Seminary president: At its best, job is perfect blend of church and academy

By Renee Elder

Philip Amerson’s work assignments changed dramatically when he left parish ministry to become a seminary president. One particular difference stands out: his reading list.

“In either position, you have to read a lot,” says Amerson, 62, president of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill. “In the pastorate, I typically read heavily from the Bible and theology texts to prepare a sermon. Here at the seminary, my reading list includes everything from budgets to building specifications to faculty handbooks to letters of agreement. It’s much more focused on business matters.

Along with business and administrative duties, Amerson teaches courses at the seminary and serves as a visiting preacher at churches in the Midwest and beyond. And, yes, he still finds it essential to read the Bible.

At its best, he says, the college president’s job is a perfect blend of church and academia “with the ability to keep up with the two worlds and help that bridge be strong.”

A typical day includes meetings with staff and faculty. “And as often as I can, I go to chapel. Then, I might pay a visit to donors, or head out on the road to represent the school for the denomination. And I do a lot of writing, especially letters and reports,” he says.

Amerson, who earned his Ph.D. from Emory University in 1976, began his career in higher education teaching at Westmont College Urban Program in San Francisco. He has taught at Candler School of Theology; Butler University; Christian Theological Seminary; and at the Instituto Pan Americano in Panama, a Methodist school with a great history in Latin America.

Amerson served as pastor at St. John United Methodist, a predominantly African-American congregation in Evansville, Ind., from 1979 to 1981. While in Evansville, he and his wife, Elaine, founded Patchwork Ministry, an inner-city initiative. Patchwork grew into a multifaceted program, including ecumenical worship services, after-school programs for children, economic development center, health programs, minority leadership and other activities focusing on social and economic justice.

Amerson went on to other pastoral appointments in the South Indiana Conference before being tapped by Claremont School of Theology for the top campus post. Six years later, in 2006, he accepted the presidency of Garrett-Evangelical.

“The joke is I can’t keep a job,” Amerson quips. But his many career moves have been out of his commitment at ordination to be an itinerant minister, “one of Wesley’s true heirs.” “While I’m never able to predict what God is leading me toward in the future, I can always look back and say, ‘Oh, now I understand why there were those passages.’”

As director of the Mentoring Program for Urban Pastors for Chicago’s SCUPE from 1982 to 1985, he explored with Robert Greenleaf servant leadership and his commitment to Latin America led him to the Nicaraguan/Honduran border with Witness for Peace. Along the way, he became a consultant for the Lilly Endowment, gaining exposure to one of the world’s major philanthropies. From to 1992 to 2000, Amerson was pastor of First United Methodist in Bloomington, where he enjoyed building bridges between “town and gown” and where he was privileged to know many extraordinary faculty members and administrators at Indiana University.

Amerson says all those experiences contributed to his success as head of a seminary, as did his decision to pursue a doctorate after earning a master’s of divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary.

“I still remember struggling with whether to get a Ph.D. or not. A district superintendent visited me in my last year at seminary. He put his arm around me and said: ‘Phil, Get all the education you can. God will use it.’ And so, for people thinking about their future, I would say: Get all the education you can. If called, seek ordination, don’t let naysayers get in your way. Help build bridges between the church and academy. God may surprise you and every one else by granting you the privilege of serving in both the parish and higher education. After all, we are children of John Wesley, a traveling evangelist and a campus minister.”

As seminary president, Amerson considers himself accountable to five constituencies: the students, the board of trustees, the faculty and staff, denomination members and leaders, and the public. “There are a lot of bosses looking over my shoulder,” he jokes.

Still, he says, the pace of academic administration while intellectually challenging is not as emotionally draining as a pastorate.

“In a pastor’s role, I always felt I had a to-do list that was five times longer than I could get through in a day. As an administrator, you can plan a little more easily. It’s not as likely that someone will call and say there has been a crisis and someone is dying. But there are still surprises every day.

“One of the wonderful things about this job is that every day is full of new opportunities and challenges.”