Memphis Theological Seminary is proud to announce the addition of Rev. Dr. Thomas Hermans-Webster to our faculty. He will teach the required courses for students seeking ordination in The United Methodist Church. Dr. Hermans-Webster is an ordained elder from the North Alabama Conference of The United Methodist Church. He holds a BA from Birmingham Southern, where he majored in philosophy and the Classics, and an MDiv from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University with a concentration in systematic and liturgical theology. He earned his PhD from Boston University. His dissertation is “The Eucharist and Planetary Wellbeing: Norman Pittenger’s Process Theology of the Eucharist for a Sacramental Ecotheology.” Previously, he taught United Methodist courses as an Assistant Professor at the Pacific School of Religion.
In addition to teaching, Dr. Hermans-Webster is an Acquiring Editor for Orbis Books.
Tom regularly contributes to the Process & Faith Christian Lectionary Commentary Series. He contributed chapters to the following publications: “The Dystopic Relations of Interstellar: A Response from Christian Ecotheology,” in Theology, Religion, and Dystopia. published by Lexington Books/Fortress Academic in 2022, and “Church Happens” in Partnering with God: Exploring Collaboration in Open and Relational Theologies, published by SacraSage Press, 2021.
Dr. Hermans-Webster is a member of the American Academy of Religion, the Center for Open and Relational Theology, the Wesleyan Theological Society, the Wesleyan Liturgical Society, the Order of St. Luke, Phi Beta Kappa, and Sigma Nu.
“I am thrilled and honored to join the MTS faculty, forming Methodist students to be creative and thoughtful leaders for the church and in our world,” said Dr. Hermans-Webster. “United Methodist students from diverse backgrounds have found a vibrant home within MTS’s tradition of ecumenical theological education, spiritual formation, and social justice advocacy. With deep gratitude, I look forward to being in ministry together.”
President Jody Hill said, “Dr. Hermans-Webster’s addition to our faculty, particularly in United Methodist studies, comes to us at a critical time as we redouble our efforts to provide a robust and rigorous academic experience for our United Methodist students seeking ordination.”
“I find Dr. Hermans-Webster an engaging communicator. Our students and faculty will be blessed by his gifts among us,” said Interim Dean Carmichael Crutchfield.
Dr. Johnny Jeffords, Director of The Methodist House of Studies, said, “I am overjoyed to partner with Dr. Hermans-Webster. I’ve come to know Tom over the past nine months or so. His clear-eyed view of how things are in The United Methodist Church and how they came to be is an asset for our students as they will be leaders in the Church that is becoming. He has a scholarly mind with a pastor’s heart. I’m excited for our students.”
Join us in welcoming Dr. Hermans-Webster to the MTS family.