A Tradition of Excellence

A tradition of wider church leadership:

Teresa Hord Owens is the General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the US and Canada. Joel Brown, a 2022 PhD graduate, is the new President of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society.

Yvonne Gilmore is Vice President and Chief of Staff of the OGMP. Lee Hull Moses directs the Proclamation Project, which is housed in the OGMP. Joan Bell-Haynes is Executive Regional Minister, Central Rocky Mountain Region. Chris Dorsey is President of Disciples Home Mission; April Lewton is Vice President for Development and Marketing at the National Benevolent Association. Katy McFall is Director of Development for Church Extension. Aaron Smith is an Area Director with the Pension Fund. They are part of a legacy of wider church leadership that includes Dennis Landon, Roland Sheafor, Robert Thomas, and David Vargas.

A tradition of vibrant congregational ministry:

Ellie Leech, a 2020 graduate, is the Senior Minister of Northwest Community Church, Seattle. Judith Guy, a 2017 graduate, is the minister of the Mackinaw (IL) Christian Church; Colton Lott, a 2018 graduate, serves First Christian Church of El Reno, Oklahoma.

Among others serving congregations are Rebecca Anderson, the founding co-pastor of Gilead Church in Chicago; Erica Brown, Howland [OH] Community Church; Doug Collins, First Christian Church, Tacoma, WA; Danielle Cox, Avon (IN) Christian Church; Michael Karunas, Central Christian Church, Decatur, IL; Allie Lundblad, Christian Church of Arlington Heights [IL]; Michael Swartzentruber, South Elkhorn Christian Church, Lexington, KY; Sarah West, First Christian Church, Wadsworth, Ohio; and Melinda Keenan Wood, Pilgrim United Church of Christ, Durham, NC.

A tradition of ecumenical engagement:

Vy Nguyen is the Executive Director of Week of Compassion, coordinating Disciples' response to humanitarian needs through an ecumenical network of response. Alexa Dava, a 2023 MDiv graduate, is seconded to the World Council of Churches by the Disciples of Christ to work on women's health. Kris Culp serves on the WCC's Faith and Order Commission. They continue a tradition that includes JoAnne Kagiwada, Michael Kinnamon, Tom Quigley, and former deans W. E. Garrison and W. Barnett Blakemore.

Graduates also serve in ecumenical campus ministry: Peter Browning is Chaplain and Professor of Religion, Drury University, and Stephanie McLemore is Director of Religious and Spiritual Life and University Chaplain at Denison University.

A tradition of social visionaries:

Sandhya Jha, author and speaker, founded the Oakland Peace Center. Ayanna Johnson Watkins is lead organizer of MICAH (Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope). Ken Brooker Langston leads Disciples Justice Action Network and coordinates the Disciples Center for Public Witness. Alexis Vaughan serves with the Interfaith Youth Core and as Coordinator of Justice Ministries with the NBA. Rob Wilson Black is President and CEO of the Faith & Politics Institute in Washington, DC. They extend a tradition that includes Arthur Azlein, Marshall Dunn, William Fox, Russ and Barbara Fuller, Dan Genung, Barton Hunter, David Kagiwada, Harvey Lord, Frank Mabee, Rolland Pfile, and Ian McCrae.

A tradition of excellence in teaching and scholarship:

Mark Lambert is an assistant professor in charge of the bioethics curriculum at Des Moines University, a health sciences university and medical school; Andrew Packman is Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics and Formation at the United Theological Seminary in the Twin Cities. Both are 2021 PhD graduates. Laura Jean Torgerson, a MDiv graduate, finished her PhD from GTU in 2022 and serves as a Louisville Institute Fellow at Berkeley School of Theology. Others who teach in colleges and universities are Emily Brooker-Langston, St. John's College, Annapolis; Peter Browning, Drury University; Kristel Clayville, University of Illinois at Chicago; Spencer Dew, Kenyon College; Patricia Duncan, Texas Christian University; David Hall, Centre College; Santiago Piñón, Jr, Texas Christian University; and Garry Sparks, Princeton University.

Among others who serve in graduate theological education are Tim Lee, Brite Divinity School; Daisy Machado, Union Theological Seminary; Stephanie Paulsell, Harvard Divinity School; Scott Seay, Christian Theological Seminary; as well as Kris Culp and Cynthia Lindner at the University of Chicago.