James D. Smith

Rev. Dr. James D. Smith III (A.B. San Diego State, M.Div. Bethel, Th.M., Th.D. Harvard) has practiced integrated ministry as pastor-teacher for 30 years. Dr Smith has been on the faculty at Bethel Seminary since 1988 and currently serves as Professor of Church History. He is also part time Minister of Pastoral Care at Fletcher Hills Presbyterian Church. Since 1993 he has lectured extensively at the University of San Diego, with additional teaching at Eastern/Palmer Seminary (Philadelphia), Southern Seminary (Louisville) and Daystar University (Nairobi). Smith has ministered as senior pastor in Boston, Minneapolis and San Diego. An AAR and ASCH member, his interests engage biography, spiritual life and ministry, history of missions and women in the Christian tradition. Formative influences include service as Harvard Teaching Fellow with Henri Nouwen, Margaret R. Miles and Helmut Koester. He also writes baseball history. A longtime editorial board member for Christian History & Biography, he has co-edited The Fabric of Early Christianity, The Subjective Eye, the Encyclopedia of Christian Literature, and most recently the Dictionary of Christian Spirituality (Zondervan). Since 1972, he has been married to Linda Westmoreland Smith, and they've been blessed with three children and four grandchildren.