President Anna Robbins and the Acadia Divinity College Board of Trustees are pleased to announce the promotion of Rev. Dr. Stuart Blythe to the rank of Full Professor, effective November 4, 2021.

Dr. Blythe joined Acadia Divinity College in September 2017 as the Associate Professor in the John Gladstone Chair of Preaching and Worship, bringing with him a wealth of experience in preaching and research in the practice of homiletics. He also serves as the Director of Doctoral Studies, the Director of Simpson Lectures, and the Dean of The Sarah Daley Nickerson Chapel.

Dr. Blythe’s keen interest in preaching was sparked one Saturday evening in his teen years when he preached during a service at Viewpark Nazarene Church in Uddingstone, a small town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. With a twist on the phrase from Eric Liddell, the Scottish runner portrayed in the movie Chariots of Fire, Dr. Blythe described the experience by saying, “When I preached, I felt His pleasure.”

“Preaching was my first call to ministry

and remains central to my calling.”

From that beginning, Dr. Blythe augmented his passion for preaching with formal theological education, earning a Master of Theology from Spurgeon’s College at the University of Wales (2003) and a PhD from the University of Edinburgh (2009) as well as a Master of Education (2016) from the University of the West of Scotland).

In following the call to assume the John Gladstone Chair of Preaching and Worship at ADC, Dr. Blythe has integrated his passion for preaching with his background in higher education and his study of the learning process. He has raised the profile of homiletics in the ADC curriculum, highlighting the importance of skill in preaching well.

The Chair of Preaching and Worship is named after The Rev. Dr. John N. Gladstone (1921-2005), the highly regarded Senior Minister at Yorkminster Park BaptistChurch in Toronto, Ontario. Widely recognized for his vibrant and distinguished preaching, his compelling sermons provided hope to those who were struggling or felt broken. Dr. Blythe is intent on preserving their legacy by exploring Rev. Gladstone’s use of language and how elements of his sermons can be translated into our present context.

The ADC community is delighted to see Dr. Blythe recognized and celebrated for his commitment to the skill of preaching, theological education, and living out the mission of the College: to equip Christians to serve the mission of God in church and world with transformative impact.