Mike Baughman kept getting fired. Let’s be more precise- Rev. Mike Baughman kept getting fired from the churches he was leading. He never quite fit in and never felt like he really got how other people “did church.” An ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, he saw past the walls of the chapel and saw a community of people who were marginalized, and often overlooked or pushed past by the church. Mike now serves as the Founding Pastor and Executive Director of Union Coffee, a community-oriented coffee shop/church/community center/performance space/generally dope place to hang out that has the ambitious self-professed mission to “cultivate the divine spark in our neighbors for the good of the city and the world.” With a focus on inspiring through outstanding coffee, robust community and engaging causes, Union stands as a shining example of what Mike defines as God’s first commandment- to create.
An east coast native with the skilled and artisanal use of strong language that comes along with that- Mike is not what you’d expect when you hear the term “pastor.” He believes that offensive actions like homophobia, systemic racism, and inequality are deserving of the strong language he uses to describe them and comes to them with a disdain that’s rooted in a hope that it doesn’t have to be this way. That there is a more just and verdant world that God has envisioned- it’s the world he and Union fight for every day.
Curiously Creative
