Rev. Renee Dillard
Discipleship Ministries
Reverend Renee Dillard is an Ordained Deacon serving under appointment at St. John’s United Methodist Church.
A Deacon’s call is specific to Word (preaching) and Service (outreach). As a Deacon, Renee is called to help people live out their Christian Discipleship – to connect who they are and what they do.
At St. John’s, we have many opportunities to meet the needs of people in our community, whether it is by offering food through the Food Pantry or at Soup Kitchen, tutoring and other support of children at Bruce School or through the Multi-National Ministries program, or emergency responses such as flood buckets for hurricane affected areas of our country. But as Christians, what we do to help others is more than just wanting to do a good thing – what we do to help others comes from a desire to live out our faith, to be Christ-like in our actions, to respond to the call to love God and to love our neighbors.
Renee is grateful to live out her call as a Deacon in a Church where a firm foundation for servant leadership already exists. She looks forward to this congregation growing together, strengthening our commitment to serve those who are made poor and marginalized.
One of Renee’s favorite poets is Ann Weems:
Feeding Sheep
He said, “Feed my sheep.” There were no conditions:
Least of all, Feed my sheep if they deserve it.
Feed my sheep if you feel like it.
Feed my sheep if you have any leftovers
Feed my sheep if the mood strikes you.
If the economy’s OK . . .
If you’re not too busy . . .
No conditions . . . just, “Feed my sheep.”
Could it be that God’s Kingdom will come
when each lamb is fed?
We who have agreed to keep covenant
are called to feed sheep
even when it means the grazing will be done
on our own front lawns.
Renee is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and worked in that field for many years before entering the ministry. She worked in a variety of settings including behavioral health and hospice.
Education
Memphis State University, B.A. Psychology, 1989
University of Tennessee at Memphis, College of Social Work, MSSW, 1992
Memphis Theological Seminary, MDiv, 2008
Both native Memphians, Renee and her husband, Collins, have been married for 23 years. Collins is a Graphic Designer, an all-around creative soul, and has the gift of seeing God at work in every situation. They have two beautiful and creative daughters, Alli and Isabelle.