Office of Spiritual Life > Meet The Staff

Dr. Gregory A. Thornbury
Vice President for Spiritual Life
Dean of the School of Theology & Missions
Professor of Philosophy

• Phone: 731.661.5082
• Email: gthornbu@uu.edu
• Education: B.A., Messiah College; M.Div. & Ph.D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
• Gregory Alan Thornbury, Ph.D, serves as Professor of Philosophy and Dean of the School of Theology and Missions at Union University in Tennessee. A Senior Fellow and founding editor of The Kairos Journal, he is the author of a number of edited volumes, book chapters and essays, including the forthcoming Recovering Classic Evangelicalism: The Legacy of Carl. F. Henry (Crossway). A visiting professor of philosophy at Ansgar Teologiske Høgskole in Norway, he has recently lectured at exhibitions and installations on the life and work of artists such as Larry Norman, Carl Perkins, and Daniel Johnston.

Dr. Taylor Worley
Associate Dean for Spiritual Life
Assistant Professor of Christian Thought & Tradition

• Phone: 731.661.5971
• Email: tworley@uu.edu
• Education: B.A., Union University; M.Div., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Ph.D, University of St. Andrews
• Taylor Worley has the privilege of teaching an eclectic variety of courses in the School of Theology and Missions and helping to lead the staff of the Office of Spiritual Life. He joined the Office of Spiritual Life under the leadership of Dr. Gregory Thornbury in the fall semester of 2010 and the faculty of the School of Theology and Missions in 2008. His research and teaching interests explore the intersection of theology and culture; for instance, theology and the arts, theology and popular culture or theology and film. In addition to teaching, he oversees the day to day work of student mobilization and student discipleship along with helping facilitate the chapel program.
• Dr. Worley's time is divided between serving in the classroom and serving in campus ministries, and this balance is something he finds really exhilarating and refreshing. He loves the community of students and colleagues at Union and believes it is one of the best things about this institution.
• He and his wife Anna Tenhet Worley have two children - Lizzi and Quinn - and have served together in leading bible studies for students and adults along with short term mission trips. They are founding members of City Fellowship Baptist Church in downtown Jackson, where Dr. Worley serves as an elder.

Elizabeth Ward
Office Coordinator

• Phone: 731.661.5062
• Email: eward@uu.edu
• Education: B.A., Samford University
• Elizabeth Ward came to Union in the spring of 2011 to serve as the Office Coordinator. Prior to joining the Office of Spiritual Life staff, Elizabeth earned at B.A. in History and Spanish in 2009 from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. After college, she served as the Marketing Director for the Chick-fil-A in Paducah, KY. Elizabeth moved to Jackson in November 2010 following her marriage to Austin Ward, a 2009 Union graduate. Elizabeth assists with chapel planning and coordination, helps with GO Trip logistics, handles office work, supervises student workers and is the contact person for the Missionary-in-Residence Program. In Spring 2012, she co-led a GO Trip to Honduras, where she ministered to children and staff at Orphanage Emmanuel. Elizabeth is so blessed to be at Union and enjoys serving the Union community. Elizabeth and Austin attend First Baptist Church Humboldt.

Lee Wilson
Director of Discipleship

• Phone: 731.661.5165
• Email: lwilson@uu.edu
• Education: B.A., Texas A&M University; M.Div., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
• Lee Wilson serves as the Director of Discipleship at Union University. Prior to joining the Office of Spiritual Life staff in January of 2008, Lee earned a BA in English Literature at Texas A&M and completed his Masters of Divinity at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Lee provides leadership to the Life Group ministry at Union University, training student leaders to serve as small group leaders, assisting new students as they make the transition into college life. Lee's passions include biblical manhood and the local church, both of which inform and shape his personal discipleship and the Man Up Bible study he leads every spring. Lee is married to his lovely wife Beth and together they have a toddling little girl, Abigail, and a baby boy, Liam.

Keely Beasley
Director of Discipleship

• Phone: 731.661.6598
• Email: kbeasley@uu.edu
• Education: B.A., Union University
• Keely is a 2007 graduate of Union University, where she received her undergraduate degree in Christian Studies. In 2009 she moved to Botswana where she served two years as a Journeyman with the International Mission Board discipling and serving alongside university students. It was here that God began to cultivate in her a love for the local church and deepen an understanding of our call to make disciples of all nations. Keely joined the Office of Spiritual Life staff in 2011 as a third year Journeyman to partner with Student Mobilization. She currently serves as the Director of Discipleship, working with Life Group leaders and overseeing the ministry of Klemata, a Bible study program for female students. She is so grateful for the opportunity to listen, encourage, challenge and walk with students as they learn to love and follow God.

Julie Bradfield
Director of Student Mobilization

• Phone: 731.661.5242
• Email: jbradfield@uu.edu
• Education: B.S., Union University
• Prior to coming to work at Union in 2005, Julie served as a Journeyman with the International Mission Board in Germany. She worked on a team ministering to German university students in a key college town in the former East Germany. Using her previous experience working with university students and volunteer teams in an international setting, Julie now provides direction for Union's Global Opportunities Program. She coordinates approximately 20 GO Trips each year and trains both leaders and students who participate in GO Trips. Julie also serves in leadership among her peers at other Baptist universities as they collaborate on how to more effectively engage and equip others to take the gospel to the nations. Her heart for college students and mobilization play a key role as she also serves as a resource for students who are interested in domestic and international ministry opportunities. Julie loves that she has been able to stay involved in the work among university students in Germany by leading teams of Union students and connecting students with longer term opportunities to serve there. Julie is an active member of First Baptist Church, Jackson.

David Carothers
Assistant Director of Student Mobilization

• Phone: 731.661.5571
• Email: dcarothers@uu.edu
• Education: B.S.W., Union University; M.C.S., Union University
• David Carothers came to Union in the fall of 2009 and serves as the Assistant Director of Student Mobilization. He graduated in 2003 with a BS in Social Work and 2008 with a Masters in Christian Studies. Prior to studying at Union, David spent most of his childhood and teenage years as an MK in Guatemala. This was an instrumental time in David's life and has greatly impacted his heart for the nations. David assists Julie Bradfield in planning and coordinating Global Opportunities (GO) Trips and helps train and prepare students who participate in GO Trips. David is the proud husband to Nekayeh and father to Norah Kate and Eden.

Aaron Beasley
Student Mobilization

• Phone: 731.661.5161
• Email: abeasley@uu.edu
• Education: B.A., Union University
• Aaron is a 2010 graduate of Union University, where he studied Teaching English as a Second Language. He currently serves as the Graduate Assistant to the Office of Spiritual Life while he works toward a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies. Prior to coming on staff at Union, he spent a year teaching English in Grenoble, France. Aaron enjoys making music and is a part of the body at Christ Community Church.