Erskine Theological Seminary Announces Appointment of Dr. Michael Stewart as Research Professor of Chaplain Ministries

[DUE WEST, SC, December 15, 2020—] Chaplains are ordained ministers who assume the culture, language, and even the attire of those they serve. Military Chaplains are an example of this. Increasingly, other industries have seen the remarkable value that Chaplains bring to their sectors. There are Chaplains to healthcare, correctional institutes, corporations, academic institutions, and even state and federal governments. Given this focus, and the history of Erskine Seminary preparing Chaplains for ministry, and the fact that Erskine Seminary offers a Master of Divinity (and doctoral degree) in Chaplain Ministries, the Seminary is pleased to announce that The Rev. Dr. Michael Stewart has accepted the call to serve as the Research Professor of Chaplain Ministries.

Dr. Michael Stewart serves as the Associate Endorser of Civilian Chaplains for the Presbyterian and Reformed Commission on Chaplains and Military Personnel. (PRCC). He is an ordained Presbyterian Church in America minister and has recently concluded serving two decades as the Director of Pastoral Care at Piedmont Columbus Regional Healthcare in Columbus, Georgia. Professor Stewart will design and teach courses that will equip Chaplains at Erskine Theological Seminary.

The Provost of Erskine Theological Seminary, Dr. Michael A. Milton, commented, “For many years, Michael Stewart led one of the largest chaplaincy ministries in the North American healthcare industry. His retirement marked a new opportunity to serve with the Presbyterian and Reformed Commission on Chaplains (PRCC) as Associate Director. Mike will now use his gifts, experience, and education to equip a new generation of Chaplains at Erskine Seminary. Mike will lead the Chaplain Ministry program that I began, and will design and teach courses in Chaplain Ministry. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Stewart to the Erskine Seminary family.”

Professor Stewart graduated in 1989 with a Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He graduated in 2011 with a Doctor of Ministry from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary with a focus on business ethics, leadership, and workplace theology.

Dr. Stewart achieved Board Certified Chaplain (BCC) status in 2004 through the Association of Professional Chaplains. He has also served as President of the Georgia Society of Health Care Chaplains. He has been on four mission trips to Zimbabwe lecturing at the Theological College of Zimbabwe on Chaplaincy issues and has lectured on death and dying at Columbus State University.  Mike and his wife, Jeri, have been married for 38 years, and have been on mission trips to Japan, China and Africa.  Mike was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America in 2001 and endorsed as a Chaplain through the PRCC in 2001. Dr. Stewart also served on the Advisory Board of Reformed Theological Seminary’s Chaplain Ministry Institute as an advisor on Hospital Chaplaincy and has also served as a PRCC Commissioner for the last three years.