BUSTH welcomes new Assistant Professor of Homiletics
Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) is pleased to announce the appointment of new full-time faculty member Rev. Dr. Timothy L. Adkins-Jones (’09, ’20), who will begin on July 1, 2025. Rev. Dr. Adkins-Jones will join the faculty as Assistant Professor of Homiletics, most recently serving as Assistant Professor of Homiletics at Union Theological Seminary.
Rev. Dr. Adkins-Jones is a scholar and pastor whose work embodies the Black preacher-scholar tradition. He currently serves as Pastor of the historic Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, and was mentored by his grandfather, the Rev. Leroy Jones, at Pilgrim Journey Baptist Church in his hometown of Richmond, VA.
A sought-after preacher, lecturer, and teacher, Dr. Adkins-Jones has previously taught courses in homiletics and polity at Yale Divinity School and has been featured on national platforms such as SiriusXM’s “For Your Soul Sunday.” He holds a PhD in Practical Theology with a concentration in Homiletics and an MDiv from the Boston University School of Theology, and a BA in Psychology from Amherst College. His forthcoming book, Let the Church Say Amen: Practicing a Black Communal Homiletic (Fortress Press), explores the communal nature of Black Preaching and illumines the ways that the Black Preaching tradition includes the voices of the congregation before, during, and after the sermonic event.
“What an amazing time to join this incredible faculty and be a part of this dynamic and diverse community.” – Rev. Dr. Adkins-Jones
“I am thrilled to return home to BU and pick up the mantle held by my esteemed advisor Dr. David Schnassa Jacobsen, my late mentor Dr. Dale Andrews, and many other amazing homileticians before them,” says Rev. Dr. Adkins-Jones. “What an amazing time to join this incredible faculty and be a part of this dynamic and diverse community. I’m looking forward to working with Dean Pak and all of the gifted students at BUSTH.”
“It is a great joy and honor to welcome Rev. Dr. Timothy Adkins-Jones back home!” says Dean G. Sujin Pak. “He brings multiple gifts, new energy, and compelling vision, particularly in his insights for a communal homiletic and work on preaching and protest. I have no doubt that he will enrich the ongoing legacy of homiletical studies and prophetic leadership at STH.”