Jonathan D. Lawrence has been ordained in the ABCUSA since 1997 (ordained in Corning, NY) and is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Theology at Canisius University in Buffalo, where he has taught since 2005. He has served as pastor for a small United Church of Christ congregation since 2013. His father is an American Baptist pastor and he grew up attending Camp Vick in New York and participating in BYF conferences, including being the host youth representative in planning the 1987 BYF conference in Niagara Falls. He went to Haverford College plans to prepare for a career as a medical missionary but that was derailed by a slight fire-related mishap in the lab. After college he spent a year in Jerusalem as a Wallenberg Fellow at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, studying leadership, politics, and archaeology. He then went to Pittsburgh Theological seminary with the hopes of preparing for a career in ministry and teaching. After seminary, he went to University of Notre Dame for studies in "Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity" and wrote his dissertation about Jewish ritual bathing and its influence on the development of Christian Baptism. At Canisius he has taught a wide range of courses and traveled with students to India and even spent a month teaching at Pacific Theological College in Fiji. His research projects have focused on modern religious diversity and the interactions between religious groups in Buffalo. In the last several years he has used role-playing simulations in his teaching and is looking at ways to use them in ministry as well.
