Advisory Group

Dr. Henry Lee Allen has been active as a sociologist within postsecondary education for nearly four decades, having taught at Bethel College (University), Calvin College (University), the University of Rochester (NY), the Rochester Institute of Technology, and Wheaton College.  He has taught courses in sociology [sociology of education, sociology of science, urban sociology, mathematical sociology, etc.] and criminology [Violence in Minority Communities, Violence against Women, Sociology of Hate] across those years.  Beyond these topics, Allen has pursued ongoing research regarding police shootings, race and ethnic relations, and the sociology of higher education.   In 2018, he received the Albert Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis Who’s Who.

Henry has been a consultant across many venues, such as the National Education Association (1993-2018), the American Bible Society, the African American Leadership Roundtable, and so forth.  He has engaged scholarly presentations or venues such as the University of Oxford, Carnegie Mellon University, Wolfram Research, New England Complex Systems Institute, the New York Academy of Sciences, and the Athens Institute for Education and Research.  Via recent publications, Dr. Allen has probed the sociology of science in Canada, Israel, and Scandinavia.  Many students have also admired or cited his articles about women professors and gender inequality.

Most recently, Professor Allen has been active as a member of the International Sociological Association, with presentations in Japan, Vienna, Athens, and Toronto. His latest publications examine the sociology of science in the United States as well as the lack of scientific literacy in current public policies.  At the end of 2019, the Russian Academy of Sciences published his article about new frontiers in the sociology of science for the twenty-first century.  He has been invited by the International Sociological Association to Brazil to give a path-breaking presentation about the interconnections between astrophysics, cybersecurity, and quantum computing.

Altogether, Professor Allen has published nearly 40 scholarly articles across many research venues, including strategic domains across three continents.  As a member of the newly-formed Advisory Group of the Institute of Justice Formation at John Leland Center for Theological Studies, Allen can integrate his undergraduate degree in biblical studies (and prior publications on church-related themes) with salient theological and sociological concerns related to justice.  As a member of Jubilee Baptist Church, Hank has taught the Adult Sunday School class for 17 years as well as served periodically as a Bible Study teacher in the Pastor’s absence.

Kathleen Arban, LCSW, CCTP, is a Clinical Associate Professor at Salisbury University. She has been in practice for over 25 years in a variety of settings, including child welfare, community-based practice, and child maltreatment prevention. She joined the School of Social Work in 2013 as Site Coordinator for social work programs at the Southern Maryland satellite location.  In addition to managing the site, she teaches primarily advanced practice courses, including Treatment of Trauma, Advanced Practice with Individuals, Practice with Individuals, Privilege, and Oppression, and field education.

She also maintains a small private practice, specializing in assisting children and adults deal with trauma, transition, anxiety, grief, and loss. Kathleen is a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, has an Advanced Certification in Trauma Treatment, is Internal Family System (IFS) trained (Level 2), and is currently working towards her certification in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing). In 2017, she served on a task force sponsored by CSWE in collaboration with the National Center for Social Work Trauma Education and Workforce Development at Fordham University to focus on developing trauma competencies for the MSW specialization. Currently, she is facilitating a committee to explore how to create a trauma-informed organization within the School of Social Work.

Dr. Barbara Annette Fears is Assistant Professor of Religious Education at Howard University School of Divinity (HUSD) in Washington, D.C., where she teaches courses in history, philosophy, and practice of ministry. As a religious educator and chaplain, she identifies as a womanist practical theologian, a critical race theorist (CRT), and a critical pedagogue. Her research focuses on matters of power, privilege and accountability in spiritual formation, praxis of faith and curriculum development.

Dr. Fears has presented papers at industry meetings and denominational conferences, serves as a peer reviewer for academic publications and has published papers in guild journals. Recent works include book reviews on Black Church culture and book chapters on black religious education.

Dr. Fears is a member of the Society for the Study of Black Religion and is ordained clergy in the United Church of Christ. In 2022, she established her own LLC to assist churches with curriculum development. She has a Master of Divinity, Master of Theological Studies, Doctor of Philosophy and Preaching Award from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.

This year, Dr. Fears was selected as a Faithful 50, one of 50 Black Garrett alums who exemplify faithfulness, commitment, and perseverance in ministry through their leadership in academic, nonprofit, and congregational settings. Over the years Dr. Fears has also received an HU Provost’s Distinguished Service Award, two HU Junior Faculty Summer Writing and Creative Works Academy Awards, a Wabash Center Research Fellowship and an Adrienne M. and Charles Shelby Rooks Fellowship.

Dr. Flowers, or “Pastor Paul,” as he is affectionately known, is the elder son of Rev. Dr. Gloria and Deacon Alvin Flowers, Jr., husband to the former Monique Meekins, and father to Paul Jr., Andre Malik, and Erica. He is a native of Virginia and a product of the Henrico County Public School System. He is a 1985 graduate of Henrico High School, a veteran of the United States Air Force, and a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies.

Understanding the importance of life-long learning, Pastor Paul earned his Master of Divinity degree from the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond in May 2006 and was conferred the Doctor of Ministry degree from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio on June 2, 2012. His research emphasis explored the creation of A Model for Fostering Faith Maturity Using Multi-Dimensional Faith Formation Interventions. 

On March 29, 2009, Rev. Flowers was installed as the twelfth pastor of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church, a church growing by the word of God. In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, Pastor Paul serves as an Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 491 in Richmond, VA. He served as Moderator for the Chickahominy Baptist Association and is currently the Vice-President of the Division of Clergy. Dr. Flowers is adjunctive faculty at Infinity Bible Seminary in Richmond. His specializations are Old and New Testament Survey as well as world religions. He is also the co-founder and Chief Servant Leader of Next Level Youth and Family Services, Inc., an organization committed to being change agents in the lives of youth and families throughout the Commonwealth. Their mission is to support the child, strengthen the family, and serve vulnerable communities.

In January 2016, Rev. Flowers self-published his first book; You Must Decide: 7 Principles for Achieving the Life you Envisioned. In February 2016, he released two books, a 40-day devotional for Lent, entitled Praying Through Lent: 40 Days of Reflection, Renewal, Regeneration, and Revival and a monograph on faith, entitled It Happens by Faith.

Dr. Flowers is the Director for the Doctor of Ministry Program at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University and recently accepted an appointment to serve as the Department of Contextual Theology Chair.

Drew Hill was called as the sixth pastor of Memorial Baptist Church on April 15, 2012. Drew holds a Doctor of Ministry and a Master of Divinity from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and also studied Old Testament archaeology at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Drew has taught at two Baptist seminaries in Ukraine and has been involved in mission work in Canada, South Africa, Belarus, and India. Additionally, he has led various Bible study field trips to Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, and Israel. Before coming to Memorial, Drew served as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Sedalia, Missouri for fourteen years.

Rickey L. Jasper was the Senior Intelligence Service Officer, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) before retiring. His educational background includes: Master of Science in Accounting (MSAC), Strayer University; Master of Business Administration (MBA), Louisiana Tech University; Bachelor of Science (BS), Political Science. Rickey L. Jasper has also led and participated in executive programs and workshops including: Vanguard Senior Executive Development Program, Department of Defense; Executive Leadership Program, Maryland School of Public Policy Office of Executive Programs; Intelligence Community Senior Leadership Program, Office of the Director of National Intelligence; Intelligence Community Executive Leadership Program, Northwestern University, Kellogg; Senior Intelligence Service Leadership Workshop, CIA. His most recent publication is “Walking in the Gray:  How to Succeed When the Rules Are Not Black and White,” released on January 5, 2020.

Carl Jensen is an Emeritus Professor of Intelligence and Security Studies at The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. After graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1978, he served in the Navy, first aboard the nuclear fleet ballistic missile submarine USS George Washington Carver and then as an aide to the Commander of Submarine Group Five.  He subsequently enjoyed a 22-year career in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he served as a field agent in the Atlanta, San Francisco, and Cleveland field offices; a Forensic Examiner/Cryptanalyst in the FBI Laboratory; and a Supervisory Special Agent in the Behavioral Science Unit (BSU). While in the FBI, Dr. Jensen founded the Futures Working Group (FWG), a collaboration between the FBI and the Society of Police Futurists International; the goal of this collaboration was to create ethical and community-based strategies for the future of policing.

Upon his retirement from the FBI in 2006, Dr. Jensen joined the RAND Corporation as a Senior Behavioral Scientist.  In 2007, he joined the Legal Studies faculty at the University of Mississippi while retaining adjunct status at RAND.  In 2008, he founded the University’s Center for Intelligence and Security Studies, writing its entire curriculum and teaching in every course. Under his leadership as Director, the CISS was designated as an Intelligence Community (IC) Center for Academic Excellence and in 2014, its Intelligence and Security Studies minor became the first program in the world to receive certification from the International Association for Intelligence Education.

In 2015, Dr. Jensen accepted an appointment as Professor and Director of the Intelligence and Security Studies program at The Citadel. In that capacity, he oversaw the approval of a Master of Arts degree in Intelligence and Security Studies, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Intelligence and Security Studies, and the establishment of The Center for Cyber, Intelligence, and Security Studies, which promotes research, education, and collaboration across many academic disciplines. In 2016, The Citadel was designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

Dr. Jensen’s current research interests include the history of policing, community policing, social justice, and program evaluation. In addition to his undergraduate degree, Dr. Jensen holds a Master of Arts degree from Kent State University and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Maryland. He is the recipient of many national awards and has authored and co-authored over 70 books, articles, book chapters and reviews.

Dr. Jensen and his family reside on Johns Island, South Carolina.

Dr. Inez Tuck is an educator, consultant and researcher. She has over 40 years of experience in higher education as a university professor and administrator. Her most recent academic position was as dean of the School of Nursing at the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston. She has been faculty in several universities including branches of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Greensboro, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University, Virginia Commonwealth University and University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Dr. Tuck is a nurse researcher with a specialty in psychiatric/mental health nurse therapy and counseling. As a nurse, she has witnessed human suffering firsthand, whether with persons with pain accompanying acute or chronic illnesses, those at the end-of-life dying with cancer, or those with living with stigmatized conditions such as addictions and HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Tuck has a diverse educational background with degrees in nursing, child development and family relations, and business administration.  In 2008, Dr. Tuck completed the master’s degree in theology (Master of Divinity degree) at Samuel Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. Her deep faith in God is evident in efforts to heal the human spirit and truly experience God’s presence in her life. Her work in her local congregation has been as a lay eucharistic minister and facilitator of quiet meditation retreats and Taizé services. She serves as co-chair of global missions for Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of Virginia.

She feels strongly about eradicating violence in our communities. Emotional and psychological trauma and healing and reconciliation have been key parts of her career as an educator. She has researched a healing intervention with family members who experienced the devastating loss of a loved one due to homicide. Her work focuses on healing and forgiveness for victims, perpetrators and by-standers including those in positions of authority. Earlier in her career, she was the author of two books on forgiveness. She now consults and trains with a focus on healing organizations, families, and communities.  Her participation as an advisor to The Institute for Justice Formation at John Leland Center for Theological Studies is a commitment to educate others to further this work through service and advocacy.

Please click here to view Tuck’s most recently published book, “Florence and Mary: Nurse Leaders and Heroines of the Crimean War“

The Reverend Dr. James E. Victor, Jr. carries out a long family legacy of Christian ministry. Like his grandfather, and others before him, Dr. Victor has dedicated himself to the pastoral ministry. Dr. Victor currently serves as the ninth pastor of the Mount Olive Baptist Church in Arlington, Virginia. Prior to his coming to Northern Virginia, he served the Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Clarksville, Tennessee, where he was involved in numerous community and university functions. Dr. Victor’s last appointment before becoming the under-shepherd of Arlington’s Mount Olive Baptist Church, was as the Associate Pastor of the historic home church of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta, Georgia. He was promoted to the Associate position from the Assistant Pastor’s position due to his commendable work in the areas of pastoral care, community outreach, and worship.

The Kentucky native was educated in the public schools of Hopkinsville, his hometown, where he distinguished himself both academically and athletically. Dr. Victor earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He further prepared himself for ministry by receiving the Master of Divinity degree with magna cum laude honors from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia and the Master of Theology degree from the Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. Dr. Victor earned a Doctor of Ministry degree in the Preaching for the 21st Century tract from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC., and currently serves on their Board of Governors. Dr. Victor served previously as Director of Missions for the Progressive National Baptist Convention, President of the Northern Virginia Black Pastors’ Council, and President of the Baptist General Convention of Virginia. He currently serves as the 2^nd Vice-President of the Lott Carey Foreign Missions Convention. Additionally, he was awarded the 2022 Henry L. Holmes Meritorious Service Award from the Arlington Chapter of NAACP.

Dr. Victor and the Mt. Olive congregation are collaboratively and extensively involved within the church, local community, and globally. In addition to the expected pastoral duties, within the church, Dr. Victor implemented a Men’s Bible Study; devised a training regimen for aspirants to the ministry; instituted sweeping measures for the use of technology in worship, teaching and administration; supervised and coordinated the fiscal process for a million-dollar annual budget; transitioned the Deaconess Ministry into full standing in the Diaconate Ministry; and led mission trips to Haiti. Dr, Victor effectively led the congregation through the COVID-19 pandemic and fostered goodwill in the community and beyond through monthly food giveaways and emergency assistance to communities harmed by natural and other disasters.

Currently serving as the Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church of McLean in McLean, VA, Rev. Dr. Robert Wallace has spent over 20 years as a Professor of Biblical Studies striving to bridge the gap between the academy and the church. While finishing his Ph.D. at Baylor University, he was ordained at First Baptist Church of Waco, Texas, and he worked as a full-time pastor for several years. Throughout his academic career, Robert maintained an active, ecumenical ministry of supply and interim preaching.

He has a deep love of the Psalms, and much of his academic research has focused on that area. He currently is finishing a book with Baker Academic Publishing provisionally titled, “Reading the Old Testament Through the Psalms.” The book brings together several of Robert’s passions by using the Psalms as the entry point to make the rest of the Old Testament accessible to a Christian audience.

From 2016 – 2018 Robert also cohosted a podcast based on the Revised Common Lectionary with New Testament professor and former colleague, Dr. Michael McKeever. “Reading in Church & Other Distractions” has been a source of devotion and fun.

Robert and his wife Cindy have two sons, Daniel and Thomas, who delight in beating their father at video games. As a family, they enjoy music, laughing, and Robert’s cooking.

Rev. Dr. Jeffrey G. Willetts, PhD is professor for the Philosophy of Religion and former Dean of Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology, in Atlanta, GA. From 1998 -2016, Dr. Willetts served as the founding Dean, Vice-President, and Professor of Divinity at the John Leland Center for Theological Studies, in Arlington, VA.

Dr. Willetts academic interests include the philosophy of religious language, philosophical theology, ethics, and philosophy and culture.  Dr. Willetts is also an experienced Baptist minister with more than 25 years of experience, as a church planter and senior pastor.

Dr. Willetts earned his BA in Religion and Philosophy at Campbell University, his Master of Arts in Religion at Yale University Divinity School, and his PhD in Philosophy at Swansea University, Wales, UK.

He currently serves on a number committees, commissions, or advisories of several different ecclesial or academic organizations, including: the Baptist World Alliance, the Society for Philosophy of Religion, and the Institute for Justice Formation.

He is the former Book Review editor for the International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, and is President of the Network for Theological Engagement, a non-profit organization which focuses on the accessibility of theological education for the local church.