Jones, L. Gregory

Biography

L. Gregory Jones has served since 1997 as the 11^th dean of Duke Divinity School, and since 2008 as the president and CEO of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity. Dean Jones is widely recognized as a scholar and church leader on such issues as forgiveness and reconciliation, Christian vocation, leadership, and strengthening the church and its ministry. He is known for teaching that fosters students' imaginations in connecting Christian faith to everyday life, for research that promotes interdisciplinary conversation, and for theological thinking that fosters transformative leadership, traditioned innovation, and vibrant institutions.

His leadership as dean has been marked by significant growth in the Divinity School.

Major initiatives during his tenure include:

• Leadership Education at Duke Divinity and its accompanying online magazine
  “Faith & Leadership”
• Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life
• Duke Center for Reconciliation
• Reynolds Program in Church Leadership
• The Learned Clergy Initiative
• Duke Youth Academy for Christian Formation
• Thriving Communities in the Carolinas
• Partnerships with the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire, Brazil, Peru, and Germany

He is the author or editor of 13 books, including the acclaimed “Embodying Forgiveness,” and, most recently, "Everyday Matters: Intersections of Life and Faith" and the co-authored "Resurrecting Excellence: Shaping Faithful Christian Ministry." He writes a regular column, "Faith Matters," for The Christian Century magazine, for which he is also an editor-at-large. Dean Jones, who has published more than 100 articles in a variety of publications, also regularly writes reflections for “Faith & Leadership.”  For 10 years he was co-editor of Modern Theology, a scholarly journal published by Blackwells in Oxford, England, and he currently serves as an associate editor for the journal.

Dean Jones has traveled extensively, often addressing issues of forgiveness and reconciliation in lectures and sermons. In recent years he has been in South Africa, Uganda, Rwanda, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine, China, and South Korea.  

Dean Jones has preached and lectured in major pulpits and at annual conferences across the United States. He also has delivered numerous distinguished lectureships at colleges and universities. In addition, he has provided significant leadership for many pastors' schools and other continuing education events for laity and clergy. Dean Jones and his wife, the Rev. Susan Pendleton Jones, have written several units (and the accompanying videos) for The United Methodist Publishing House's new "Living the Good Life Together" series.

Dean Jones is an ordained United Methodist pastor and a member of the Western North Carolina Conference. He and his wife have three children: Nathan, Ben, and Sarah.