campus minister at the University of Arizona and at Disciples-affiliated Lynchburg College in Virginia.
Following this, he taught philosophy and religion at Union College in Kentucky for several years. "Finally," he says, "I came to the realization that my real calling is to be a pastor who just likes to teach a little (rather than a teacher who just wants to preach from time to time). So I decided to return to my
'first love'--pastoral ministry in the local church--for the balance of my career."
Since that decision, Dr. Felty has served as an "intentional interim" or "transitional" ministry specialist in Ohio, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi including: First Christian Church in Athens, Ohio; First Christian Church in Independence, Missouri (near Kansas City); Disciples Christian Church in Hamilton, Ohio (near Cincinnati); First Christian Church in Washington, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh); and, at present, he is pastor of First Christian Church in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Pastor Dave describes some of his favorite non-ministerial activities as "short trips on small roads" and "finding small out-of-the-way diners." He is a devoted fan of The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Although no longer working in an academic setting, Dr. Felty continues his interests in biomedical ethics and the positive relationship between religion and science.
Pastor Dave's family is quite small. He has a grown daughter, Jessica, who lives in Connecticut and works for a pharmaceutical company. She is married to Terry Keogh, an internet businessman. They have a two-year old son, Sean Patrick Keogh (Dave's grandson). His family's roots in Florida go back to the 1930s when his father's family migrated from Kentucky to Florida. His mother, Annette, is a retired teacher and lives in Lake Worth, Florida. His sister, Beth, lives in California and works in the movie industry.
Please welcome Pastor Dave to our church!