Integrate faith into all spheres of life.
On Fridays, the Fellows participate in graduate level courses through Johnson University. Upon graduation from the program in May, the Fellows earn a master’s degree in Ethics and Public Leadership. The educational aspect of the program is designed to root the Fellows in their faith as they are sent out into their places of work, their neighborhoods and their many areas of influence.
Classes
do justice
Examine racial reconciliation on a broad scale through the lens of Scripture.
Dr. Doug Banister, Mary Terry, Rose Diaz, Kevin DuBose
Leadership and Spiritual Formation
Delve into various spiritual practices and integrate them into your everyday life.
Dr. Sue Stratton
Christ and Culture, fall semester / trinitarian theology, spring semester
Explore the role that culture plays in our experience of Christ and discover God as three-in-one.
Dr. Mark Weedman
Capstone Service Project
As part of their master’s degree, every Fellow will choose a non-profit or ministry in Knoxville to volunteer with 1-2 hours per week. The purpose of this service is for the Fellows to actively participate in seeking the peace of Knoxville through interacting with some of the greatest needs in our city. Some of the ministries and non-profits the Fellows have chosen to serve with are Knox Area Rescue Ministries, Amachi, Thrive Lonsdale, Emerald Youth Foundation, YoungLife and many more.
Meet the Professors
Kevin DuBose is Knoxville’s Director of Housing and Neighborhood Development. DuBose has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Knoxville College and a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Alabama A&M University. He earned membership into the American Institute of Certified Planners and has specialized training in housing and community development, economic development and negotiation.
Dr. Doug Banister is a writer, pastor, mentor, and teacher. He currently is senior pastor at All Souls Church and the author of four books and one e-book. Doug has a Masters of Divinity from Talbot School of Theology, Masters in Medieval Studies from the University of Tennessee, Doctor of Ministry from Gordon Conwell Divinity School and a Bachelor’s of Science from Northwestern University.
Mary McMillan Terry earned a B.A. in English and minor in Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.A. in literature from the University of Tennessee. After writing elementary Spanish curriculum for Knox County Schools, she taught composition, American literature and ESL at Pellissippi State Community College. Her writing (poetry, nonfiction, and fiction) has appeared in various journals, books, and magazines.
Rose Diaz is a fourth year PhD student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Originally from Temuco, Chile, land of the Mapuche, the Andes mountains, numerous lakes and eternal evergreens. She attended Berea College in Berea, Kentucky obtaining her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Performing Arts and Eastern Kentucky University for her Master of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice. In addition to her research interests on race relations in the United States, she is also interested in the cultural and sociopolitical implications of the aftermath of authoritarianism in contemporary Chile. This includes issues of imperialism, state-construction and state violence. When she is not watching a TV show with her husband John, she is winding her dog up, Maxie.
Dr. Mark Weedman earned his B.A. in Biblical Studies from Milligan College in 1990, his Master of Divinity in New Testament from Emmanuel Christian Seminary in 1994, and a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Marquette University in 2004. He was a lecturer in theology at Marquette University from 1990-2000. He was a professor of Biblical and Historical Theology at Crossroads College from 2000-2013. Mark has been published extensively. In 2007, he was the recipient of the Colin Gunton Memorial Essay Prize from the Society for the Study of Theology. He is a member of the North American Patristics Society, the Society of Biblical Literature, and the American Academy of Religion.
Dr. Sue Stratton is Lecturer in Spiritual Formation at Johnson University. She holds an M.A. in Old Testament from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is finishing her dissertation in Spiritual Formation and Leadership at Portland Seminary. She has served as a missionary, church planter, campus minister, and professor in a variety of settings and in the business world, Sue served as served as Website Moderator for pdfzone.com, and wrote for Publish magazine—where she interviewed Fortune 500 executives and Ivy League business professors to discern cutting edge technological breakthroughs and marketing strategies.