News

Dr. Rickie Moore, associate dean for Lee University’s School of Religion, has been named the recipient of the Church of God Division of Education’s Distinguished Educator Award for Faculty.

“Hearing this news was like being struck by a wave that I did not see coming, in fact many waves—first, a huge wave of honor followed by wave after wave of gratitude,” said Moore. “I owe a great debt of gratitude to God and to many people, without whom I would not be here today at the end of this 40-year journey as an educator in the Church of God and at Lee University.”

Beginning in 1976, the Church of God granted the Distinguished Educators Award to those who have done exceptional work within the field of education for the Church of God. Recipients are selected from a list of nominees submitted by church officials, leaders, faculty, administration from all educational institutions internationally, missionary educators, and ministerial development board members internationally.

Prior to serving as associate dean, Moore served for seven years as the chair of Lee’s Department of Theology and the previous 25 years on the faculty of the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. His teaching specialty is the Old Testament prophets. He is a founding editor of the Journal of Pentecostal Theology, the first academic serial ever to feature constructive theology from a Pentecostal perspective on an international scholarly level. His publications include, “God Saves: Lessons From the Elisha Stories” and “The Spirit of the Old Testament.”

“Stories abound from former students that tell of ‘moments’ in class when Dr. Moore would pause and drop a life-changing insight into their lives based on some truth found in the hard work of interpreting the Scriptural text,” said Dr. Terry Cross, School of Religion dean. “For Dr. Moore, the text of the Old Testament was a living one—one that we could read but more importantly one that would read us. The thousands of students he has taught over the years would testify to the appropriateness of him receiving this award. He is a rare gift to the church and academy.”

Moore, who is retiring this summer, will be formally honored at the International Educators Luncheon during the Church of God General Assembly being held in San Antonio, Texas, in July.

“Throughout all these years, I’ve been honored every step of the way by being entrusted with a priceless treasure—the hearts and lives of the sons and daughters of Lee. For this I am thankful beyond words,” said Moore.