“I Am NYTS” Student Stories – Deborah Lindsay, DMin Alumna
Deborah Lindsay, DMin Graduate 2014
Rev. Dr. Deborah Lindsay chose New York Theological Seminary because it was the only seminary in the country offering a specific Doctor of Ministry track and cohort dedicated to multifaith ministry.
In August of 2010, Rev. Lindsay’s sermon about “Islamophobia,” the stereotyping of Muslims and our failure to see them as fellow people of faith, went viral on YouTube and was seen by over a million people around the world. The experience illuminated a call to multifaith ministry and clarified what she wanted to study in a Doctor of Ministry program. Her research led her to NYTS and she exclaims that it was one of the best decisions she ever made. “The diverse academic environment was exhilarating,” she adds, “to study in a cohort with a rabbi and imam deepened the learning and growth, and created what I expect to be lifelong relationships.”
Currently serving as the Minister of Spiritual Care at First Community Church, Columbus, Ohio, in January 2016 Rev. Lindsay will become the Executive Minister. She believes the church is changing in America and the need is “greater than ever for educated clergy to partner with the people of God to do the work of reconciliation and peace-making.”
Noting that Rev. Dr. Wanda Lundy, NYTS Doctor of Ministry Program Director, often spoke about the importance of transformation in the DMin projects, Dr. Lindsay added “Transformation is also what happened to me as an individual, as a leader, as a woman in ministry, and as a human being. I am a more competent and confident leader thanks to my education at NYTS and I am profoundly grateful for my experience.”
Rev. Dr. Lindsay says she would encourage anyone entering a Doctor of Ministry program to consider NYTS. She shares “I was affirmed in my work and at the same time stretched beyond what I thought was possible in my thinking, academic work, and dreaming about what is possible in ministry.”
