Scottish professor coming to AMBS

Jamie Pitts, Ph.D., will become assistant professor of Anabaptist studies at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, beginning July 1.

Pitts currently serves as social media coordinator for the Centre for Theology and Public Issues at the University of Edinburgh in Scottland. In 2011 he completed a Ph.D. in theology and ethics at the University of Edinburgh, focusing on the sociological theology of John Howard Yoder.

Previous to this graduate study, he was coordinator of Interethnic Dialogues on Immigration for Church World Service in Washington, D.C., creating and leading ten community dialogues across the U.S. He also has been a research assistant for Sojourners in Washington, D.C.; online adult education instructor for the Clarendon Presbyterian Church; and English language instructor at the Pasadena Community Job Center, Pasadena, Calif. He holds a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, and a B.A. in art history and Hispanic studies from the University of Texas in Austin.

“It is with great anticipation that we welcome Dr. Jamie Pitts to AMBS,” Sara Wenger Shenk, AMBS president said. “Jamie is a new and evangelistic Anabaptist, with a compelling personal story from his Episcopalian and charismatic background. As an art historian and accomplished musician, Jamie’s teaching practices are interdisciplinary and multimedia which is indispensable for serving today’s church.”

Pitts said, “I am delighted to be joining the AMBS faculty in the fall. As AMBS students wrestle with the challenges of church leadership in the 21st-century, I hope to help them integrate theology with spirituality and missional engagement. In my teaching and scholarship, I seek to serve the church as it discerns the powers and witnesses to the coming reign of God.”