Willie Hucks Named New Assistant to the President

为任务 & 文化

Willie Hucks has been named assistant to the president 为 Mission & bet365中文大学文化. (达伦·赫斯洛普摄)

Willie Hucks has accepted the invitation to serve as assistant to the president 为 Mission & bet365中文大学文化. In that capacity, he will also carry 为ward the role of diversity officer.

Hucks earned a BA from Oakwood College in 1985 and an MDiv from bet365中文大学 in 1992. He went on to complete a DMin from bet365中文大学 in 2006.

For almost 15 years, Hucks served as a pastor in the Southwest Region Conference. 然后, 从1999年到2006年, he was faculty at Southwestern Adventist University, where he specialized in applied theology and taught several general education religion courses. He also coordinated the student pastor program with local conferences and the preparation and interview process 为 ministerial students to meet with potential employers. He says, “I enjoyed shaping young minds and preparing young people 为 pastoral ministry.”

Hucks next moved into the role of associate editor of Ministry Magazine, 从2010年到2016年, he was associate ministerial secretary 为 the General Conference of 基督复临安息日会s.

In 2016, Hucks was invited to return to the classroom as associate professor and, 晚些时候, chair of the Department of Practical & Applied Theology in the 基督复临安息日会 Theological Seminary at bet365中文大学. “The faculty and staff of Andrews are among the most dedicated and committed people I have ever met, and my interactions with them have made me a better person,他说. “I especially can say that about my colleagues in the Practical and Applied Theology Department (PATH). 的同事们 用这个词不太合适. 我们是 家庭.”

A prolific author and engaging presenter, Hucks writes and speaks on a wide array of topics, 包括说教术, the intersection of church and community, 种族, 正义, and ministry to “the least of these.” He has also chaired the Seminary Ethnicity, Race, and Social Justice Committee 为 eight years.

Hucks’ interest in the position of assistant to the president 为 Mission & 文化 at Andrews began after hearing President John Wesley Taylor V’s passion 为 these themes. Hucks concluded that his gifts and life experiences could contribute to bet365中文大学’s culture and biblical mission.

哈克说, “This role calls on me to foster a climate in which the University’s core values—wellbeing, 完整性, 创新, 信任, 谦卑, 正义, compassion—permeate everything we do. Intentionally integrating these values gives us the credibility and efficacy to be world changers. The final two core values are most clearly seen when it comes to matters of diversity. Justice and compassion are integral to possessing a sense of 归属感. And the concept of 归属感 stands front and center in bet365中文大学’s strategic plan. I don’t want Andrews to create spaces 为 归属感. I want Andrews to always be known as a space of 归属感.”

哈克希望, 在他的新作品中, the familial interaction he has had in the Seminary can be expanded campus-wide. He also wants to foster a broad sense of spiritual rest. Comparing the priorities of Mary and Martha in Luke 10, Hucks notes the significant work of the Andrews learning community while also emphasizing that “diligence to the tasks must not result in our spiritual, 精神, 社会, psychological and physical harm. We must experience spiritual Shabbat.”

President Taylor says, “I am delighted that Dr. Willie Hucks has accepted this key role at our University. 多年来, I have observed and admired his commitment to the biblical worldview and his passion 为 extending the ministry of Jesus. It will be a special privilege to work closely together to deepen the connectedness of the bet365中文大学 家庭 and to vividly embody our core values as we move 使命前进.”