Bryan P. Stone, an innovative educator, researcher and bridge-builder, will be the new Leighton K. Farrell Dean of SMU’s Perkins School of Theology. He joins SMU from the Boston University School of Theology where he is associate dean for academic affairs and the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism. A 1992 SMU Ph.D. graduate in Religious Studies, Stone is returning to SMU to lead his alma mater June 1. Read the announcement of Stone’s appointment here.
To learn more his vision for Perkins, Nakoya Loucks, Assistant Dean of Marketing and Communications, asked Stone a series of questions. Here are his answers:
Can you share a bit about your background and what led you to theological education?
I grew up very active in the church and was a religion major and philosophy minor in college. I went on to seminary where I was drawn both to philosophical questions about religion and theologies of social justice and liberation. Those might seem like two very different and separate intellectual paths, but for me they came together at every turn, and I read everything I could get my hands on in philosophical theology and liberationist and feminist theologies. What I love about theology is its capacity to point, however falteringly, to God as the mystery of the universe while at the same time inspiring and undergirding liberative action and loving communities that have the capacity to change the world.
What drew you to Perkins School of Theology, and what excites you most about joining this community?
I was drawn to the Graduate Program in Religious Studies at SMU because of Dr. Schubert Ogden, who became my advisor. I only ever applied to one school because of him. I had fallen in love with Wesleyan and Process theologies and wanted to study with Ogden and in a school that had a notable strength in Wesleyan studies. Originally, I did not understand that all my classes and professors would be Perkins classes and faculty, but once I was in the GPRS program, I got fully immersed in the Perkins community.
What made you want to come back?
My decision to come back is a confluence of several factors. I was not looking to become a dean, but I am currently ending 15 years as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Boston University School of Theology. I found myself contemplating next steps in my career and my life when the Perkins search team came knocking. What I love most about returning to my alma mater is that Perkins is embedded as a progressive Mainline Protestant seminary in a major research university, is an important center for Wesleyan studies and is deeply committed to serving the United Methodist Church. The School has the full support of the President and Provost and is well-positioned to build on its historic strengths and legacy to face immense challenges facing theological schools at this point in history.
What scares you most about this new role?
I don’t know that anything “scares” me (maybe it should!), but I think the transition from a Boston culture back to a Texas culture is a formidable challenge after spending 27 years in New England. I’m increasingly looking forward to it, though.
The biggest challenge I see in my new role is trying to understand how things are done at Perkins and SMU—and to do so relatively quickly. Each school is unique in its personality, community, culture and systems. That doesn’t mean that things can’t be changed, but I need to listen carefully and work hard to understand the culture at Perkins.
As you step into this new role, what are your primary goals and priorities for Perkins?
With a large number of faculty retirements coming up, this is a time for reshaping the faculty. I want to collaborate with the current Perkins faculty, supporting and celebrating their creativity, productivity, impact and reputation while attracting other new faculty who are bold and resourceful thinkers, passionate teachers, warm and generous colleagues and research-active scholars. I hope to be part of a band of faculty, administrators and staff who are committed to the cultivation of a vibrant on-campus community while also reaching out beyond the physical campus with new and ever evolving pedagogical modalities. I hope to build on Perkins’ strengths in embracing social and religious diversities of all kinds, its commitment to social justice, interdisciplinary research, collaborative programs (both within and outside the University) and opportunities for rich contextual engagement both local and global.
Another of my priorities is ensuring the accessibility of theological education to an ever-expanding variety of students pursuing manifold vocational paths, whether as clergy, chaplains, teachers or other religious and faith-based non-profit leaders. I want to accent the rich Wesleyan heritage and resources of Perkins, its connection to the United Methodist Church, its ecumenical openness (what John Wesley called a ‘catholic spirit’) and its commitment to interfaith dialogue and hospitality. Last, but not least, one of my top priorities is to connect with, learn from and involve what I have come to see as an unparalleled network of committed alumni, donors and friends who love Perkins.
What do you see as the biggest opportunities and challenges facing theological education today?
Theological education in the U.S. is in a time of critical transition. Religious affiliation has changed radically in the U.S.; online and AI technologies have revolutionized the way people socialize, think and learn; and we are situated in a country with deep political and cultural polarization. The future of theological education must be more expansive than the sole purpose of clergy preparation. Clergy preparation is still central, but this is a time to recover the aim and purpose of theological education as much more fundamentally the practice of knowing and loving God and the things of God. Theology is for all the people of God.
How do you hope to engage with students, faculty and alumni as you begin your tenure?
I love hanging out with students, faculty and alumni informally, and have, for example, hosted a regular dean’s pub night each semester while at Boston University. I’d love to do things like that, and I certainly believe strongly in attending community events, worship, lunches and student group activities (when invited!). If there is interest in developing a weekly Perkins podcast, I would love to be a part of developing that. I will be looking for ways to engage alumni and friends in virtual spaces and by holding alumni gatherings in cities where they live.
What aspects of Perkins’ mission resonate most with you?
The breadth and expansiveness of the Perkins mission resonates strongly with me as well as its stated mission of making theological education accessible to persons throughout the region, nation and world. I love that the mission of the school is holistic in bringing together service to the church, the academy and the world . . . and I believe it is possible (and necessary) to do all three without sacrificing any one of them.
What is one or two key books, theologians, or mentors that have had the greatest impact on your academic and spiritual life, and how have they influenced your career trajectory?
John Wesley’s writings have always been important in my life, and I try to read Ted Jennings’ Good News to the Poor: John Wesley’s Evangelical Economics every couple of years. Charles Hartshorne’s The Divine Relativity, John Cobb’s God and the World, and Schubert Ogden’s The Reality of God expanded my vision of a God who genuinely feels and relates to the cosmos, giving me new lenses through which to read the Christian theological tradition. The writings of theologians like Rosemary Radford Ruether, Letty Russell, Gustavo Gutierrez, Juan Luis Segundo and James Cone had a powerful early influence on the trajectory of my theology and ministry, ultimately leading me into an urban ministry I developed in Fort Worth (called “Liberation Community”) in the late 1980s. John Howard Yoder’s The Politics of Jesus, the sermons of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the writings of Gandhi influenced me greatly toward the form of pacifism to which I subscribe. More recently, I’ve been helped by the trauma-informed theology of Shelly Rambo (including especially Spirit and Trauma) and the writings of Elizabeth Johnson.
What are some things you enjoy outside of your work—any hobbies or interests you’d like to share?
My wife and I love to travel, and we have a dog named Floyd (a Cockapoo) who is the love of our lives. I am also passionate about music (my favorite is still Pink Floyd after all these years), and a couple years ago I decided to learn the guitar. It has been a blast. I only wish I had more time to play; but I really want to get better at it. One of my biggest passions is cinema, and for about 30 years now I have been integrating theology and cinema in my teaching and writing as part of my larger interest in theology and culture. But film is also a personal love in my everyday life.
I’d love to hear more about your time in freshman housing at BU. Do you have any plans to stay similarly connected with students at Perkins and SMU?
For 24 years, my wife and I have lived as faculty in residence in a freshman dorm on the BU campus. Students come by every Monday night, and we feed them and have conversations on every topic under the sun, ranging from dating to professors to career choices to new trends in pop culture. Each semester we have also held a karaoke night or open-mic night in the big multi-purpose room in the dorm, with about 200-300 students attending. While I won’t be living with students anymore, I would love to be a part of those kinds of ongoing social events.
If you could share one message with the Perkins community as you begin this new chapter, what would it be?
The future is bright! The recent split in the United Methodist Church and the decline in enrollments felt across theological education can be demoralizing. Keeping up with new technologies and modalities in education requires ever new learning and innovation. But Perkins has an incredible legacy and foundation from which to rethink theological education in our time. And Perkins also has an amazing constellation of faculty, administrators, staff, alumni/ae and friends who, by collaborating together, can continue the good work of forging a creative and compelling model of a seminary in service to the church, academy and world.
