Dr. Richard Reed was raised in the Methodist Church and received his
call to ordained ministry as a senior in high school. He attended Emporia State University (Emporia, Kansas) and received his undergraduate degree in History. Following graduation he began his Master of Divinity degree at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Texas) and completed his degree at Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, Texas). Dr. Reed earned the degree, Doctor of Ministry in Parish Development, from Brite Divinity School in 1994.

Dr. Reed began serving congregations in the Central Texas Conference
in 1979. He was appointed as Senior Pastor to First United Methodist
Church in Waxahachie on October 1, 1999 coming to Waxahachie from
North Richland Hills, Texas. His ministry has included serving as
pastor of both rural and urban congregations.   He has served in six
of the seven districts in our annual conference and has been involved
in seven building and capital funds programs.
 
He is active in the Central Texas Conference and currently serves on
numerous conference and district committees. He has authored Sunday
School material for children and adults including 5th & 6th grade
curriculum for Cokesbury and an adult study on the Apocrypha.
Dr. Reed and his wife Jeri, and have two children, Stephen and Mary
Ruth. Stephen lives in Euless, Texas with his son Michael and works
for Verizon.  Mary Ruth returned in August 2004 from Nagasaki, Japan
where she had been teaching English.  She is currently living in
Waxahachie and is the Executive Assistant to the Waxahachie D.S.
Jeri has retired from the workplace and enjoys spending her time with
grandson Mike, and pursuing her interests.  For recreation, Dr. Reed
enjoys writing, working with stained glass, and photography.