• Announcing the Lenoir-Rhyne Tuition-Free Guarantee

    Lenoir-Rhyne announces tuition-free guarantee for North and South Carolina students
    With the Lenoir-Rhyne Tuition-Free Guarantee, tuition will never stand in the way of your dreams. Starting in fall 2026, eligible students from North and South Carolina can earn a world-class education tuition-free—powered by scholarships and grants, not loans.

    View the Lenoir-Rhyne Guarantee

Theology, Black church studies and hip hop professor joins LTSS


Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary of Lenoir-Rhyne University is pleased to welcome the Rev. Kermit Moss to its faculty starting the fall term 2021.

Moss joins LTSS after serving as parish minister for the United Methodist Church in New York City and appointments to local congregations in the United Methodist Church of Greater New Jersey, while also serving as interim director of the Betsey Stockton Center for Black Church Studies and doctoral candidate at Princeton Theological Seminary.

"We are thrilled to welcome Professor Moss as a faculty colleague," said the Rev. Mary Hinkle Shore, Ph.D., rector and dean of LTSS. "His background in ministry and his scholarship in practical theology make him exactly the right person to join LTSS as we teach, form and nurture leaders who are able to form community in Christ across cultural differences."

A native of Virginia, Moss earned his bachelor's at Long Island University — Brooklyn where he began his ministry by pastoring churches in the South Bronx and Manhattan.

"Growing up, I thought I was going to be a lawyer," he said. "But then I felt a progressive sense of calling, something I couldn't run away from."

Moss earned his Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and is in the final stages of completing his Ph.D. dissertation with plans to present and earn his doctorate by the end of the year. In the process, he'll be teaching at LTSS.

"I'm looking forward to learning from my students as much as they learn from me," he said.

While at Princeton, Moss has taught courses and served in a director role while preaching at a church in New Jersey. At LTSS, he will be teaching courses in practical theology, methodology, urban youth and hip-hop culture.

"Professor Moss' reach will extend beyond the classroom as he helps us to strengthen ecumenical partnerships," Shore said. "With his gifts for leadership and collaboration, LTSS has the potential to become a regional center of Black church and culture studies."

He'll be joining the LTSS and Columbia communities along with his wife Antoinette, also a United Methodist Church pastor, and children Chloe, Sebastian and Kermit Jr.

Two students discuss the anatomy lab assignment during class

Lenoir-Rhyne has been named a Top 15 Best Value university among all universities in the Southern region in U.S. News and World Report’s 2026 Best Colleges rankings released today.

View More
Taylor Newton gestures to a projected chart in front of a classroom

Twelve Lenoir-Rhyne faculty and staff reached significant achievements and transitions as the 2024-25 academic year drew to a close.

View More