United Methodist elders, Rev. Mike Hicks and Rev. Dr. Eddie Rester, are the two newest members of the Millsaps College Board of Trustees.
“Millsaps is fortunate to have a talented and diverse group of dedicated leaders serving as trustees, and we will grow stronger with the addition of Revs. Hicks and Rester to this group,” said Dr. Rob Pearigen, president of Millsaps. “Their experience and breadth of service in the Mississippi Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church will bring energy and perspective to our work on the Millsaps campus. They will also help reinforce our relationship with the Methodist Church and draw new students from the Wesleyan tradition to our doorsteps.”
A native of Jackson, Hicks, recently retired, graduated from Belhaven College in 1974 and earned his Master of Divinity at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in 1979. Hicks served as senior pastor at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Tupelo, Mississippi and is a former district superintendent of the Hattiesburg District. He also served as a director and executive director of the Mississippi Methodist Foundation. Hicks and his wife, Lisa, have three children. Their son, Jason, is a Millsaps alumnus, class of 2003.
Rester currently serves as lead pastor of Christ United Methodist Church in Jackson. Originally from Ackerman, Mississippi and a 1993 graduate of the University of Mississippi, Rester earned his Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School in 1997. He received a Doctor of Ministry in Leadership and Emerging Culture from George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon in 2008. Along with serving churches in Oxford and Hattiesburg, Rester has also served as executive director and program host of the United Methodist Hour and as a member of the executive committee of Camp Lake Stephens. While in Oxford, Rester served on the Oxford Commission on Police Transparency. Rester and his wife, Audra, are the parents of two daughters.
The Rev. Dr. Joey Shelton, dean of the Chapel and director of church relations at Millsaps, said this about the new trustees, “Each brings to our board valuable gifts in systems thinking as well as the intellectual and spiritual depth needed for excellence in leadership. As a Millsaps alumnus, faculty instructor, and staff member, I am extremely grateful for their willingness to give their talents to Millsaps College for a time such as this. Mike and Eddie, in their own unique styles, bring to us a legacy of ‘thriving’ in their professional and personal endeavors. Well done and a hearty welcome!”