Bio of Rev. Dr. Andre Johnson
Rev. Dr. Andre Johnson is the pastor of Gifts of Life Ministries, The Urban Oasis, located at 1542 Jackson. As a called-centered, mission group oriented, servant leadership church, pastor Johnson leads a congregation that last year served over 5,000 meals, clothed over 150 persons, counseled over 60 individuals and families, and visited many sick and incarcerated people. He was born and raised in Memphis, Tenn. and is married to Lisa who is a graduate of the University of Memphis and currently works as a paralegal. He serves in the department of Christianity and Culture as the Dr. James L. Netters Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Religion and African AmericanStudies at Memphis Theological Seminary. He teaches classes in contextualized ministry, prophetic rhetoric, black church, African American theology, rhetoric and religion, pulpit rhetoric, race, and hip hop theology. Dr. Johnson also serves as the Director of the Netters Certificate Program in Ministry. In addition to his work at G'Life and Memphis Theology Seminary, he also serves as an instructor in Communications and African American Studies at the University of Memphis.
Dr. Johnson attended the University of Tennessee at Martin where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Communications. He graduated from Memphis Theological Seminary where he took the Masters of Divinity degree and completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Communications at the University of Memphis. His dissertation, The Prophetic Oratory of Henry McNeal Turner, was under the direction of Michael C. Leff. He is currently editing the works of Henry McNeal Turner under the title The Literary Archive of Henry McNeal Turner. The first volume, An African American Pastor Before and During the American Civil War waspublished in 2010 and the second one, The Chaplain Letters, is due forpublication in January 2012. The Literary Archive of Henry McNeal Turner is part of a 12 volume series with Edwin Mellen Press.
In addition to collecting of Turner writings, Dr. Johnson has just completed a rhetorical biography on Turner titled The Forgotten Prophet: The Prophetic Rhetoric of Bishop Henry McNeal Turner, due spring 2012 from Lexington Books. He is also editing a collection of essays on hip hop and spirituality titled, Urban God Talk: Rap, Religion, and a Spirituality of Hip Hop with Lexington Books.
Dr. Johnson has presented academic papers at national, regional, and state conferences winning awards at each level and has published essays in the Memphis Theological Seminary Journal and the Black Theology Journal. The Religious Communication Association recently awarded Dr. Johnson their TopArticle Award for 2011 for his article titled, "The Prophetic Persona of James Cone and the Rhetorical Theology of Black Theology." He currently serves as the First Vice Chair and Convention Planner of the African American Communication and Culture Division of the National Communication Association and holds membership in several national, regional and state Associations in the areas of Communication, African American and Religious Studies. He is also the editor of the popular Rhetoric Race and Religion blog. In addition, you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook
