New Church Life January/February 2017 | Page 43

   lessons that affect what I do just about every day – the idea that leading is really serving is one and the importance of getting input from different perspectives in decision making is another. “Being in Kuwait for 9/11 was something I will never forget. We were out there sitting in the middle of the desert for five months and came back to a country that would never be the same.” Once he had completed his commitment to the Army he entered the George Mason School of Law (now the Antonin Scalia Law School) in Arlington, Virginia, where he earned his law degree. He also served as a law clerk for Gene E. K. Pratter, Judge of the Federal District Court in Eastern Pennsylvania. “This was a tremendous experience for a young lawyer. I was able to see some very skilled attorneys (and some others not so skilled) ply their trade in Federal Court.” As a young lawyer his practice focused on commercial litigation. He also did pro bono work that included representing child victims in sexual abuse cases to protect their mental health records from being used in trial. From 2007-09 he was an Assistant District Attorney for the Montgomery County (Pennsylvania) District Attorney’s Office. “This was a highlight of my legal career. Trying cases and working with law enforcement officers and dedicated public servants was quite a privilege.” He also became a guest lecturer at Bryn Athyn College after Dr. Greg Rose asked him to tell his students about the United States court system in his Political Science 101 class. He has been doing that just about every year since. In 2009 Brett returned to private practice and two years later he started hearing a call to the ministry. “I was about six years into my law practice when the idea first began to occur to me. I found that when I read the Writings on the train in the morning during my commute into Philadelphia I began asking myself what it would be like to teach what I was reading. This began in the winter and continued into the spring of 2011. After dismissing the idea that this was the early sign of a call to the priesthood, life continued on into late spring.” Then he attended church Karla and Brett Buick 39