photograph courtesy calvin L. Leake / Dreamstime
The spiritual soul finds no shortage of challenges. Living life through faith is an ongoing project, whether for individuals or institutions, and one of Memphis’ leaders who want to make it count is Dr. Jody Hill, the ninth president of the Memphis Theological Seminary (MTS).
The seminary is more than a place to dispense learning. It has sought to be a meaningful part of the community since coming to Memphis in 1964. Although affiliated with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, MTS’ ecumenical approach from the start opened its doors to all denominations. It also secured a place in Memphis history as one of the first predominantly white schools in Memphis to admit Black students. And as the turbulent 1960s unfolded, staff, faculty, and students were actively involved in the Civil Rights Movement.
“Being ecumenical means to celebrate the unity of the church, that we are one, and that certainly is evident here. We have in our 200 students about 25 different denominations educated here. That’s really cool.” — Dr. Jody Hill
Its mission is “to educate and sustain men and women for ordained and lay Christian ministry in the church and the world through shaping and inspiring lives devoted to scholarship, piety, and justice.”
Hill says, “It’s what we like to call practical theology. There’s nothing wrong with a deep-rooted educational journey for those who are going to do Ph.D. work in education, but the history of this institution has really been to prepare leaders for the church to truly serve whatever needs there are within the local community in congregations.”
This approach to service and ecumenicism is the very character of MTS. “Being ecumenical means to celebrate the unity of the church, that we are one, and that certainly is evident here,” Hill says. “We have in our 200 students about 25 different denominations educated here. That’s really cool.”
He notes that one student doing circuit preaching throughout north Mississippi might be in the same classroom as a person doing inner-city gang ministry in Memphis. “Learning from each other and growing from each other is what excites me about the mission of MTS,” Hill says. “Whether it be race, denominational affiliation, political views, it’s been a melting pot of God’s church. We’ve tried to embrace that with diversity, a great sense of unity of celebrating the one we held in common or what we hold in common more than you think it might be. That’s so welcoming in the world right now. In this world, there is so much division and upheaval and so much of a lack of humility in some circles on how we respond to the world’s problems.” He quotes MTS New Testament professor Mitzi Minor: “We’re committed here to have discussions, not arguments.”
photograph by jon w. sparks
Dr. Jody Hill, president of Memphis Theological Seminary
His Journey
Hill has led the seminary since January 2020, but he will tell you that his was not the most direct route.
“I grew up in Falkner in north Mississippi and attended the Cumberland Presbyterian church there, Mount Zion,” he says. “I wrestled with the call to ministry even as young as high school and then went to college at Ole Miss. My pastor said I ran with the devil for about five years in college.”
Hill was drifting from the faith, but realized that aimlessness couldn’t last. He and his wife, Monya, were newlyweds and he knew he had to get back to the church. “We needed this for our marriage if we were going to build a life,” he says. “It was kind of like a prodigal son story. I had disowned my roots of the faith, my relationship with God. But there was a welcoming, not only just to receive me back, but a running to me as the father did in that story of the prodigal son with love and grace and forgiveness. So began a growth and appreciation for God’s grace and wanting to share that with others, to just tell the stories of how my life had been made better through faith and God’s love.”
“Beyond just strategic planning, it’s understanding and trying to embody leadership qualities in our everyday life and applying those into the future, trying to embrace a vision for the institution or the body you serve and embracing those tools to help you do that.” — Dr. Jody Hill
He came to MTS in 1996, aiming for and getting a Master of Divinity degree, although not exactly sure what would come of it. “But I wasn’t going to be a pastor,” he says. “Five years later, I was a pastor and served in full-time pastoral ministry about five years.”
But Hill’s journey was far from over. He moved to the St. Louis area in 2004 and worked with a road construction company, but was still nagged by the thought that there was more to life than “just getting all you can.” He started doing interim work with the Presbyterian Church (USA) even as he continued with road construction. Eventually the business end of things suffered from a poor economy. “I started trying to figure out what am I going to do now that I’m grown up?” he says.
He had skills in fundraising that he used while on boards or with agencies. From 2008 to 2013 he was on the MTS board doing just that, but he hadn’t done it professionally. In 2015, he went to work for Blue Mountain College in north Mississippi as development director and vice president for community relations, with a focus on building relationships beyond the campus.
Hill had developed an interest in strategic planning studies and decided to enter the new strategic leadership degree program at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. “Beyond just strategic planning,” he says, “it’s understanding and trying to embody leadership qualities in our everyday life and applying those into the future, trying to embrace a vision for the institution or the body you serve and embracing those tools to help you do that.”
Memphis Theological Seminary
And now he was on his way to having a singular mix of experience and academic training that would take him to the president’s office at the seminary. Hill jokes: “I have an M.Div. from MTS, a Doctor of Ministry degree from a Baptist seminary, and credentials in the PCUSA church, so people can’t nail me down — I’m all over the place.”
That mixed bag of qualities turned out to be what the MTS board was looking for. Fundraising was a key element as was strategic thinking. The challenge of a strategic plan would address how a seminary makes it in a world where attendance and interest in mainline churches were shrinking. “How are we going to do seminary differently?” Hill says, “and we have to do it differently if we’re going to survive. We need to plan how do we not only just exist, but thrive in the next generation of equipping leaders in ministry.”
He would often be asked what his vision was for MTS. “Where are you going to take this place?” people would wonder. “But if I come here with my vision and it’s only my vision,” he notes, “that’s not going to serve the institution or the church or the community. It has to be our vision, and to do that, I needed to do a lot of listening.”
“One thing that we’re beginning is a commitment to establish a center of Black church studies here at the seminary. We want to better serve this community by enhancing the ministry of the Black church that is so prevalent. They’ve been such a gift to us, and we want to be a gift back.” — Dr. Jody Hill
Hill was ready with questions to help find the right direction to move the seminary. With whom and how does MTS partner? How will it be a good steward of what it has and develop better practices? “One area we felt we could do more is enhancing our partnership with the Black church,” he says. “How do we better serve? What are things we can do together? How do we bring leaders together to ask those questions? That’s going to transcend denominations.”
Through it all, it is essential to have an understanding of the challenges facing Memphis. Hill remembers a conversation with Ruby Wharton, with whom he served on the MTS board. “She told me, ‘The hope for Memphis is the church.’ And I see that hope because I see that we still embrace a willingness for the church and faith to be part of the solutions of whatever we face. It’s always been a part of Memphis’ spirit, and I think it will continue to be.”
Hill notes that 57 percent of the student body now is Black. “There is no MTS without the Black church today,” he says. “We realize that, and we say that, and we need to communicate that with our actions too. One thing that we’re beginning is a commitment to establish a center of Black church studies here at the seminary. We want to better serve this community by enhancing the ministry of the Black church that is so prevalent. They’ve been such a gift to us, and we want to be a gift back.”
The details are being worked out but it’s a high priority for Hill and MTS. “We’re in the process of discerning with local pastors and leaders to determine what that need looks like,” he says. “We understand how important the church in general, and specifically the Black church is to the future of Memphis.”
One of the strengths of MTS is bringing people together. “If we’re just committed to unity and a philosophical or theological perspective, well, that’s good, but why can’t we apply that in a practical way in the work we do on the streets and in the sanctuaries?” Hill asks. “That’s a gift that MTS does provide — for faith leaders to be open to that. If we can experience that unity here, theologically, philosophically, then why can’t we apply that practically within our churches too?”
If that can successfully translate into action, then Hill sees a bright future for the seminary and, by extension, spiritual life in Memphis. The impact of MTS has long been felt by contributions from its alumni. “Our graduates really do display how, as an institution, we serve this city in so many ways beyond the sanctuary,” he says.
To name a few: Grammy winner Kirk Whalum; Keith Norman, vice president of government affairs at Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation; Tish Towns, chief administrative officer at Regional One; Todd Richardson, a University of Memphis professor and key figure behind the redevelopment of Crosstown; the Rev. Lisa Anderson who started Room in the Inn in Memphis, and then the many spiritual leaders in churches around town, from pastors to chaplains serving St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
“Ten years from now,” wonders Hill, “are we still educating and sustaining men and women for ordained and lay Christian ministry in the church? Are we good stewards of those resources sustaining them financially, as well as preparing them educationally, as well as being leaders? Will we continue to be a voice for unity in our city and church? That’s what I want to see then — continuing to help people enhance those partnerships and to serve this city that we all love.”
