Paul and Stacey Simpson Duke have been the pastors of First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor since January 2001. They live in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with their twin 15 year-old sons, Rob and Charlie, their dogs Louie and Samson, and a guinea pig named Gibson.
Paul has a PhD in New Testament from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky; his doctoral thesis was entitled, “Irony in the Fourth Gospel.” In addition to having served as a seminary professor in the areas of preaching, worship, and New Testament, Paul is an author, lecturer, and lyricist. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, traveling, and going on long walks.
Stacey has a DMin in Gospel and Culture from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia; her doctoral thesis was entitled, “The Word in Our Mouths: Scripture Memory and Recitation as Renewal for Public Witness.” In January 2018, Stacey was diagnosed with stage IV leiomyosarcoma, a rare, aggressive soft tissue sarcoma. She now spends much of her free time going to doctor’s appointments, researching her medical options, and interacting with sarcoma specialists, clinician-researchers, and patient advocates on social media. In whatever other free time she can find, she enjoys knitting, reading, spinning yarn, photography, travel, listening to podcasts, and performing improv. During her sabbatical, she is hoping to learn watercolor.
Rob is finishing up 9th grade at Pioneer High School, where he sings bass in the men’s choir, plays trumpet in one of the bands, and rows on the men’s crew team. At church, he sings in the Sanctuary Choir; serves as an usher, acolyte, and worship reader; and is involved in the youth group. In his spare time, he enjoys reading (every summer, he rereads the entire Harry Potter series), working out, playing piano, travel, and hanging out with friends. An avid French student, he is looking forward to 9 days with family in France this summer.
Charlie is finishing up 9th grade at Pioneer High School, where he sings bass in the men’s choir and is involved with the Pioneer Theatre Guild. At church, he sings in the Sanctuary Choir; serves as an usher, acolyte, and worship reader; and is involved in the youth group. In his spare time, he enjoys playing video games, playing piano, playing guitar, singing, and travel. An avid German student, he is looking forward to 5 days with family in Austria this summer.
Seeing the Sacred 