BUIES CREEK, N.C. — Larry G. Dickens has been named the first person to fill the Gay T. and Haskell A. Duncan Chair of Church Music at Campbell University Divinity School, effective July 1.
Larry Dickens
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Dickens, a Campbell University graduate, has been minister of music at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church in Fayetteville, N.C., since 1999 and an adjunct professor in the divinity school since 2006. In his new role as associate professor of church music and worship, Dickens will lead the master of divinity church music concentration and plan weekly chapel services.
Dickens also has been on the staff of other congregations, including Cave Spring Baptist Church in Roanoke, Yates Baptist Church in Durham and Second Baptist Church in Fayetteville.
“We are delighted to have Larry Dickens coming as the first holder of the Duncan Chair of Church Music,” said divinity school dean Andy Wakefield. “Dr. Dickens not only brings a wealth of experience, both in the church and in teaching at Campbell, but also he brings vision and a commitment to music and worship that is defined by depth and substance rather than style. … We are fortunate to have had a generous donor who gave us the funding for the chair and to have someone of Dickens’ experience and abilities to fill it.”
Dickens said his experience as an adjunct faculty member “has given me a new perspective on the state of church music in our region,” an insight which birthed “Oasis: Renew for the Journey,” a church music conference hosted by the divinity school each summer.
“Listening to and interacting with divinity school students has fueled my passion to train a new generation of worship leaders,” he said.