Reverend Dwayne J. Craig

Dwayne J. Craig is a native Floridian. He grew up in a quiet, secluded community on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. 

Dwayne is an ordained elder of the Florida Annual Conference. He has pastored United Methodist congregations in the North Carolina, Florida, and Northern Illinois Annual Conferences. He has involved himself in local community matters ranging from HIV/AIDS, homelessness, poverty, education disparities, and youth empowerment programs by bridging his pastoral ministry with that of non-profit organizations. His involvement in local community matters has always been wedded to that of an eye on both national and global observations and the persistent root causes that undermine the flourishing of human life. He served as a delegate to the 18thWorld Methodist Conference in Brighton, England (2001), the World Methodist Evangelism Young Leaders Conference at St. Simons Island, Georgia (2004), and the 20th World Methodist Conference in Durban, South Africa (2011). Further, his service has reached beyond the walls of the church as he has served on district and conference committees and boards of the Florida Annual Conference. He was Co-founder of the Nehemiah Movement in St. Petersburg, Florida, Director of Community Partnerships with the Community Action Coalition, Inc., a member of the Board of Directors of AIDS Service Association of Pinellas, and a Research Consultant with Manpower Development Corporation, Inc., Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Additionally, he is a member of the American Academy of Religion.

Pastor Dwayne is a graduate of Bethune-Cookman College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion and Philosophy (magna cum laude). He furthered his academic pursuits at Duke University School of Divinity as a Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholar and earned a Master of Divinity degree and a Master of Theology degree with a concentration in the areas of Theology and Social Ethics. In addition, he holds a Master of Theological Studies degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (Theta Alpha Kappa) at Northwestern University and, at present, is completing PhD work in Systematic Theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. Reverend Craig firmly believes that theological reflections are to be linked to the concrete realities of our everyday living and circumstances, and that the church is to choreograph a love supreme as she joyfully and subversively engages in acts of crossing the borders of social and ecclesial balkanization.

Pastor Dwayne enjoys reading, watching movies, discussing politics, playing chess, putt-putt golf, ping pong, and spending time with his beautiful daughters and lovely wife, Kimberly. He is passionate about the mission of the Church, and his vision for the 21st century Church in the United States is that she will live into becoming a truly polychromatic community grounded in the Deep Tomorrow (God), following the Normative Gaze (Jesus Christ), and empowered by the Loving Presence (Holy Spirit). His motto is “credo ut intelligam” (Lat., I believe that I may understand).