Frederick W. Schmidt, an Episcopal priest, is the director of Spiritual Life and Formation and associate professor of Christian spirituality at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He is the former canon educator for the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., where he was the director of programs in religious education. He earned his Ph.D. from Oxford University and is a frequent lecturer at major Episcopal and United Methodist churches, national denominational clergy meetings, and spiritual retreat centers across the country.