Dr. Mike Luper – Dean of School of Christian Ministries
I came to Emmanuel College in 1997, along with my wife Cindy, and two boys, Rob and Dave. At that time I felt a clear call of God to come and be a part of Emmanuel College and the School of Christian Ministries. In the over two decades I have been here, that sense of God’s call, and the certainty of the choice to come, have been confirmed. Over the years it has been exciting to see the Lord at work in the lives of so many students who have come into the School of Christian ministries with the call of God upon their lives, and a desire to be trained for ministry. We are blessed with faculty who have the academic, as well as practical experience to provide the best training available anywhere. Perhaps more importantly, we have a faculty that has a heart for students, and a desire to see them grow not just mentally, but experientially as well. I believe it is this commitment to our students and their training that has made our graduates so highly sought after for positions of ministry. I am excited about what the Lord is doing in the School of Christian Ministries currently, and continue to look to the future with expectation of what he will continue to do.
Dr. Scott Ellington- Professor in School of Christian Ministries
Scott Ellington is an ordained minister in the Church of God and, together with his family, he severed for fourteen years as a missionary educator in Mexico, England, and Germany. He is currently a professor of Christian Ministry at Emmanuel College, having joined the faculty in 2008. When not teaching, Scott enjoys travel, acting, and writing poetry. He has a particular interest in prayer in the Bible and his first book is entitledRisking Truth: Reshaping the World Through Prayers of Lament. Most recently he has contributed the chapter on ‘Lamentations’ in The Oxford Handbook of the Writings of the Hebrew Bible.
Dr. Mark Trump – Professor in School of Christian Ministries
Greetings to you all. My official name and title is Mark L. Trump, Ph.D., Rev., Associate Professor of Christian Ministries at Emmanuel College. But really, I am just someone on the journey of faith who has chosen to try to make the most out of, and be faithful with, the interests and abilities that God gave me. I enjoy teaching. I think that it is what God has created me to do. I also enjoy being around learning environments where people want to wrestle through the issues of Christian faith, theology, and practice. I also thoroughly enjoyed the 12 years that I served as a pastor in various ways.
I began my college career in art school first at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and then at Savannah College of Art and Design before finishing my undergraduate degree, after a change of major and submitting my life to Christ, at Messiah College. I received a BA in Biblical Studies and a minor in Art. Academics was my gift, as was pastoring people, so I knew that I always wanted to keep these two worlds together. So after spending several years as a youth pastor, I returned to school and completed two Masters Degrees, one in Biblical Studies and the other in Theological Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. For some of my time at Asbury, I also served as a Youth Pastor at a church outside of Detroit Michigan and then taught Hebrew and Greek at Asbury Seminary before completing my education (a Ph.D.) in Religious Studies with a concentration in New Testament at Marquette University. Yet even while I was working on my Ph.D., I served as the Lead Pastor of two United Methodist churches in Racine and Union Grove Wisconsin. I came to Emmanuel in 2012 with an interest in training up the next generation of leaders for God’s Kingdom.
When I am not teaching or grading, I am doing a lot of things. I paint and design sets for my son’s theater company, I enjoy riding my mountain bike, I occasionally run (the latest adventure is preparing to run my first 5K), and I really love fishing for trout in the North Georgia Mountains. That is probably the best way for me to “recharge.” Basically, I love being outside in creation, it is the Sacred Pathway that I use to connect with God and to relax. I also spend a great deal of time with my wife of over 20 years and our two children.
Rev. Jason McCary – Assistant Professor of Christian Ministries
Jason has been married to his high school sweetheart (Marcia) since 1995 and is father to, Reagan (2002) and Gabe (2005). Jason served in youth ministry for a number of years before serving as campus pastor at Southwestern Christian University in Oklahoma City in the early 2000’s. In 2003 Jason and Marcia moved back to their hometown of Greenwood, SC to pastor REALife Church, where they ministered from 2003-2016. In 2016 Jason accepted a full-time position with the Upper South Carolina Conference of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church Discipleship Ministries Director and Director for the Upper South Carolina Conference School of Ministry. Jason holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biblical Studies and Master’s of Ministry from Southwestern Christian University in Oklahoma City, a Master’s of Theological Studies from Pentecostal Theological Seminary in Cleveland, TN, and is presently a Doctoral Candidate at Southeastern University in Lakeland Florida. In Fall 2019 Jason accepted a full-time faculty position for Emmanuel College’s School of Christian Ministries. He is especially passionate about guiding those who sense a particular call to vocational Christian ministry.
Pastor Chris Maxwell – Associate Professor of Christian Ministries
Chris Maxwell served 19 years as lead pastor in Orlando, Florida, after five years of youth ministry. He’s now in his 16th year as Campus Pastor and Director of Spiritual Life at Emmanuel College. He speaks in churches, conventions, and schools, and is the author of ten books, including “Pause With Jesus,” “Underwater,” and “a slow and sudden God: 40 years of wonder.” His latest book is his 2nd collection of poems—“embracing now: pain, joy, healing, living.” Chris loves books, sports, time with students, and time with his family. He and his wife Debbie have three sons and daughters in law, and eight grandchildren.
Pastor Tracy Reynolds – Adjunct Professor of Christian Ministries
Tracy Reynolds has been in pastoral ministry for over forty years vocationally, serving lengthy tenures in three local churches. By day, he serves as Discipleship Pastor at Grace Fellowship, a thriving church near Athens, Georgia. By night, he is an adjunct professor at Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, GA. He has also served as an adjunct professor at Richmont Graduate University since Spring 2017. He holds a Doctor of Strategic Leadership from Regent University as well as masters and bachelors degrees in Music Education. He is a lifelong learner in all areas of leadership, discipleship, and organizational development. Tracy Reynolds has served as a John Maxwell EQUIP Associate Trainer for the past 18+ years in the Philippines. He has traveled extensively across the islands training leaders in Manila, Cagayan de Oro, Butuan City, Urdaneta, Naga, Baguio, Dumaguete, and other regions of the Philippines as well as Ukraine, Brazil, and Jamaica. Dr. Reynolds has also served as a Leadership Coach and Trainer with Dr. Tim Elmore’s Growing Leaders, Inc. His wife, Lisa, and he have been married over forty years. They have two grown children and three granddaughters. He loves jazz, Starbucks coffee, and training the next generation of leaders! Most people affectionately refer to him as “Pastor Tracy” or simply “PT”. Campus Pastor, Chris Maxwell, and Tracy Reynolds publish a weekly podcast entitled Next Step Leadership.
On-Line handles:
https://nextstepleadership.buzzsprout.com
Facebook: C. Tracy Reynolds
Twitter: @ctracyreynolds
LinkedIn: Tracy Reynolds
Email: treynolds@ec.edu
Patrick Ballington – Adjunct Professor of Christian Ministries
My passion and purpose is to help people discover and maintain a meaningful connection between faith in Christ and everyday life. A primary way I fulfill that purpose is helping current and emerging Christian leaders in local churches, businesses, and non-profit organizations become more effective leaders. I provide leadership education, training, coaching, and mentoring that integrates best practices and is practical, culturally relevant, theologically conservative, biblically based, and academically sound. I provide consulting services to pastors, executives, churches, ministries, and Christian non-profit organizations through Better Church Leader LLC, a company I founded in 2015. I have also served as the lead pastor of The Bridge Church in Cleveland, GA since 2007. My wife, Krista, and I were married in 1994 while leading a church youth retreat (she literally married into the ministry!) and we have 4 awesomely children: Isabelle, Isaac, Ireland, and Israel.
