Barnes has over a decade of international experience, serving in South Africa and Mozambique with Global Ministries (DoC and UCC) and in South Africa, Lesotho and eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) with the Mennonite Central Committee.

In addition to teaching classes in mission and church history at LTS, Barnes has also taught at Christian Theological Seminary (IN), Brite Divinity School (TX), the University of Indianapolis (IN), and Recatla United Seminary (Mozambique).

He received a BA from Gardner-Webb University (1993), a MDiv from Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond (2000), and a PhD from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (2010) in South Africa.  In addition to numerous journal articles, Barnes is the author of Power and Partnership: A History of the Protestant Mission Movement (Pickwick, 2013) and co-editor of Restoring Dignity, Nourishing Hope: Developing Mutuality in Mission (Pilgrim Press, 2016). More recently, he wrote “Mission and Ministry in the Age of Pandemics,” which appears in Threshold Dwellers in the Age of Global Pandemic (Pickwick, 2022) and is a guest editor for an issue of the Review & Expositor focusing on faith responses to imperial Christianity and Christian nationalism.

Dr. Bell served as the Regional Minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Georgia from 2014-2023. For 35 years, she served churches as pastor, associate, senior associate, satellite pastor, interim pastor, and executive pastor. As a church leader, her enthusiasm in ministry comes from her excitement in seeing lives and churches transformed by fresh ideas and boldness. She engages with others in seeking God for a way that bridges traditional and contemporary paths to meet today’s changes and opportunities. Her ministry is grounded in loving and serving the world with others who practice the principles of faith. Dr. Bell earned her MDiv from Denver Theological Seminary and received her Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from Eastern University in St. David’s, Pa., where she studied the practices of flourishing African American pastors and challenged research regarding clergy wellbeing. She received the 2022 Dissertation of the Year Award. As an educator and minister of practice, Dr. Bell seeks to help pastors and congregations increase their capacity to flourish and to be healthy communities of faith in a changing world.

She serves the body of Christ as preacher, retreat speaker, teacher, leader, counselor, and coach. Topics for which Pastor Bell provides insight which includes leadership development, personal leadership, team building, mission and vision casting and church transformation.

Her ministry is weaved together by her faith in a faithful God. She is God’s daughter, God’s servant, and a messenger for Christ.  She loves the Lord and has a love for God’s people as God has called her to be Christ incarnate to a world that needs to know that God loves and calls all according to God’s purposes.

Dr. Sharon Ellis Davis is a United Church of Christ Pastor and Professor. She brings over 30 years of experience as a pastor, police office & police chaplain.  Sharon’s PhD research focuses on sexual and domestic violence against women and children and their intersections with the criminal justice system, religious institutions, and other systems of oppression. She also lectures both nationally and internationally in Sexual and Domestic as they intersect with issues of race, class, culture, gender, gender identity and the Criminal Justice System. Dr. Sharon Ellis Davis is a trainer with the FaithTrust Institute based in Seattle, Washington and offers training to pastors and church leaders in the areas of Safe and Healthy Churches and Healthy Clergy Boundaries. Dr. Sharon Ellis Davis earned her M.Div., (Pastoral Care), and Ph.D., (Theology, Ethics and the Human Science, sociology) from Chicago Theological Seminary,  and her Doctor of Ministry from McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, where she serves as Affiliate Professor. She also served as Mentor of Doctor of Ministry Students, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH, leading over 30 Doctor of Ministry Students successfully through the program earning their degrees. Sharon is a published author. She published in 2014, as part of her PhD studies and research, African American Battered Women: A Study in Gender Entrapment. Her most recent book was recently released, (July 2022), The Trauma of Sexual and Domestic Violence: Navigating My Way Through Individuals, Religion, Policing, and the Courts. Sharon is a Retired Board-Certified Chaplain, (BCC) with the Association of Professional Chaplains, (APC).

Esther Parajuli (she/her), theologian, a third generation migrant and a Naga-Nepali hybrid, completed her Ph.D. in Systematic Theology at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York in May 2022. Her current research work integrates apophatic theology with liberation theology as well as postcolonial theory to contemplate the question of selfhood and its relationship with “the Other.” Her commitment to theological education is rooted in her belief in the interconnectedness of spirituality, critical thinking, and the praxis of liberation.

Prior to her doctoral studies, Dr. Parajuli received an STM with a concentration in Systematic Theology from Union Theological Seminary, NY, and an M.Th. with an emphasis on Systematic Theology from United Theological College in Bangalore, India.

(859) 280-1252

M.Div., Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, 2000
Ph.D., Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, 2014

Joined the faculty in 2016.

Pronouns: she/her

The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade is the Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at Lexington Theological Seminary in Kentucky.  An ordained Lutheran minister (ELCA) for more than twenty years, Leah earned both her MDiv and PhD degrees from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Lutheran Seminary).  She has pastored congregations in suburban, urban, and rural contexts. Her book, Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), explores how clergy and congregations can address controversial social issues using nonpartisan, biblically-centered approaches and deliberative dialogue. She is also the author of Creation-Crisis Preaching:  Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit (Chalice Press, 2015), as well as For the Beauty of the Earth, a Creation-centered Lenten devotional (Chalice Press, 2019). She is co-editor and author with Margaret Bullitt-Jonas of Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), and co-author with Jerry Sumney of Apocalypse When?: A Guide to Interpreting and Preaching Apocalyptic Texts. Her latest book is Introduction to Preaching: Scripture, Theology, and Sermon Preparation, co-authored with Jerry L. Sumney and Emily Askew (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023). She is also the EcoPreacher blogger for Patheos.

Dr. Schade has served as an anti-fracking and climate activist, community organizer, and advocate for environmental justice issues.  Her current environmental partnerships include The BTS Center, Creation Justice Ministries, ecoAmerica’s Blessed Tomorrow, and the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, with whom she writes EcoPreacher 1-2-3 for busy pastors wanting to address environmental issues in their sermons.

Dr. Schade is serving as President of the Academy of Homiletics in 2024.  She has been a featured speaker for the Festival of Homiletics, leads workshops and retreats, and keynotes events throughout the country.  She was the director of a Wabash grant exploring the use of deliberative dialogue in congregations and theological education is also conducting a longitudinal research study about ministry, preaching, and social issues that has surveyed nearly 3,000 clergy and 1,000 laity since 2017.

She received the Kentucky Council of Churches award in 2019. Dr. Schade is also co-founder of the Clergy Emergency League, a network of nearly 2,500 pastors throughout the U.S. who provide support, accountability, resources, and networking for clergy to prophetically minister in their congregations and the public square in this time of political upheaval, social unrest, and partisan division.

(859) 280-1255

B.A., David Lipscomb University, 1978
M.A., Harding University,1982
Ph.D., Southern Methodist University, 1987

Joined faculty in 1997.  Prior to that time he taught in the religion department at Ferrum College from 1986-1997.

Dr. Sumney is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and is past president for the Southeastern Region of the Society. At the national level, he also served as the chair of the steering committee for the Theology of the Disputed Paulines Group from 1996-2001 and as the chair of the steering committee for the Disputed Paulines Section from 2004-2012. He also chaired the Pauline Epistles and Literature Section of the International Meeting of the SBL 2003-2008.  He was elected to membership in the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (SNTS) in 2005.

He has written seven books: Paul: Apostle and Fellow Traveler (2014); The Bible: An Introduction (2010; 2^nd edition, 2014); Colossians; A Commentary, New Testament Library Series (2008); Philippians, A Handbook for Second-Year Greek Students (2007); Servants of Satan, False Brothers, and Other Pauline Opponents (1999); Preaching Apocalyptic Texts (co-authored with Larry Paul Jones; 1999) and Identifying Paul’s Opponents (1990). He is editor of Reading Paul’s Letter to Romans (2012); The Order of the Ministry; Equipping the Saints (2002) and co-editor of Theology and Ethics in Paul and His Interpreters (1996) and Paul and Pathos (2001). He also has written over 30 articles in journals and books. He also contributed entries to the New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible and the Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments, and the Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics. In addition, was a contributor to the The College Study Bible and the CEB Study Bible.  He is currently working on a book on Paul’s use of tradition, a commentary on 1 Corinthians, and the Bible study section of an issue of the New International Sunday School Lesson Annual.

Sumney has presented papers at regional, national, and international academic conferences.  He has also led numerous workshops for elders and deacons, and Bible study workshops and series, including in the Lay School of Theology at LTS and in the school for licensed ministers sponsored by the Kentucky region of the Christian Church.  He is the regular teacher of an adult Sunday School Class in his home church.

Dr. Sumney and his wife, Diane, have three daughters: Elizabeth, Victoria, and Margaret.

Adjunct Professor of Theology

(859) 280-1219

2011          Ph.D. Syracuse University

2008           M.Phil. Syracuse University

2005           M.Div. Vanderbilt University

2002           B.A. Transylvania University

Dickinson has been teaching at LTS since 2016. Prior to coming to LTS, he was Associate Dean for Religious Life at Transylvania University, where he taught in the Religion, Philosophy, and Environmental Studies programs.

Dickinson is a theologian, organizer, and minister whose work takes place at the intersection of environmental justice and discipleship. He approaches theology through traditions of liberative wisdom—integrating a wide range of disciplines from biblical studies, social history, practical theology, philosophy, social theory, and aesthetics and bringing them to bear on issues of everyday life, community building, and cultivating movements for justice. At LTS he teaches courses like Pastoral Theology, Jesus and Environmental Justice, Food and Faith, Mystical Theology, and Building Capacity for Transformative Ministry.

His first book is entitled, Exercises in New Creation from Paul to Kierkegaard. This book articulates a vision for philosophical theology around the practices of the care of the self, the city, and creation. His second book, The Green Good News: Christ’s Path to Sustainable and Joyful Life, is an environmental justice reading of the Gospels that is written to bridge scholarly, church, and activist audiences. His third book, Singing the Psalms with My Son: Spiritual Exercises for Climate Crisis (forthcoming 2023) is a collection of theological mediations that look to the Psalms and the practices of parenting as refuge, hope, and transformation in the face of climate change. He is currently working on a project on Christ and the Commons.

In addition to serving at LTS, Dickinson is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and is the director of the Green Good News, an organization that is rooted in a number of food justice ministries and which educates, cultivates, and organizes Christian communities to follow the ways of justice, joy, and simplicity. He is also involved in building wider movements to cultivate and connect the Christian food movement, climate justice networks, and the Christian Left. He is chair of the Christ Seminar, a project on Christologies of the People with the Westar Institute, and area editor for ecology and environment for The Bias Magazine.

Adjunct Professor of Theology

(859) 280-1219

2011          Ph.D. Syracuse University

2008           M.Phil. Syracuse University

2005           M.Div. Vanderbilt University

2002           B.A. Transylvania University

Dickinson has been teaching at LTS since 2016. Prior to coming to LTS, he was Associate Dean for Religious Life at Transylvania University, where he taught in the Religion, Philosophy, and Environmental Studies programs.

Dickinson is a theologian, organizer, and minister whose work takes place at the intersection of environmental justice and discipleship. He approaches theology through traditions of liberative wisdom—integrating a wide range of disciplines from biblical studies, social history, practical theology, philosophy, social theory, and aesthetics and bringing them to bear on issues of everyday life, community building, and cultivating movements for justice. At LTS he teaches courses like Pastoral Theology, Jesus and Environmental Justice, Food and Faith, Mystical Theology, and Building Capacity for Transformative Ministry.

His first book is entitled, Exercises in New Creation from Paul to Kierkegaard. This book articulates a vision for philosophical theology around the practices of the care of the self, the city, and creation. His second book, The Green Good News: Christ’s Path to Sustainable and Joyful Life, is an environmental justice reading of the Gospels that is written to bridge scholarly, church, and activist audiences. His third book, Singing the Psalms with My Son: Spiritual Exercises for Climate Crisis (forthcoming 2023) is a collection of theological mediations that look to the Psalms and the practices of parenting as refuge, hope, and transformation in the face of climate change. He is currently working on a project on Christ and the Commons.

In addition to serving at LTS, Dickinson is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and is the director of the Green Good News, an organization that is rooted in a number of food justice ministries and which educates, cultivates, and organizes Christian communities to follow the ways of justice, joy, and simplicity. He is also involved in building wider movements to cultivate and connect the Christian food movement, climate justice networks, and the Christian Left. He is chair of the Christ Seminar, a project on Christologies of the People with the Westar Institute, and area editor for ecology and environment for The Bias Magazine.

Bruce A. Barkhauer was called as the first “Minister for Faith and Giving for Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)” in 2010, after 25 years of parish ministry. Since that time, he has engaged the whole church in conversations about generosity and offered transformative ways for congregations to think about stewardship. His energy, vision, and entrepreneurial spirit enhance gifts in both business and ministry. He brings a biblically based understanding about stewardship combined with theological integrity and weds them to the current trends and best practices related to spirituality and money. He is the author of numerous articles, and books including America’s Holy Ground: 61 Faithful Reflections On Our National Parks (published by Chalice Press, 2019), and Community of Prayer: A Stewardship Devotional. His most recent book, America’s Holy Sites: Faithful Reflections on our National Monuments and Historic Landmarks was released in April of 2020.  He is a graduate of Ohio University (Athens), Christian Theological Seminary (Indianapolis), and did Doctor of Ministry studies at Ashland Theological Seminary (Ashland, OH). Rev Barkhauer has also earned an Executive Certificate in Religious Fundraising and is an adjunct professor with both Lexington Theological Seminary, and the IU School of Philanthropy.  He is married to Laura and they share three grown children and three grandchildren.

Rev. Dr. Kristen Bentley began working at LTS in 2014 when LTS was awarded a grant by Lilly Endowment Inc. as part of its Theological Schools Initiative to Address Economic Challenges Facing Future Ministers (ECFFM). Kris directed the Conversations on Stewardship and Finances Project at LTS from 2014 through 2020 and currently directs the Thriving in Ministry Project, also funded by Lilly Endowment.  In both projects, Kris has guided a research project at LTS regarding bi-vocational ministry, serving as the lead researcher.

An ordained minister with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Kris served in congregational ministry in the central Kentucky area for nearly twenty years, sometimes in the role of a bi-vocational pastor.  Prior to attending seminary, she worked in higher education administration, serving at both Midway College (now Midway University) and the University of Kentucky.
Kris is an alum of Lexington Theological Seminary, holding a D.Min. (2020) and M.Div. degree (1997) from LTS, as well as a M.S. in Education (1981) from Indiana University, and a B.A. (1979) from the University of Kentucky.  Kris and her husband, Perry, live in the Lexington area and are active members of their local congregation.  They have four children – Joshua, Kathryn, John, and Jasmine.

Yale Divinity School, New Haven, CT. May 2000
Master of Divinity

Adjunct Professor of Theology

(859) 280-1219

2011          Ph.D. Syracuse University

2008           M.Phil. Syracuse University

2005           M.Div. Vanderbilt University

2002           B.A. Transylvania University

Dickinson has been teaching at LTS since 2016. Prior to coming to LTS, he was Associate Dean for Religious Life at Transylvania University, where he taught in the Religion, Philosophy, and Environmental Studies programs.

Dickinson is a theologian, organizer, and minister whose work takes place at the intersection of environmental justice and discipleship. He approaches theology through traditions of liberative wisdom—integrating a wide range of disciplines from biblical studies, social history, practical theology, philosophy, social theory, and aesthetics and bringing them to bear on issues of everyday life, community building, and cultivating movements for justice. At LTS he teaches courses like Pastoral Theology, Jesus and Environmental Justice, Food and Faith, Mystical Theology, and Building Capacity for Transformative Ministry.

His first book is entitled, Exercises in New Creation from Paul to Kierkegaard. This book articulates a vision for philosophical theology around the practices of the care of the self, the city, and creation. His second book, The Green Good News: Christ’s Path to Sustainable and Joyful Life, is an environmental justice reading of the Gospels that is written to bridge scholarly, church, and activist audiences. His third book, Singing the Psalms with My Son: Spiritual Exercises for Climate Crisis (forthcoming 2023) is a collection of theological mediations that look to the Psalms and the practices of parenting as refuge, hope, and transformation in the face of climate change. He is currently working on a project on Christ and the Commons.

In addition to serving at LTS, Dickinson is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and is the director of the Green Good News, an organization that is rooted in a number of food justice ministries and which educates, cultivates, and organizes Christian communities to follow the ways of justice, joy, and simplicity. He is also involved in building wider movements to cultivate and connect the Christian food movement, climate justice networks, and the Christian Left. He is chair of the Christ Seminar, a project on Christologies of the People with the Westar Institute, and area editor for ecology and environment for The Bias Magazine.

2021 Princeton Theological Seminary, M.Div.

2018 Universidad Nacional de San Martin, M.A. Sociology of Culture

2009 University of Valley Forge, B.A., Theological Studies – Philosophy & Religion
(summa cum laude)

Academic Coordinator for Pathways for Tomorrow Grant

B.Sc., University of Puerto Rico, 1978

M.Sc., Medical Science University of Puerto Rico, 1981

M.A.R. Andover Newton Theological School, 1988

Ph.D. Boston Theological School, Boston University

Rev. Dr. Doris Garcia-Rivera joined the faculty in December 2021 as Professor of Old Testament and Mission and Evangelism in the Certificate in Hispanic Ministries and recently as the Academic Coordinator for Pathways for Tomorrow Grant.

Dr. Garcia-Rivera served as Interim Director of Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America (BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz), a nonprofit international peacemaking network of thousands of peacemakers from four member nations – Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States, with connections to South America, Africa and Europe nurturing the organization during the pandemic.

As part of the Hispanic biblical scholars active in Christian missions, theological education, human development and social justice, Doris spent 23 years of missionary service in Central America connecting Indigenous and Central Americans communities with churches and organizations in the U.S. through the International Ministries of American Baptist Churches (IM-ABC). After this transformational time, Doris became the first Hispanic woman to preside (2014-2019) the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico an ATS accredited institution. She brought the seminary back to life after hurricane Maria with the collaboration of multiple reliefs organizations, partner churches, seminaries, and volunteers. She promoted continuing education and improved the seminary’s information technology infrastructure. Doris’ commitments have taken her throughout the United states and Central America as missionary, teacher, international speaker, consultant and board member of higher education accrediting institutions. She is founder of theological schools and programs. Since 1982 Doris has collaborated with a variety of journals and digital spaces sharing valuable biblical and theological knowledge receiving several awards for her writings.

Rev. Garcia-Rivera is an ordained minister of the ABC – Puerto Rican Baptist Churches since 1990. Doris’ interests are in Interculturality, Ancient Near Eastern culture and Prophetic Literature. She enjoys science fiction, writing and hearing music. She is a proud white Afro-descendant Puerto Rican woman and mother of three adults.

B.S., Jarvis Christian College
M.B.A., Indiana Wesleyan University
D.Min., Lexington Theological Seminary

Reverend Dr. Donald K. Gillett, II, has been the Senior Pastor at East Second Street Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) since July 1999. Prior to his call to ESSCC, he served as Youth Minister and Associate Minister at Park Manor Christian Church in Chicago.  He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics from Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, TX; a Master of Divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL; a Doctorate of Ministry Degree from Lexington Theological Seminary, Lexington ,KY; and a Master of Business Degree from Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, IN.

Gillett serves as the Chair of the Division of Overseas Ministries board and serves on numerous boards including the Kentucky Council of Churches Executive Board, and the Academy of Preachers Board of Directors. Moreover, he is the immediate past Moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in KY.  Gillett and the East Second Street Christian Church have been the recipients of several grants including:  Worship Renewal Grant from the Calvin Institute of Worship, the College of Pastoral Leaders Grant, and the Pastoral Renewal Grant from the Lilly Endowment, to name a few.

Clinical Pastoral Education, Unit 1 (2023)
Sankofa CPE Center

Doctor of Philosophy (2020)
Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN
Major area: Hebrew Bible
Minor area: New Testament and Early Christianity
Fellowship: Theology and Practice

Master of Theological Studies (2014)
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Focus area: Biblical Studies

Bachelor of Arts (2012)
Furman University, Greenville, SC
Major: Religion
Minor: Poverty Studies
Summa Cum Laude

John Hull has taught Hebrew Bible since 2009. He is Minister Emeritus at Beargrass Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, where he served as Minister of Faith Development from 1998—2019. An ordained Disciples of Christ minister, he previously served at First Christian Church of Atlanta and Temple City (CA) Christian Church. He has been visiting lecturer in Biblical Studies at Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles) and has served as contingent faculty at colleges and seminaries in California and Texas.

Dr. Hull’s Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible is from Claremont Graduate University. He also has a M.A. in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary and a B.A. in biblical studies from Azusa Pacific University.

The areas of the Hebrew Bible in which Dr. Hull specializes include narrative and prophetic literature. At LTS he has taught courses in the Deuteronomistic History (Joshua—Kings), the Prophets, the Book of Amos, and Ruth and Jonah. Dr. Hull has published articles on the books of Judges and Kings.

Dr. Hull is married to the Rev. Dr. Caryn Yoast, who holds a D.Min. from LTS. They now live in Erie, Colorado between Boulder and Denver and have two daughters who also live in Colorado. Dr. Hull enjoys hiking and backpacking, fly fishing, cooking, photography and American and family history. He has great concern for climate and the environment as well as justice.

Professor of Constructive Theology

B.Sc., University of Puerto Rico, 1975
DVM, Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine, 1979
M.Div., Andover Newton Theological School, 1990
M.Phil., Fordham University, 2000
Ph.D., Fordham University, 2005

The Rev. Dr. Loida I. Martell joined the faculty in August of 2017. Prior to that, she was Professor of Constructive Theology at Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University in Pennsylvania.

Dr. Martell is a licensed doctor in veterinary medicine as well as an ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches/ USA. She is a bi-coastal Puerto Rican who has taught in various institutions of higher learning including Gordon Conwell’s Center for Urban Ministerial Education in Boston, and the University of Puerto Rico’s College of Allied Health Professionals. She pastored in New York City for 15 years, and served as President of the Board of American Baptist Churches/ Metro New York City from 1994–1996.

Dr. Martell pioneered the study of evángelica theology. She has published articles on evangélica soteriology, Christology, doctrine of God, eschatology, Scriptural hermeneutics, globalization, embodiment, and vocation. Her research on Taíno religious beliefs led to the publication of “My GPS Doesn’t Work in Puerto Rico,” on evangélica spirituality. She co-edited Teología en Conjunto: A Collaborative Hispanic Protestant Theology (1997), and more recently co-authored the well-received Latina Evangélicas: A Theological Survey from the Margins (2013).

Dr. Martell is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association. As a member of the American Academy of Religion, she currently serves as President of La Comunidad of Hispanic Scholars of Religion. She was appointed to represent the American Baptist Churches/ USA on the National Council of Churches Convening Table for Theological Studies and Matters of Faith and Reason. The American Baptist Home Missions Societies awarded her the 2015 Richard Hoiland Christian Education Award, its highest recognition for “faithful and effective leadership in Christian education,” for her long-standing work in nurturing culturally and racially diverse classrooms and for exceptional leadership.

Dr. Martell is an avid amateur photographer.

M.A., St. Mary’s Seminary and University
Ph.D., The Catholic University of America

Dr. McMahon is Professor of Theology and Saint Vincent College and Seminary in Latrobe, PA. After a stint as an infantryman in the US Army, Dr. McMahon spent five years teaching at the high school level and the next twenty-six years teaching at the college and seminary level. His areas of research include Christology and Ecclesiology, and he is the author and editor of several books, including: Understanding Jesus (2013), Called Together (2011), and Finding Salvation in Christ (2011). Articles and essay appear in New Blackfriars, Revue Biblique, Horizons, The Journal of Moral Theology, and The Heythrop Journal. Additionally, he has served on the editorial boards of both Horizons and The Journal of Moral Theology.

B.A., Texas Christian University, 1995

Grad. Dip., Monash University, Melbourne, Aus., 1996

M.Div., Pacific School of Religion, 2000

Ph.D., Graduate Theological Union, 2011

Rev. Christy Newton, Ph.D. is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) who has served Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ congregations in Arkansas and California for over 25 years.  She has also worked in Church Relations with students and congregations at Chapman University.  Currently, she serves as Executive Director of Disciples Seminary Foundation, supporting the theological formation of students in seminaries in the Western U.S.  Additionally, she leads retreats and teaches a variety of seminary courses in social ethics, pastoral leadership, spirituality, globalization, and culture.

Christy is an alumna of Texas Christian University, Nanzan University (Nagoya, Japan), Monash University (Melbourne, Australia), Pacific School of Religion, and the Graduate Theological Union, where she received her Ph.D. in the interdisciplinary disciplines of theology, globalization, and material culture.

Christy’s ministry and teaching focus on the gritty and tangible work of justice, dynamically translating a prophetic gospel message into languages that diverse people can understand, and using the arts to open up the transformative possibilities of the spirit.  She is energized by practical and public theologies that insist on hospitality, justice, and compassion, and she is inspired to help individuals and communities sustain their prophetic voices in a difficult and polarized world.

As a scholar, activist and clergywoman, Dr Nuzzolese is committed to the organic integration of theory and pastoral praxis, holding together issues of faith and social justice through research, advocacy and therapeutic intervention. The current focus of her research is the phenomenon of traumatization in which both humans and the planet are caught, due to the convergence of socio-economic, political and environmental forces. In her upcoming book, The World as a Trauma Zone, she draws from her therapeutic work with victims of labor and sexual exploitation and those who are dislocated due to forced migration to reflect on the impact of trauma in our shared human experience; and seeks to construct a theo-ethical response in the form of creative, radical and uncommon imagination.

Coordinator of Mentored Ministry and Chaplain

Dr. Lon Oliver serves as the Executive Director of Appalachian Ministries Educational Resource Center (AMERC) and the Administrator of Disciples Appalachian Scholarship Ministry.  In addition, Lon serves on the Executive Committee of the Rural Network in the United States and Canada and is the Vice President of the Board of Human Economic Appalachian Development, a nonprofit microbusiness and leadership council.  He is the pastor of Nicholasville Christian Church in Nicholasville.

Lon’s special interests include  Appalachian faith and music, the Second Great Awakening in Kentucky and the retelling of history from the perspective of America’s multicultural society. Lon has his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Lexington Theological Seminary.  He is married to Maria Oliver.  Lon and Maria are the parents of their adult child, David.

Project Management and Technical Training Consultant
Currently providing business-to-business consulting services for leading IT service providers in Puerto Rico. Services include requirements gathering, project management, technical training, and e-Business consulting. Have also provided professional training services in the continental US, Dominican Republic and Peru through third-party service providers.

Doctor of Ministry, Concentration: Spirituality and Story, Wesley Theological Seminary

Washington, DC, 2021

Dissertation: Maintaining Pastoral Authenticity Through Resignation and Termination

Master of Divinity, Virginia Union University School of Theology

Richmond, VA, 2003

Dr. Christopher Rodkey is a public theologian in south-central Pennsylvania, where is he Pastor of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Dallastown, PA. He is a graduate of St. Vincent College (B.A.), the University of Chicago (M.Div.), Meadville Lombard Theological School (D.Min.), and Drew University (Ph.D.). He regularly teaches philosophy at Penn State York, where he was awarded the Burness Award for Excellence in Teaching, and has had extensive training in online pedagogy and course design from Penn State’s Global Campus. He holds lifetime certification as a Specialist in Religious Education from the United Church of Christ and has substantial ministry experience in children’s, youth, and young adult ministries.

Dr. Rodkey’s publications include The Synaptic Gospel (2012), Too Good to be True (2014), The World is Crucifixion (2016), The Palgrave Handbook of Radical Theology (co-editor, 2018), and The Bonhoeffer Chrism Mass (2020), A Kazoo Christmas (2023), and I Know Why There’s Blood in the Nile (2023). He has additionally co-created a series of three devotional coloring books for Chalice Press and was on the revision team for God & Me (2020), one of the scouting awards programs for children from P.R.A.Y. publications. He is currently creating a new translation of G. E. Lessing’s 1780 play, Ernst und Falk.

2016 – 2017 Drew Theological School
Master of Arts in Theology
Minor: Women’s Gender and Sexualities

2012 –2015 Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico
Master of Arts in Religion

2006 – 2011 Universidad del Sagrado Corazón
Bachelor of Arts in Communications
Major: Advertising
Minor: Theology

RESEARCH INTEREST
Race, body politics, gender, feminist/womanist methodologies, sexuality, religion, interreligious dialogue, citizenship, public health policy, education, Caribbean studies, and decolonial theory, and activism.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
2024 Dissertation Title: Decolonial Betrayals: Afro-Caribbean
Feminist Activism in Puerto

My academic background is philosophy (MA Boston College, Boston MA) and Theology (PH.D. Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley CA). I am an interdisciplinary scholar who specializes in relating the fields of Ethics and Spirituality.

I have been adjunct faculty for over 20 years in the Religious Studies Dept. at  Santa Clara University, Ca. both online and on-campus, and have given presentations, workshops and retreats in the US and abroad on a lay Christian formation and climate issues.

My participation in the twice yearly environmental “tUrn” event at Santa Clara University is a source for me of ongoing education and reflection.

Because of the importance of climate change I am currently investigating our relationships with creation in the context of sexual ethics and spiritualty.

In my life and scholarly work, I keep my four daughters, ten grandchildren and one great grandchild in my mind and heart.

I am delighted and honored to be a part the Catholic Studies Program at Lexington Theological Seminary.

Dr. Yvonne Martinez Thorne served as consultant for Area Ministry and Communications for the Philadelphia Baptist Association. In this role she provided regional and pastoral leadership to clergy, lay leaders and congregations.  This included training in strategic planning and team building; strengthening of collaborative partnerships between congregations and the region; strengthening multicultural competence and sensitivity; conflict resolution and crisis intervention; and encouraging of congregational health and wellness. Her work with congregations included a whole-person approach encompassing the development of pastoral and lay leaders.  This method is rooted in her belief that church renewal and challenges facing 21^st Century Churches require authentic spiritual and psychological transformation in church leaders and congregations.

Rev. Martinez Thorne’s commitment to the church continues in her role as consultant to congregations, ecumenical judicatories, and Christian organizations seeking greater wholeness and wellness.  She recently provided disaster relief to clergy and congregations traumatized by natural disasters in Puerto Rico and The Bahamas.  Rev. Martinez Thorne also served in the Baptist World Alliance as Vice Chair of Commission on Christian Ethics, on the Resolutions Committee, and on the Division of Mission, Evangelism, and Theological Reflection.

Rev. Dr. Martinez Thorne is author of several publications and is a frequent platform speaker in the U.S. and abroad.  She currently serves as faculty at Lexington Theological Seminary where she offers courses on clergy wellness and on the importance of healthy boundaries in ministry.  As a multicultural specialist, Dr. Martinez Thorne also provided graduate instruction at seminaries in New Jersey, Kansas and at Hunter College in New York City.  She also provided executive leadership to an ecumenical clergy career center in Missouri and a pastoral counseling center in New Jersey.

Dr. Martinez Thorne holds a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from Palmer Theological Seminary and Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University.  Rev. Martinez Thorne is ordained clergy of the American Baptist Churches USA.  She is married to Rev. Dr. Leo S. Thorne, former associate general secretary for Mission Resource Development for the American Baptist Churches USA.

Dr. Tamar Wasoian is an Armenian religious educator and practical theologian from Syria. She is an independent scholar and teaches in theological seminaries in the United States and Philippines.

‘Storied Learning’, nationalism, communal memory, faith, and identity formation are at the core of Tamar’s interests and expertise. She is actively involved with the Armenian community, the Presbyterian Churches (USA), and the Unitarian Universalist Association.