Jay-Paul M. Hinds, ThM ’08, MDiv ’07, is assistant professor of pastoral theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. He received his Doctorate of Philosophy in religion and Certificate of Psychoanalytic Studies from Emory University, with a concentration in religious practices and practical theology. He earned his Master of Divinity and Master of Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary. Hinds earned a Bachelor of Arts: religion, cum laude, from Felician College.
Before returning to Princeton Seminary, Hinds served as assistant professor of pastoral care, practical theology, and psychology of religion at Howard University School of Divinity.
Faculty Spotlight
Tuesday, May 16, 9:00 a.m.
Stuart Hall 6
Seminar
Tuesday, May 16, 10:15 a.m.
Stuart Hall 1
A Gift Grows in the Ghetto
In his classic essay “Of Our Spiritual Strivings,” W. E. B. Du Bois asks, “how does it feel to be a problem?” This question has become a means of diagnosing the lived experience of Black men, particularly in America’s most neglected and feared environment: the ghetto. What is often overlooked, however, is the vital role that spirituality has in remedying the problem. This seminar, A Gift Grows in the Ghetto, examines how not being in relationship with one’s gift can lead to feelings of despair, entrapment, and abandonment, all of which contribute to Black men feeling as though they are nothing more than a problem. By utilizing the biblical story of Ishmael’s miraculous survival, growth, and giftedness in the wilderness, this seminar will explore strategies to encourage Black men to embrace a life of faith that is dependent on the God who always sees, nurtures, and is in relationship with us and our gifts in the wilderness and the ghetto.
