Duke Divinity School has announced that Rev. Dr. Michael Long will join the school as the first director of spiritual formation, responsible for guiding the school’s programs that nurture the spiritual formation of students for service to the church and the world.

Said Divinity School Dean Edgardo Colón-Emeric, “This new position represents and renews our school’s commitment to the holistic and integrated formation of our students for ministry. We are excited to have Rev. Dr. Long in this role, as he brings decades of practical ministry experience and experience as an educator.”

Long will oversee the school’s spiritual formation programs, including spiritual formation groups, a key component of the Master of Divinity, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Ministry programs. His work will also include supporting spiritual formation requirements and retreat opportunities for many of the school’s certificate programs and houses of study.

Duke Divinity’s spiritual formation programs encourage students to deepen their spiritual practices by cultivating habits and rhythms for sustaining a lifetime of Christian service, and they provide the time, space, and mentoring needed for students to discern their future vocations.

Long, M.Div. ’12, D.Min. ‘18, has more than 38 years of ministry experience, most recently as pastor of Zion Baptist Church in Reidsville, N.C. He has served for three years as a spiritual formation instructor and mentor in the Divinity School’s Doctor of Ministry program, since 2014 as a supervisor-mentor in the school’s field education program, and has been a member of the school’s National Alumni Council. He has also served as an instructor and mentor with Hampton University’s Lilly Endowment PRIME Pastoral Leadership Program.

Long will begin his new role on August 16.