L. Gregory Jones

In addition to serving as a professor of theology at the Divinity School, L. Gregory Jones served as dean of the Divinity School from 1997 to 2010, and since 2007 he has served as the senior strategist for Leadership Education at Duke Divinity. He has served as Duke’s chief international strategist to advance and coordinate the university’s global engagement.

Jones is widely recognized as a scholar and church leader on such issues as forgiveness and reconciliation, Christian vocation, leadership, and strengthening the church and its ministry. He is known for teaching that fosters students' imaginations in connecting Christian faith to everyday life, for research that promotes interdisciplinary conversation, and for theological thinking that fosters transformative leadership, traditioned innovation, and vibrant institutions.

He is the author or editor of 16 books, including the acclaimed Embodying Forgiveness, and, most recently, the co-author of Forgiving as We’ve Been Forgiven. He is also the author, recently, of Everyday Matters: Intersections of Life and Faith and the co-authored Resurrecting Excellence: Shaping Faithful Christian Ministry. Jones, who has published more than 100 articles in a variety of publications, also regularly writes reflections for Faith & Leadership, an offering of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.  For 10 years he was co-editor of Modern Theology, a scholarly journal published by Blackwells in Oxford, England, and he currently serves as an associate editor for the journal.

Jones has traveled extensively, often addressing issues of forgiveness and reconciliation in lectures and sermons. In recent years he has been in South Africa, Uganda, Rwanda, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine, China, India, and South Korea.

Jones has preached and lectured in major pulpits and at annual conferences across the United States. He also has delivered numerous distinguished lectureships at colleges and universities. In addition, he has provided significant leadership for many pastors' schools and other continuing education events for laity and clergy. Jones and his wife, the Rev. Susan Pendleton Jones, have written several units (and the accompanying videos) for The United Methodist Publishing House's "Living the Good Life Together" series.

He is an ordained United Methodist pastor and a member of the Western North Carolina Conference. Jones and his wife have three children: Nathan, Ben, and Sarah.