Thomas Kneeland: Leading and Serving Christ in Academia and the Arts

Poet and professor Thomas Kneeland first encountered Wesley Seminary at a time when he deeply felt his need for God. Though he was active in church and part of a praise and worship team, he had experienced church hurt. He later found spiritual healing and encouragement at Heartland Church in Fishers, Indiana, which led him to apply to Wesley Seminary.

Kneeland began his Master of Ministry with a specialization in worship arts in October 2018. At the time, he worked as a life coach for the Goodwill Excel Center High School for Adults at two locations while also leading ministry through music, writing books, publishing pieces, and raising his then two-year-old daughter.

“I would go to work, teach night classes, go home, work on course materials, read for classes, and have my daughter with me,” Kneeland recalls. “Sometimes I’d fall asleep weighing in on the discussion boards or writing essays, but overall, my experience balancing work and everything else was strengthening more than anything. The content of what I learned was exactly what I needed spiritually, so I was excited to do the work. I yearned for it. I needed to be closer to God, and seminary definitely helped with that.”

“We take flight into twilight
our dreams of touching the sky collide 
imagine the same hymn twinkling among the stars’ fingerprints.”
— from “Black Ghazal I,” We Be Walkin’ Blackly in the Deep

Kneeland believes his time at Wesley Seminary helped him better understand what it means to be human and provided a foundation for adopting new perspectives on leadership, humanity, and spirituality.

“I encounter people from a different angle. This faith walk that we find ourselves on is less about what others are doing right or wrong and more about whether we’re loving people well, despite the decisions they make. As someone who is Christian and Black, I cannot overlook the misuse and misappropriation of scripture used to control historically-marginalized groups. My time at Wesley Seminary, particularly courses like Global Christian History and Spiritual Life and Leadership, taught me to be a better human and Christian.”

Because his program was entirely online, Kneeland was excited to meet many of the peers he had engaged with digitally when he graduated in 2021. Although he earned his degree while balancing multiple responsibilities, he successfully completed the program and was ready to finish his remaining goal—a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing at Butler University. 

“I’ve always known that I would be a professor of English, no matter how long it took,” Kneeland said. “It wasn’t until the summer of 2024 that I received the opportunity to do so.” 

Now in his second semester as a professor, Kneeland teaches a course titled “Spiritual Practice of Writing.” The course is grounded in Cole Arthur Riley’s book Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human. Through this course, he incorporates many aspects of his Wesley Seminary experience in unique ways, highlighting the connection between poetry and spiritual practice within a secular context. Speaking about the interplay between poetry, faith, and his own life, he said, “Poetry is the way in which I communicate with the world around me. It’s how I express love and adoration for the beauty of this world. It’s also the way in which I mourn with my brothers and sisters around the world. Being a poet is a privilege. I get to witness and minister.” 

“What’s more important than trying not to kill another innocent body, 
is the person you’re trying to kill just might have your mother’s first name.”
— from “Black Ghazal II,” We Be Walkin’ Blackly in the Deep

Kneeland says he remains rooted in his faith by remembering that his job is, first and foremost, to love others well and point them to Christ, particularly those who may not have encountered Him. He believes it’s essential to adopt transparency, extend grace, and provide an education that encourages those unfamiliar with faith to explore and experience God for themselves. As part of this, Kneeland often incorporates teachings based in faith, humanity, and principles of Kingdom diversity and belonging into his work.

This January, Kneeland was named a 2025 Emerging Scholar by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. He views this recognition as a reminder that students deserve an education rooted in truth so they can navigate their future environments with love and respect. Through his poetry, he seeks to explore humanity by understanding where we are through the lens of where we’ve been.

“I often struggle with whether my work is good enough. I’m often reminded by friends and my family of creatives that our work need not search for validation. It is enough for it to just exist. The right people will find the work and value it.”

Kneeland is an Afro-Cuban poet who has authored the poetry collection We Be Walkin’ Blackly in the Deep. His work has been featured in numerous publications. Since his time at Wesley Seminary, he has merged his theological beliefs with passion for poetry and writing, achieved his dream of becoming a professor, and continues raising his daughter, now eight, who aspires to become a baker. 

For more information or to connect with Kneeland, visit www.thomaskneeland.com, where his press kit, biographical statement, CV, books, and contact page are available.

“We thin sin. We pray again
for a glimpse 
of Martin & Malcolm
& Medgar & Martin
Bland & Brown & Nichols
& Taylor to tell us how to live
in the sky with feet 
on ground & eyes filled with sun.”
— from “One Way,” We Be Walkin’ Blackly in the Deep