the Golden State Warriors.
During his time at Montrose, Fields mentored
a series of future professional and collegiate players,
including Justin Anderson of the Philadelphia 76ers
and Justin Robinson, a junior point guard at Vir-
ginia Tech.
Fields played college football at Central Mich-
igan University. The father of three holds graduate
degrees from The Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary and Central Michigan University. His
wife Katie is the manager of the Melrose Center,
the headquarters of Christian Union’s ministry at
Princeton University.
At Princeton, Fields has mentored two NFL
players who are strong Christians, Caraun Reid ’14
and Seth DeValve ’16. Reid, a defensive lineman
who has played for the Detroit Lions and San Di-
ego Chargers, was a worship leader for Christian
Union’s ministry on campus. DeValve, a tight end
with the Cleveland Browns, was also a leader on the
field and in Bible courses at Princeton.
Fields has high expectations for Christian Union
at Princeton in this academic year as the team of
ministry fellows and student leaders welcomed new
students and prepared for another season of seeking
“In the midst of their success, they are still
looking for Jesus. That’s really exciting.”
God through Bible courses, prayer and fasting, the
leadership lecture series, conferences, and outreach
events. The ministry at Princeton is the largest stu-
dent organization on campus, with a wide range of
young adults repr esenting all sectors of campus life,
from eating clubs to sports teams.
“We are planting seeds and allowing God to move
mightily,” said Fields. “This has been a culmination
of many years of prayer. I’m really encouraged.” | cu
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pursuing Christ, Law, and Theology
Wilkinson Is Ministry Director at HLS
by tom campisi , managing editor
2
ter of Divinity degree at Southwestern Seminary,
while working at a law firm in Fort Worth. After
serving in a local church as a pastor-elder who di-
rected ministries of discipleship and theology,
Wilkinson sensed a calling for ministry and teaching.
In the fall of 2013, he and Darla moved to Lou-
isville, Kentucky, so he could attend The Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary. However, the couple
had to leave Louisville after it was discovered that
Darla had a genetic condition that doesn’t allow her
to process mold. The Wilkinsons relocated to a dri-
er climate in Arkansas and waited on the Lord for
the next move.
Through God’s providence, they found out about
an opening with Christian Union at Harvard Law
School. In December—once the climate in Cam-
bridge, Massachusetts, was deemed okay for Darla—
the Wilkinsons headed east to start a new chapter.
Michael continues to work toward a Ph.D. in
systematic theology at The Southern Baptist Theo-
Michael Wilkinson, Christian Union’s
ministry director at Harvard Law School,
has a unique blend of theological and
legal training that helps him build mentoring rela-
tionships with students and empathize with the
challenges they face.
As a young boy growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
Wilkinson only wanted to be an attorney. That dream
became reality when he earned a law degree from
the University of Oklahoma.
However, in the midst of a successful career as a
patent attorney working with colleagues who had
practiced law for a significant amount of time,
Wilkinson knew he “wouldn’t be doing this in 20
years, or even 10 years.”
His future wife, Darla, suggested he look into
seminary. Darla’s father, Rev. Willard Lyons of First
Baptist Church of Copan, Arkansas, was Wilkinson’s
pastor.
He eventually moved to Texas to pursue a Mas-
27