Dr. Thomas Leuze
Professor of Christian Education
B.A. M.Div./R.E. Ph.D.
tleuze@oak.edu
812-749-1276
Chapman School of Religious Studies
Chapman Seminary
I grew up in Tennessee where I attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics. Sensing a call to ministry I attended the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky where I earned a Master of Divinity in Christian Education and, later, a Doctor of Philosophy in Christian Education. Even with Tennessee roots, I have lived and worked in North Carolina, Georgia, and Kentucky prior to becoming a professor at Oakland City University.
I have served Baptist churches in Georgia and Kentucky as a minister of education. I spent a year at Georgia Institute of Technology doing an internship in campus ministry at the Baptist Student Union. I was an instructor in the School of Christian Education at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Since 1995 I have been teaching Christian education and other religious studies classes at Oakland City University. I now hold the rank of Associate Professor of Christian Education and Religious Studies in the Chapman School of Religious Studies.
My research interests include the influence of Anglo-American postmodern thought on Christian education, contextualized versions of the Bible, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Currently, I am involved in research regarding Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s approach to theological education. I am a member of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion, the Religious Education Association, the Association of Theological Field Educators, the American Academy of Religion, and the International Dietrich Bonhoeffer Society.
My wife Vicki is a middle school teacher in Louisville, Kentucky as well as a doctoral student at the University of Louisville. We have three dogs that keep us busy and who like to get up very early in the morning. Scout is a good old Rat Terrier. Lexi is an energetic Jack Russell Terrier. Molly is a mixture of Black Lab and Beagle and who knows what else. (I have plenty of pictures of each of them!) We enjoy travel and particularly love Vermont and Chicago, Illinois (an odd combination, I know). Since Vicki and I met and were married in Atlanta, we are big fans of the Atlanta Braves. I’m a lifelong fan of the University of Tennessee Volunteers. I love books and always have a stack of books that I’m reading or getting ready to read.