Austin Nickel is the Pastor at First Lutheran Church in Waco, Texas. Austin received his GED in 2004, and later attended The University of Sioux Falls, completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2011. While at USF he studied Theology and was a Youth Ministry major. He was heavily involved with the music programs at USF and served three years as concert choir chaplain.

In 2011, Austin started graduate studies at Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. It was during this time that he walked through the front door of First Lutheran in Waco, and because of their incredible welcome and love he stayed with them as their choir director and administrative assistant. He completed a Master of Arts degree in Christian Ministries in 2014; and in the following year was given the opportunity to serve First Lutheran Church in Waco as their Synodically Authorized Worship Leader (SAWL). In 2016 he attended The Lutheran Seminary Program of the Southwest for Theological Education for Emerging Ministries, and was graduated in the spring of 2019. Austin was ordained on November 2, 2019 at Seventh and James Baptist Church (That’s right he had his Lutheran Ordination at a Baptist Church), and is currently serving as the called Pastor of First Lutheran Church of Waco.

Pastor Austin has many passions, one of which is dismantling racism, and continuing to learn about his own racism. He has participated in several anti-racism retreats; is a trainee of the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond; and co-facilitated this new program Workspace: Racism and US. He currently works with Pastor Ele Clay on developing more tools and programs for bringing awareness to the realities of racism. As a social justice advocate he is an avid reader on many subjects such as immigration, climate change, LGTBQ+ rights, interfaith works, and civility.

Being in the Lutheran Church Pastor Austin has led book studies with his congregation, among them Dear Church: A love letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US by Lenny Duncan; They are Us: Lutherans and Immigration by Stephen Bouman; and Shameless: A Sexual Reformation by Nadia Bolz-Weber. A committed movie buff, some of his favorites are A Patch of Blue, BlacKkKlansman, Awakenings, CODA, Schindler’s List, The Prom, The Color Purple, and Network.

Pastor Austin considers himself a constant student and lifelong learner who strives for awareness, justice, and self-improvement. The world is his classroom and all the people that he meets are his teachers. Some of his favorite things include nature, good food, time with family, friends, and colleagues, learning and advocating for social justice.

Michelle Jolley is a leadership coach and mental health counselor. Michelle's diverse background includes coaching, counseling, program development, staffing development, clinical management, office management, finance management and grant administration.

Michelle's greatest passion is helping others to promote themselves, identify their full leadership potential, while promoting equity. The focus on self to engage in uncomfortable conversations, while removing barriers, creating safe space, decreasing stress, improving communication. Michelle walks beside her clients in their journey without judgement. In 2020, Michelle co-led one of the Racial Justice Workshop’s Critical Conversation. This was an opportunity for all races to have an open conversation about race, unpack feelings/emotions and bring awareness.

Michelle has been actively involved in the Lutheran community since early childhood. She has served on various church committees. Michelle served as the Youth and Young Adult Leader for over ten years. She holds a Healthcare Leadership Coaching Certification from the Healthcare Leadership Institute at Virginia Tech. She also holds an M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and MBA from The Johns Hopkins University.

Michelle is based in Baltimore, MD. She enjoys spending time with her family, volunteering as needed with her church community and assisting with social justice projects. 

Erin McCracken is a co-leader of the WorkSpace: Racism and US program and also manages business operations for Color of Grace LLC. Originally from Omaha, NE, Erin received her bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication from TCU. Following college, she spent eight years living in New York City where she worked as a booking producer at MSNBC and then as an executive assistant at an investment firm. In 2011, Erin earned a Master of Education in Counseling Psychology from Columbia’s Teacher’s College. Steeped in multicultural awareness, learning, and understanding, this master’s program taught Erin to examine how her unique identity groups (including whiteness) create the lens through which she sees the world. Through her graduate studies, Erin began unpacking the construct of ‘race’ and the impact – on herself and others – of white privilege. Erin is forever grateful to have been part of such a diverse cohort of grad school peers who helped unravel a previously held belief that racism was isolated—bigoted attitudes, slurs, hate crimes, etc—to reveal the reality that racism is embedded in the foundation of this country’s systems and structures.

In the summer of 2020, at the invitation of Pastor Ele Clay, Erin participated in the first cohort of WorkSpace: Racism and US (WSR). Erin trained to become a WSR facilitator in the fall of 2021 and co-led her first WSR cohort in the summer of 2022. In the spring of 2023, Erin completed an 8-week facilitation course led by Robin DiAngelo, PhD (author of White Fragility) and equity trainer Amy Burtaine which centered on strategies for leading white people in an anti-racist practice. Erin is dedicated to a life-long anti-racism journey. While acknowledging her points of privilege and continuing to learn, Erin is committed to bringing anti-racist ways of being, thinking, and doing into her sphere of influence including her household, extended family, friends, church, and hopefully well beyond. Erin is particularly passionate about anti-racist parenting and seeking authentic diversity within her church community. Erin considers her work with Color of Grace to be an answer to a prayer. She lives in Austin, TX with her husband and two young children.