There’s a lot of confusion at Northern Seminary.
According to some board members, Joy Moore, the president of the suburban Chicago seminary, resigned last week, less than a year into the job. It’s not clear whether Moore resigned or what led Northern to announce her departure a day before the seminary planned to officially install her as president.
Northern named Moore its 13th president last November, the first African American to hold the job. She succeeded William Shiell, who resigned in 2023 following accusations of bullying and retaliating against staff, particularly women.
In the aftermath, Northern diversified and revamped its board, bylaws, and processes, including conducting trauma training with trustees, staff, and faculty. The seminary brought in Moore, an evangelical homiletics scholar and ordained elder in the United Methodist Church (UMC), to lead Northern in its new chapter—that is, until last Thursday.
Moore’s presidential installation kicked off with a dinner at a hotel in nearby Naperville, Illinois. Dozens of attendees heard statements from Northern alumni, a family friend of Moore’s sang “Goodness of God” and played the harp, and Moore gave a speech that received a standing ovation.
Wendy Mohler-Seib, a theology professor at Friends University in Kansas, said the event was so moving that she and a friend decided to double their contributions to seminary scholarships.
But as the celebration winded down, two Northern trustees—vice chair Brian Johnson and chair James Stellwagen—announced from the stage that Moore had “discerned” that she would no longer lead the seminary and had resigned, according to Mohler-Seib. Johnson told the crowd not to overwhelm Moore with follow-up questions, she said.
To a crowd that had spent the evening celebrating Northern’s new leadership, the news came as a shock. “Absolutely jarring,” said Mohler-Seib.
The situation became even more confusing on Friday at a worship service that was originally supposed to be Moore’s installation ceremony. Near the end of the service, Moore told the crowd gathered at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago that she had not resigned from her position.
All of it culminated in a tense service, where Dennis Blackwell, a Black UMC pastor from New Jersey, reportedly spoke up to accuse the seminary of racism. Other attendees, including retired Methodist pastor Keith Boyette, took to social media to voice their support for Moore.
“She did not resign and she did not discern that she was not a good fit for the Seminary. Pray for Joy in this time,” Boyette wrote on Facebook last week. “One can hope that the Seminary Board of Trustees is rethinking their leadership and the way they have falsely maligned Joy.”
Last week, the seminary announced online that Moore had “decided to conclude her service.” But it then removed the post within 24 hours. The school has not said whether Moore remains its president, and Moore declined a request for an interview.
In a written statement to Christianity Today, Mike Moore, Northern’s dean of seminary, said the school is “aware of the concern surrounding recent events and is approaching this moment with mutual discernment, compassion, and faith in God’s guidance.”
“Conversations between Dr. Joy J. Moore and the Board of Trustees are ongoing, and out of respect for everyone involved, we will refrain from further comment until the process concludes,” said Mike Moore, who is not related to Joy Moore.
When the seminary announced its new president last year, it said it came to the decision after a nine-month search that concluded with a unanimous board vote for Moore’s appointment.
Before she came to Northern, Moore held academic positions at Duke Divinity School and Fuller Theological Seminary, where she established a center for Black church studies.
Northern Seminary, established in 1913 as Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, is affiliated with the mainline American Baptist Churches USA. CT’s first editor Carl Henry attended Northern, as did Kenneth Taylor, founder of Tyndale House Publishers, and Bible teacher Warren Wiersbe.
According to data from The Association of Theological Schools, the seminary had 233 full-time students enrolled in courses last fall. Northern’s professors include Beth Felker Jones, Nijay Gupta, and Matthew Bates.
