Brandon Shields serves as the Director of Church Formation for Practicing the Way, where he leads a team of ten seasoned pastors walking with more than 19,000 churches across the world as they integrate spiritual formation into their congregations. He brings twenty-five years of diverse pastoral experience, including thirteen years as founder and lead pastor at Soma Church in Indianapolis, where he led an eight-year journey of re-architecting the church around a culture of spiritual formation. Shields holds an undergraduate degree in business, a graduate degree in missiology, and a PhD in leadership. He has been a contributing author to several books including Perspectives on Family Ministry and Faithful Endurance, and has written for publications including Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, and For the Church. Brandon lives in Indianapolis with his wife Emily and their four children.