CTS Celebrates Dr. Frank A. Thomas: A Life of Preaching, Teaching, and Hope
If one phrase could sum up Dr. Frank A. Thomas’ lifetime of preaching, teaching, writing, and leading, it might be “I want to see you win.”
Dr. Thomas concluded his remarks at the November 12 Legacy Celebration Chapel service with those words in appreciation of all those who shared the moment with him and his family. He described his life as being one of recognition, celebration, duty, honor, service, sacrifice, responsibility, and decency.
“It has been a burden to do what is right. A glorious burden,” he said. He said along the way he has had “amazing victories” and “stunning defeats” but that others made “the burden bearable in tough times and light in good times.”
Thomas concluded the two-hour chapel service, which opened with an introduction by Dr. Courtney Buggs, a Call to Worship from Professor Emerita Marti Steussy, and a welcome from President David Mellott. The service also featured reflections from friends, family, and faculty, as well as a powerful sermon by Rev. Dr. Gina M. Stewart of Christ Missionary Baptist Church. Her message, “Preaching a Dangerous Sermon in Dangerous Times,” offered a stirring tribute to Thomas’ vision and teaching.
Stewart referenced her own experience with Thomas as an instructor and his definition of dangerous – telling the truth in a world addicted to illusion and daring to imagine and proclaim the world as God intends it to be.
“What we honor today is Thomas’ summons to action,” Stewart stated. “His scholarly, pastoral, and prophetic work that interprets the word and the world.” She went on to describe Thomas’ approach to preaching as one that is not accidental but that intentionally calls upon the student to use the “art of interpreting sacred texts through a lends of a suffering people and the courage to proclaim that suffering through a rhetoric of hope.”
“Neutrality in preaching is not attainable,” Steward asserted.
The word “legacy” was used often in describing the work of Thomas and the impact that he will leave after his retirement. Already a prolific teacher, preacher, and writer, Thomas joined the staff at CTS in 2013. President Mellott outlined the four far-reaching initiatives the Thomas leaves behind at the Indianapolis campus:
The African American Preaching and Sacred Rhetoric PhD Program – the first and only of its kind in the country prepares practitioner-scholars to serve the church and the academy.
The Mixed Methods Preaching Conference – designed to help preachers love and improve their preaching through lectures, education, homiletical instruction and preaching labs.
The Legacy Preaching Series – a movement to revitalize American Christianity through an emphasis on African American preaching by bringing to life the experiences, insights, and wisdom of notable preachers who’ve made a mark on congregations, communities, and society as a whole: and
The Compelling Preaching Initiative – an 18-month certificate program for Exemplar preachers to engage in cohort learning about the theology and pedagogy of preaching while further developing their own preaching method.
Mellott went on to call Thomas’ impact on CTS “transformative,” describing his approach as caretaking, expert, and generous. He then announced that the Board of Trustees and Faculty had voted to appoint Thomas as Professor Emeritus of Homiletics.
Thomas was gracious in receiving blessings from colleagues in the academic and ministerial communities as well as his mother, affectionately referred to in the program as Mother in Chief. He will be retiring later this year from his roles as the Nettie Sweeney and Hugh Th. Miller Professor of Homiletics and as Director of the Compelling Preaching Initiative.
