Drs. Michael A. Milton and Dale W. Johnson Retiring

[DUE WEST, SC, May 25, 2022] Erskine Theological Seminary announces the retirement of two long-time and dedicated faculty members, Dr. Michael A. Milton and Dr. Dale W. Johnson, who will be retiring at the end of the summer. The Seminary honors these professors in the Lord for their partnership in the gospel, their excellence in scholarship and teaching, and their pastoral commitment to the Church and to our students.

Dr. Michael A. Milton has served with Erskine Theological Seminary in various roles since 1998, when he began as an adjunct faculty member. In 2015, the Lord called Dr. Milton full-time to Erskine as the James H. Ragsdale Professor of Missions and Evangelism and Director of Strategic Initiatives. From 2019–2021 he served as Provost of the Seminary while continuing to teach several seminary classes. Dr. Milton is known for his expertise in designing and teaching online classes and for his pastoral attentiveness to our students. Upon retirement, he will continue in a part-time capacity at Erskine as Distinguished Professor of Missions and Evangelism, teaching a half-load of online classes a year. In retirement, Dr. Milton looks forward to continuing to write and offering resources for pastoral ministry through his ministry, Faith for Living, Inc.

Dean of the Seminary, Dr. Seth J. Nelson, commented: “Dr. Milton is to be honored for moving us forward, toward a Seminary that deeply forms our students to become true pastor-shepherds of God’s people. Especially during his time as Provost, he equipped us to expand Erskine Online in important ways and to serve more deeply our distance students. His kindness, pastoral heart, and love for Christ’s Church and our students are recognized by every one of us at the Seminary.”

Dr. Dale W. Johnson, Professor of Church History and Director of the Master of Arts in Theological Studies program, has served with Erskine Theological Seminary since 2001. Dr. Johnson is known for his skill as a lecturer and for his scholarship in Reformation studies, especially in his work on John Knox. Upon retirement, he will continue in a part-time capacity at Erskine as Distinguished Professor of Church History, teaching a half-load of classes a year. In retirement, Dr. Johnson looks forward to more time with his family and grandson and to restarting his Reformation study tours to Germany and Scotland in 2023.

Dr. Nelson continued: “Dr. Johnson is to be honored for his more than thirty-five years of service in Christian higher education, and especially for his work at Erskine over the last twenty-one years. Not only is Dr. Johnson an important scholar of John Knox, but our students so appreciate how his lectures in church history connect to contemporary pastoral concerns. His leading of Reformation study tours to Europe is the stuff of legend, so I am excited that in his retirement he can begin offering many more such tours to both lay people and seminary students.”