Mark W. Stamm is Professor of Christian Worship emeritus at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where he served on the faculty from 2000 to 2025. He is a 1995 graduate (Th.D.) of the Boston University School of Theology. He served 46 years under a bishop’s appointment from 1979 (as a local pastor during his senior year as an undergraduate) through his retirement as an elder in full connection from the Horizon Texas Conference in 2025. Before arriving at Perkins, he served as pastor of several local churches, primarily in Pennsylvania. These days, he’s still trying to figure out how retirement and discipleship fit together but finds himself inspired by the Macedonian vision to “come over ... and help us …” (Acts 16:9). Answering that call—to be a helpful retiree—finds him serving in a variety of contexts, both within United Methodism and in ecumenical contexts beyond it, and it led to his accepting the call to revise and update this study guide. He also serves as Historian for The Order of Saint Luke and is an active member in the Society for American Baseball Research. He has been married to his wife Margie, also since 1979, and together, they are the parents of two adult sons.
Photo by Hillsman Stuart Jackson