The Reverend Jacqueline J. Lewis, Ph.D.

Reverend, Author and Activist

When she was eight years old, Jacqui Lewis hid under her bed as bullets flew in her Chicago neighborhood following the assassination of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In that moment, she felt called to work for racial equality in the United States.

It has been said that her 1,100-member congregation, Middle Collegiate Church in New York City, has diversity that looks like the subway, but its legendary love feels like home. Jews, Buddhists, atheists, and Christians pack its sanctuary to standing-room-only capacity. Millennials and boomers, trans and gay, singles and families all call Middle their own. Middle Church is celebrated in Robert P. Jones’ book, The End of White Christian America, as an example of what revolutionary love can do to combat racism and xenophobia. Middle Church and Lewis’s activism has been featured in media such as The Today Show, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Essence, and The Huffington Post.

Believing faith communities can lead the way to racial reconciliation, Dr. Lewis co-founded The Middle Project with her spouse, The Rev. John Janka, which trains leaders to create a more just society. More than 500 faith leaders attended the 12th annual conference, “Revolutionary Love – Complete the Dream” last April, with speakers such as Van Jones, Valarie Kaur, William J. Barber II, America Ferrara, Parker Palmer, Miguel De La Torre, and Brian McLaren on faculty. “Revolutionary Love—The Politics of Faith” will take place April 5–7, 2019.

Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Dr. Lewis is the first African American and first woman to serve as senior minister in the Collegiate Church, which was founded in New York City in 1628. She earned her M.Div. at Princeton Theological Seminary and her Ph.D. in Psychology and Religion at Drew University, and has been adjunct faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary, The Graduate Theological Union, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and Wesley Theological Seminary.

Dr. Lewis hosted “Just Faith,” an on-demand television program on MSNBC.com and is a frequent media commentator. Her books include The Power of Stories: A Guide for Leaders in Multi-racial, Multi-cultural Congregations, The Pentecost Paradigm: Ten Strategies for Becoming a Multiracial Congregation, and the children’s book, You Are So Wonderful! Dr. Lewis is an Auburn Senior Fellow and is currently at work on a book about a path to revolutionary love.