About Jon Mullican

I'm Jon Mullican, I'm from the zeta prime class. I'm currently the president of Hope Network Ministries.

The MS in Organization Development program changed my life, it really changed my children's life first because once I entered the program a series of events took us out of our home town of Tulsa, Oklahoma and had us moving to Dallas. My kids were entering ninth grade, sixth grade, and fourth grade and so for them it was a really big change because of the impetus to really do what I thought I was called to do, that's what the program did. It had me taking a job in Dallas that had me there for 15 years so it had us moving. But then of course it also helped me to see that the change that I could be a part of in the organizations that I worked with wasn't impossible. Church change is not an oxymoron, I often had to say, because churches usually are seen as stilted and stuck.

But the MSOD program really allowed me to help those churches that I worked with make changes that they needed to make to adapt to the current environment. That allowed me to work with more than one church at a time so I began traveling. It was an absolute life changer for me and my family so I attribute that change to the MSOD program.

One thing that I would like for people to know about my legacy is that I'm really uncertain that legacy is the right word to use for somebody like me. I really think of legacy being associated with some of the founders because they've done such incredible work. But what I hope to be a part of and perhaps what people would remember me for is that I was exceedingly present, that I listened very well to them and that I was able to pose questions that allowed them to get beyond the point that they were in at the time. I really enjoy listening to what people have to say, letting them feel heard so that they can maybe discover things that are new. And then pose questions that also help them move along the path that they've chosen.

Long-term goals for me regarding MSOD and the work that I do, I would love in the next 10 years to bring the conversation about us a spiritual beings into the forefront. We talk about our minds, we talk about our bodies but our spirits are kind of left to the side and if I could be a part of bringing that conversation into the room as well to talk about being whole people and paying attention to who we are as spiritual beings I would be thrilled to be able to do that.

It had two significant impacts on my life that were external to me. One was, I went to the Naval Academy and finished there, that was a all-in program, once you were in nobody else joined. And then I realized once I entered the MSOD program that the cohort started and didn't change so we had the same group of people entering all together, we all either made it together or we didn't. I love that about the MSOD program, I can't imagine doing it differently and I'm so appreciative of the design that we get to enjoy, I don't take it for granted. I'm appreciative of Pat Williams starting it, of Tony Petrella continuing it and the other folks that are so important to what we do now.

I'm hopeful that this community continues for a very long time, and that doesn't happen by accident, it happens because people make it happen and people like Charlotte Law, Jeb Bates, and the faculty, Terri Egan and Ann Feyerherm and all of them. They all... Gary, they make such a difference. I'm hopeful that it does continue and I don't assume that it will so I'm going to be a part of ensuring that it does.