Dr. Charisse L. Gillett became the 17th president of Lexington Theological Seminary in September 2011.

She has more than 20 years of successful administrative experience in higher education, including service at Transylvania University, Midway College, Robert Morris College and the University of Northern Iowa. She holds a doctorate in education from Northern Illinois University.

A former moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), she has been a commissioned minister of the Christian Church In Kentucky since August 2010 and is Associate Minister at East Second Street Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), where her husband, LTS D.Min. alumnus Dr. Donald K. Gillett, II, serves as Senior Pastor. Dr. Gillett served as Vice President of Administration and Special Projects at the Seminary prior to her appointment as president. She is also a former LTS trustee and officer of the Board of Trustees. She is a member Board of Directors for the ATS Board and the In Trust Center.

Dr. Gillett is deeply committed to the church and the work of the Seminary in shaping students for ministry. An energetic and dedicated leader, she works closely with a team of trustees, faculty, staff, students, and congregations to grow the Seminary’s new program, which is designed to serve the needs of the church while continuing the Seminary’s storied history of shaping people for ministry.

Dr. Gillett received a $15,000 Reflective Leadership grant from Leadership Education at Duke Divinity in 2018 to think carefully about leading in the midst of crisis.

Dr. Gillett’s appointment is an historic one in the 146-year history of the Seminary.

She is the first woman and first African-American to lead the Seminary as president.

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.

Transylvania University, B.A. Psychology 1981

University of Kentucky, M.S. Educational Policy Analysis 1992

Mr. Blankenship appointment began in November 2011.  He previously served in a variety of advancement roles in admissions, alumni relations and fundraising for his alma mater, Transylvania University since 1983.  In his service to the Seminary, Mr. Blankenship serves as the Vice President for Institutional Advancement providing leadership for fundraising, alumni relations, church, and community outreach.  He works with the President and executive leadership to address issues of institutional leadership and governance.

Mr. Blankenship is a founding member of Twin Pines Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Lexington, Kentucky.  He has actively participated in the life of the congregation as has his three children and spouse, Kim.  Mr. Blankenship serves as a Sunday morning teacher and elder for the congregation.  His past roles range from congregational board chair to deacon and committee leadership.

Professionally, Mr. Blankenship is a current member of the Association of Theological Schools Development Officers, Council for the Advancement of Education, Charitable Gift Planners, Central Kentucky Planned Giving Council & Board of Directors, Association of Fundraising Professional, Bluegrass Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Dr. Charisse L. Gillett became the 17th president of Lexington Theological Seminary in September 2011.

She has more than 20 years of successful administrative experience in higher education, including service at Transylvania University, Midway College, Robert Morris College and the University of Northern Iowa. She holds a doctorate in education from Northern Illinois University.

A former moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), she has been a commissioned minister of the Christian Church In Kentucky since August 2010 and is Associate Minister at East Second Street Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), where her husband, LTS D.Min. alumnus Dr. Donald K. Gillett, II, serves as Senior Pastor. Dr. Gillett served as Vice President of Administration and Special Projects at the Seminary prior to her appointment as president. She is also a former LTS trustee and officer of the Board of Trustees. She is a member Board of Directors for the ATS Board and the In Trust Center.

Dr. Gillett is deeply committed to the church and the work of the Seminary in shaping students for ministry. An energetic and dedicated leader, she works closely with a team of trustees, faculty, staff, students, and congregations to grow the Seminary’s new program, which is designed to serve the needs of the church while continuing the Seminary’s storied history of shaping people for ministry.

Dr. Gillett received a $15,000 Reflective Leadership grant from Leadership Education at Duke Divinity in 2018 to think carefully about leading in the midst of crisis.

Dr. Gillett’s appointment is an historic one in the 146-year history of the Seminary.

She is the first woman and first African-American to lead the Seminary as president.

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.

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.

(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.

Rev. Dr. Jonathan Barnes (he/him/his)
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean
Professor of Church History and Mission
Pathways for Tomorrow Grant Program Director

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.

Administrative Assistant to the Dean

Susan Thimons is the Administrative Assistant to the Dean. She has over 12 years of experience in Christian Higher Education administrative support at Asbury University, where she served both the Counseling Center and the Department of Social Work. She also day-of wedding coordinated for 10 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Olivet Nazarene University.

Susan, her husband Bob, and son, Leo (middle school) live in the charming town of Wilmore, where they are active participants in their local congregation. Susan serves as the Vice-President for the Board of Directors for the Community Service Center of Wilmore-Highbridge. She is also the treasurer for a women’s stock club. She enjoys doing adult paint-by-numbers, sewing, cryptograms, word searches, and growing her garden every summer.

Rev. Dr. Stephanie Moon is the Interim Director of Admissions as of June 1, 2022. She is proud to serve Lexington Theological Seminary where she acquired her Master of Divinity (2009) and Doctor of Ministry (2022). Her doctoral project was titled “Helping the Small, Rural Church Find Its Power and Create Change,” and the church continues this project of feeding residents of the community fresh produce gleaned from local farmers. She leads North Middletown Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), sings in the Lexington Singers, and enjoys spending time with her husband, Steven, son, Chris, and their three dogs. Prior to going into licensed and ordained ministry, Stephanie taught music in the public schools (1997-2000) and academic intervention for children with language-based learning disorders at The Swift School in Marietta, Georgia (2000-2006). She received her Bachelor of Music from Berry College and her Master of Music Education from Bowling Green State University.

Rev. Kimberley Proctor-White is a native of Bowling Green, KY, and currently resides in Nashville, TN. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Lindsey Wilson College, a Master of Divinity from Lexington Theological Seminary, and a Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Revered Proctor-White is also a National Board-Certified Counselor.

Kimberley was ordained in 2011 by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and in 2014 by Temple Church Inc. of Nashville, TN. She is a talented performing artist with a love for singing, acting, dancing, and writing. In 2009, she was inducted as a charter member into the Academy of Preachers. Her sermon ‘Alabaster Box’ was published in “A Beautiful Thing: Sermons from the Inaugural Festival of Young Preachers” by Lee Huckleberry (Chalice Press: 2010).

Kimberley and her husband, Java, are the proud parents of twin daughters and love serving in ministry together. She is truly passionate about what she does, and welcomes every opportunity that she has to do GREAT things to build God’s Kingdom.

Transylvania University, B.A. Psychology 1981

University of Kentucky, M.S. Educational Policy Analysis 1992

Mr. Blankenship appointment began in November 2011.  He previously served in a variety of advancement roles in admissions, alumni relations and fundraising for his alma mater, Transylvania University since 1983.  In his service to the Seminary, Mr. Blankenship serves as the Vice President for Institutional Advancement providing leadership for fundraising, alumni relations, church, and community outreach.  He works with the President and executive leadership to address issues of institutional leadership and governance.

Mr. Blankenship is a founding member of Twin Pines Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Lexington, Kentucky.  He has actively participated in the life of the congregation as has his three children and spouse, Kim.  Mr. Blankenship serves as a Sunday morning teacher and elder for the congregation.  His past roles range from congregational board chair to deacon and committee leadership.

Professionally, Mr. Blankenship is a current member of the Association of Theological Schools Development Officers, Council for the Advancement of Education, Charitable Gift Planners, Central Kentucky Planned Giving Council & Board of Directors, Association of Fundraising Professional, Bluegrass Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean Emerita

Director of the ATS-COA Self-Study

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.

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.

Transylvania University, B.A. Psychology 1981

University of Kentucky, M.S. Educational Policy Analysis 1992

Mr. Blankenship appointment began in November 2011.  He previously served in a variety of advancement roles in admissions, alumni relations and fundraising for his alma mater, Transylvania University since 1983.  In his service to the Seminary, Mr. Blankenship serves as the Vice President for Institutional Advancement providing leadership for fundraising, alumni relations, church, and community outreach.  He works with the President and executive leadership to address issues of institutional leadership and governance.

Mr. Blankenship is a founding member of Twin Pines Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Lexington, Kentucky.  He has actively participated in the life of the congregation as has his three children and spouse, Kim.  Mr. Blankenship serves as a Sunday morning teacher and elder for the congregation.  His past roles range from congregational board chair to deacon and committee leadership.

Professionally, Mr. Blankenship is a current member of the Association of Theological Schools Development Officers, Council for the Advancement of Education, Charitable Gift Planners, Central Kentucky Planned Giving Council & Board of Directors, Association of Fundraising Professional, Bluegrass Association of Fundraising Professionals.

She was formerly the coordinator of the Clergy Mentoring Program at LTS and currently serves as Director of Communications for the Seminary. She was moderator of the Christian Church in Kentucky from 2008-12. She has served on the Steering Committee for the Process of Discernment of Racism in North America for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and on the Board of Directors for Chalice Press, Christian Care Communities, the Christian Church Foundation, and the Center for Faith and Giving. She also serves on the editorial board of Just Women magazine. She previously worked in the Classified and Promotion/Advertising Creative Services departments at the Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper and is a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in DisciplesWorld and Just Women and other local and national publications, as well as Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Ashley Brown joined our staff in 2021 as the Social Media Manager for Lexington Theological Seminary. Brown posts, tweets, and shares all things LTS. Her goal is to be a friendly voice to educate, engage, and grow our tight knit community on all social media platforms. Brown graduated summa cum laude with her Bachelor of Science degree from Southeast Missouri State University with a double communications emphasis in Advertising and Film & Television.

 Before coming to LTS, Brown served as a Video Production Coordinator for St. Charles County Government working to earn over a million video views online in a single year, and a Video Technician for the City of St. Peters, Missouri creating unique, quality content for residents along with livestreaming board meetings and other events.

 When Brown isn’t clicking away creating content and sharing information, you can find her cuddled up on the couch with her cat and Pomeranian and playing video games with her partner, Montana.

Leah D. Schade
Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship, Project Director for Compelling Preaching for a Climate Changed World

(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.

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.

Rev. Dr. Michael L. Zachary Sr. is a native of Opelousas, Louisiana. He is married to the former Elma J. Kinnerson and has four children: Michael Jr., Anaiya, Malaya, and Alijah. Dr. Zachary earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Pastoral Studies, with a minor in Youth Ministry, from Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas. He received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Lexington Theological Seminary in Lexington, Kentucky.

Dr. Zachary currently serves as the Senior Pastor of Centerville Missionary Baptist Church in Paris, Kentucky. He is the author of the book and workbook From Soil to Soul: The Community Garden’s Impact on Food Insecurity. He also serves as President of the Consolidated Baptist District Educational Convention and as First Vice President of the Ministers and Messengers Auxiliary of the General Association of Baptists in Kentucky.

Shelby Fruge is the Instructional Technology Assistant (ITA) for the Certificate in African American Ministries (CAAM) at Lexington Theological Seminary. She assists the Director of Instructional Design & Technology and provides support for the students and professors in the CAAM program. Shelby’s experiences have taken her from delivering help to fellow congregants at her home church to a job with her local community bank helping to generate profit through the creation of commercials and assistance with their robust banking systems. When Shelby is not connecting with students, or helping students connect through technology, she enjoys spending time with her family and her pets.

Professor of Biblical Studies

(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.

Ms. Dolores Yilibuw joined the LTS Team in 2011 to provide a successful logistical plan to relocate the library collection. During the physical relocation planning, she also successfully migrated the library catalog to a cloud-based system to suit an online seminary.  Dolores gravitated to LTS not just because of the mentioned challenges but because of its intentionally ecumenical and practical program. She not only directs the library but does all the library technology. To keep life interesting, she is enrolled in the Creation Care Certificate program.

Before coming to LTS, Ms. Yilibuw was a team leader librarian at EKU and  a library paraprofessional at Emory University Libraries, where she received the Emory Libraries Significant Contribution Award for Creative Initiative in 2006. While there, she acquired an M.S.L.I.S. degree from FSU online. Ms. Yilibuw also earned an M.A.R. degree from Emory School of Arts and Sciences, and a Th.M. degree from Candler School of Theology.

Additional previous careers were with the United Bible Societies of the Asia-Pacific region as a bible translator and translation project coordinator in Micronesia (where she is a native). Ms. Yilibuw also earned a M.Div. degree from Asian Theological Seminary in the Philippines. After getting her B.A. degree from Asbury College (now University) she also served as a high school teacher in the Republic of Palau.

She has taught at Reinhardt College (now University), the University of Kentucky, and has co-taught the Three Rs of Seminary at LTS in the past. Ms. Yilibuw has also dabbled in publishing with an article titled “Tampering with Bible Translation in Yap” appearing in Semeia, a cutting-edge journal in Biblical Studies. Her article was recently republished in a new monograph series called “Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia”. Since her career in librarianship, she has published in the ATLA Conference Proceedings and has presented in state and regional library conferences.

Ms. Yilibuw is a member of the American Library Association. She represents LTS to the American Theological Library Association of which LTS is a co-founder. Dolores also represents LTS to the Digital Theological Library of which LTS is a co-owner. The DTL was created in 2016 by Claremont School of Theology with LTS being the first non-founding member. Today the DTL consists of 40 institutional members.

When Dolores was a young child, she often sat on the beach in her village and gazed at the horizon wondering how she might get through it to the other side.  She left Yap for college at age 17, and though she often visits her clans and family back home, she has only lived one solid year of her adult life in Yap. Subsequently, she is looking forward to retirement where she plans to return to the other side of the horizon for a potential fourth career.

Metadata and Course Reserves Manager
(859) 280-1229

Katie Wolsky began work at LTS back when she was still a student at University of Kentucky before graduating with a BA in Fine Arts and a Masters in Library and Information Science.  Her main responsibilities include maintaining the library’s journal collection, managing interlibrary loans, and other student/faculty services.  In her off-time, she enjoys reading books, watching movies, and listening to music.  She also enjoys spending time with her family including her many nieces and nephews.

Library Main Desk

(859) 280-1229

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.

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.

Dr. Charisse L. Gillett became the 17th president of Lexington Theological Seminary in September 2011.

She has more than 20 years of successful administrative experience in higher education, including service at Transylvania University, Midway College, Robert Morris College and the University of Northern Iowa. She holds a doctorate in education from Northern Illinois University.

A former moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), she has been a commissioned minister of the Christian Church In Kentucky since August 2010 and is Associate Minister at East Second Street Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), where her husband, LTS D.Min. alumnus Dr. Donald K. Gillett, II, serves as Senior Pastor. Dr. Gillett served as Vice President of Administration and Special Projects at the Seminary prior to her appointment as president. She is also a former LTS trustee and officer of the Board of Trustees. She is a member Board of Directors for the ATS Board and the In Trust Center.

Dr. Gillett is deeply committed to the church and the work of the Seminary in shaping students for ministry. An energetic and dedicated leader, she works closely with a team of trustees, faculty, staff, students, and congregations to grow the Seminary’s new program, which is designed to serve the needs of the church while continuing the Seminary’s storied history of shaping people for ministry.

Dr. Gillett received a $15,000 Reflective Leadership grant from Leadership Education at Duke Divinity in 2018 to think carefully about leading in the midst of crisis.

Dr. Gillett’s appointment is an historic one in the 146-year history of the Seminary.

She is the first woman and first African-American to lead the Seminary as president.

Jaime Willoughby Mulloy has served as the Executive Assistant to the President at Lexington Theological Seminary for 15 years. She has recently stepped into the role of Registrar. Jaime resides in Lexington, KY and has two daughters; Mackenzie (18) and Piper (11).  She holds a bachelors degree in Business Management from the University of Kentucky.

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.