What is
the Center?
The James Houston Center for Faith and Successful Aging is a 501(c)3 faith-based organization located in Birmingham, Alabama, providing practical, evidence-based resources to enhance the spiritual, emotional, economic, health and well-being of elders and their caregivers. The Center is comprised of interdisciplinary experts in the field of aging and provides educational tools like AgeReady, a web-based application that assists older adults, caregivers, and their families address age-related challenges.
The Center partners with congregations across the state of Alabama to equip and empower them in caring for seniors in their community and beyond, desiring that each congregation be age-friendly.
Our History
The Center was founded by Michael W. Parker, Ph.D./DSW, Professor Emeritus at the University of Alabama and retired Lieutenant Colonel, US Army in 2019. The Center honors James M. Houston (M.A.,Edinburgh, D.Phil., and Oxford) former chancellor and emeritus professor of spiritual theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is the author of some forty books and is co-founder of the C.S. Lewis Institute. As colleagues, Parker and Houston worked together to advocate for the role of spirituality in successful aging.
The Center actively partners with faith communities across the Southeast from various denominations including Episcopalian, Catholic, Presbyterian, and Baptist traditions.
Following the deaths of founder Michael W. Parker in late 2025, and James M. Houston in 2026, the Center remains committed to honor their remarkable legacy by continuing to help families prepare for age-related challenges and the demands of caregiving.
What do we do?
The Center functions as a convener for various community initiatives that prioritize the integration of spirituality and aging. These initiatives include “AgeReady,” a web-based educational platform that assists older adults, caregivers, and their families in addressing the challenges of caregiving and aging. The Center works alongside faith communities from various backgrounds through the implementation of AgeReady.
In conjunction with AgeReady, the Center provides educational resources to assist faith communities and other organizations in discerning and developing age-friendly initiatives for their community and beyond.
Who is Involved?
The Center consists of an interdisciplinary team of professionals (partners) that resource older adults, caregivers, and their families across four primary domains of aging: Medical, Legal/Financial, Family/Social, and Spiritual. Though these partners serve in various professional settings, they each are uniquely committed to the mission of the center: enhancing the spiritual, emotional, economic, health & well-being of elders, caregivers, and their families through a variety of initiatives.
Dr. Michael W. Parker (1947-2025) - Founder
Michael W. Parker, Sr., LTCR, Ph.D./DSW, BCD (Board Certified Diplomate), Lieutenant Colonel – US Army Retired, was the founding principal and the Executive Director of the James Houston Center for Faith and Successful Aging. He actively collaborated with interdisciplinary teams of faculty and directors of late life ministries around the world. He was a retired Professor from the University of Alabama and held an appointment as Adjunct Professor with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics and Palliative Care and served as a Research Associate with the Duke Center on Spirituality, Health, & Theology. He completed a prestigious post-doctoral fellowship in Gerontology at the University of Michigan funded by the National Institute on Aging. Parker has over 90-peer highly referenced, scientific articles on spirituality, aging, and caregiving. He served as Co-PI & Co-investigator on the NIA-funded R01 UAB Study of Aging and was a John A. Hartford Foundation Geriatric Social Work Scholar (2001-03) and Mentor (2011-13). He also co-authored with Dr. Houston on A Vison for the Aging Church (2011), and A Vision for the Aging Christian (2024).
Parker died on December 26, 2025 after a five year battle with Parkinson's disease.
Ethan Asters - Executive Director
Ethan Asters (MA, MSW) is the Executive Director of the James Houston Center for Faith & Successful Aging. He works alongside an interdisciplinary network of volunteer professionals who partner with faith communities to build relationships and share resources among congregations, older adults, and both current and future caregivers.
Ethan grew up in Tupelo, Mississippi and has worked in various ministry contexts throughout the Southeast including Birmingham, New Orleans, and Nashville. An ordained Baptist minister, he holds masters degrees in Religion and Theology, and Social Work. Following his father’s diagnosis of early-onset-dementia in 2019, and the loss of his father-in-law to CJD, Ethan experienced firsthand the challenges of caregiving. Ethan previously served as the Program Coordinator for the James Houston Center for Faith & Successful Aging. As executive director, Ethan is committed to exploring the intersections of spirituality, social work, and successful aging to resource individuals and their caregivers across the state of Alabama and beyond.
He and his wife Hannah live in Hoover, Alabama with their children Evie and August. Ethan is a graduate of Samford University, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, and the University of Alabama’s School of Social Work.
Board of Directors
Thomas M. McCulley, Dr. Cindy Roff, Dr. David L. Albright, Stephen E. Faust, Isabelle Parker Silko, and William Brock Lewis
Advisory Team
James A. Martin, Frank Parker, McCulley, Roff, and Silko