Professor of Practical Theology
Dr. Langston was born in Birmingham, Alabama but grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana. He attended the University of Louisiana in Lafayette, Louisiana on an athletic scholarship in Football. In 1975 he entered the USMC’s PLC Officer Commissioning program. He graduated from UL with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Degree in Education in 1977 and was subsequently commissioned a 2nd Lt. in the United States Marine Corps. In 1983, then Capt. Langston USMC, resigned his regular active duty commission and accepted a reserve commission subsequently, serving Marine Corps Reserve units in Raleigh, NC and Greenville, SC. Dr. Langston is a graduate of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity Degree (M.Div.) in Theology and Pastoral Care. He Pastored Cherryfield Baptist Church in Brevard, NC from 1987–1988.
Dr. Langston was recalled to active duty from the Navy Reserve as a United States Navy Chaplain in June of 1988. His service as a U.S. Navy Chaplain includes tours with Marine Aircraft Group-29, MCAS New River, NC; Marine Wing Support Group-27, MCAS Cherry Point, NC; Air Combat Element Chaplain, Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm on board USS Guam (LPH 9); Command Chaplain, USS Chosin (CG 65), Pearl Harbor, HI; Command Chaplain, Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Yorktown, VA; Deputy Command Chaplain/Command Chaplain, Naval Air Station Keflavik, Keflavik, Iceland; Deputy Division Chaplain, 2d Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, NC; student, The Naval War College, Newport, RI.; Advanced Course Officer, Naval Chaplains School, Newport, RI.; Director, Operational Ministry Center, Norfolk, VA; Theater Chaplain, Combined Forces Command–Afghanistan (CFC-A), Kabul, Afghanistan; Division Chaplain, 2d Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, NC; the Force Chaplain for II MEF (Fwd) in Al Anbar Province (Fallujah), Iraq; Commanding Officer, Naval Chaplaincy School and Center, Ft Jackson, SC; and Executive Director of the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Center, Ft Jackson, SC. He retired from Active Duty 1 Sep 2011 after 36 years of service. Dr. Langston presently serves as a member of the South Carolina State Guard as the Deputy Commanding General.
He has two earned Doctorates, a Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen (2019), Aberdeen, Scotland and a D.Min. from Bethel Theological Seminary (1996), Saint Paul, MN with a concentration in Military Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care. In 2003 he graduated from the Naval War College, Newport, RI, earning a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. Dr. Langston has also earned the Navy Designator, Master Training Specialist for Naval Education. Additionally, he completed the Marine Corps Command and Staff JPME Seminar courses at Camp Lejeune, NC.
His personal awards include the Legion of Merit Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Navy Marine Corps Commendation Medal (three awards), Army Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal (two awards), Combat Action Ribbon, Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Expert Rifle Medal, Expert Pistol Medal, and various unit citations and campaign ribbons.
Dr. Langston joined the faculty of 51Сʪ’s Seminary & School of Counseling in 2011. As a Seminary Professor he built the Chaplaincy program and taught Chaplain Ministries and Practical Theology from that date until the present. Dr. Langston has served as a Law Enforcement Chaplain with the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Dept., Brevard, NC, and the Richland County Sheriff’s Dept. in Columbia, SC, a Sports Chaplain with NASCAR (MRO), a Healthcare Chaplain at Baptist Medical Center, Columbia, SC, a Disaster Relief Chaplain with SC State Guard, and as a Military Chaplain in the United States Navy. He is ordained and endorsed through the Southern Baptist Convention. He is married to the former Kathy Lee Jones PhD, of Greenville, SC. They have been married for 38 years and have three grown children and three grandchildren. They reside in Blythewood, SC.
Education
- PhD, University of Aberdeen
- DMin, Bethel Theological Seminary
- MDiv, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
- MA, The Naval War College
- BS, University of Louisiana
Publications
- Langston, Michael W., Mark Jumper, and Steve Keith. Chaplaincy: 2023. A Comprehensive Introduction. Ada: MI: Baker Academic Books.
- Langston, Michael W. 2023. “Reflection on Karl Marlantes’s book ‘What it is Like to Go to War.’” The U.S. Army Chaplain Corps Journal, May 2023: 31–32.
- Langston, Michael W. and. Kathy J. Langston. 2023. From Despair to Hope: A Forty-Day Devotional, 2nd Edition. Newport RI: Stonetower Press.
- Langston, Michael W. and. Kathy J. Langston. 2022. A Journey to Hope: Healing the Traumatized Spirit, 2nd Edition. Newport RI: Stonetower Press.
- Langston, Michael W. 2021. “Chaplaincy-A Specialized Path to Ministry Preparation.” Didaktikos: Journal of Theological Education; Vol. 5, issue 1 (September).
- Langston, Michael W. 2021. “Opportunities of Virtual Learning Environments: Best Practices in Online Doctoral Programs.” In Developments in Virtual Learning Environments and the Global Workplace, ed. Stephanie Swartz, Belem Barbosa, Izzy Crawford, and Susan Luck (Hershey, PA: IGI Global Publishing).
- Langston, Michael W. 2019. Establishing the Practical Significance of the Influence of Evangelical Theology on an Evangelical Military Chaplains Praxis of Chaplaincy: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Approach. Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.
- Langston, Michael W. 2017. “Forward.” in Essential Chaplain Skill Sets: Discovering Effective Ways to Provide Excellent Spiritual Care, Keith Evans, Bloomington, IL: WestBow Press: vii–x.