Rev. Dr. Andre Johnson sensed a call to serve both in the academy and in the role of pastor. He appreciates opportunities to do scholastic work and to serve in the community, and his scholarship is deeply influenced by what he is doing in the community.
As he prepared for seminary, he chose Memphis Theological Seminary because he wanted theological education, not indoctrination. He wanted exposure to different faith traditions, denominations, and cultures. He wanted to learn, grow, and develop into the kind of pastor prepared to serve the church in the twenty-first century.
As a student at MTS, Johnson loved his professors and classmates. He also loved being able to study religion and faith critically, within a framework focused on confession and ministry. This helped shape his faith and who he is today as a leader.
Johnson later served on the faculty of Memphis Theological Seminary, and is currently Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Media Studies at the University of Memphis. He teaches classes in African American Public Address, Rhetoric Race and Religion, Media Studies, Interracial Communication, Popular Culture, and Hip Hop Studies. He also serves as Senior Pastor of Gifts of Life Ministries and as the Dr. Henry Logan Starks Fellow at Memphis Theological Seminary. He continues to serve God faithfully as both a scholar and an activist.
Dr. Johnson is currently editing the works of AME Church Bishop Henry McNeal Turner, The Literary Archive of Henry McNeal Turner. He is also the curator and director of the Henry McNeal Turner Project (#HMTproject)—a digital archival project focusing on the collection of writings from Bishop Turner as well as author of The Forgotten Prophet: Bishop Henry McNeal Turner and the African American Prophetic Tradition (2012) and the editor of Urban God Talk: Constructing a Hip Hop Spirituality (2013) both with Lexington Books. He serves as the founder and managing editor of the popular Rhetoric Race and Religion Blog and the general editor of the Rhetoric Race and Religion book series with Lexington Books.
Reflecting on his education at MTS, Johnson said: “MTS gave me the foundation I needed to do everything I am doing now. From my experiences in the classroom to the hallway conversations, the guest lectures, to the theological reflections I wrote, and to the mentorships I developed, MTS has helped shaped me into what I am today.”
