Dr. Teddy Rashaan Reeves - Princeton Theological Seminary

From Seminary to Smithsonian: Dr. Teddy Reeves Uses Film and Art to Expand the Boundaries of Faith

Dr. Teddy Rashaan Reeves

Dr. Teddy Rashaan Reeves, ‘13MDiv, never aspired to a career in ministry. He grew up steeped in faith from his earliest days and loved Jesus passionately. A call to follow His example grew even louder, eventually bringing him to Princeton Theological Seminary.

It was a call that went beyond the confines of traditional Church, and Dr. Reeves has used his gifts as a storyteller to love those on the margins and bring them into a deeper relationship with God and each other.

Dr. Reeves currently serves as Curator of Religion at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. His series, gOD-Talk: Black Millennials and Faith Conversation, was created in 2018 and the film—gOD-Talk— was released last year. The film explores the lives of seven Black millennials (Atheist, Muslim, Ifa, Buddhist, Christian, and Spiritualist) and their challenges and discoveries with faith in the 21st century.

Dr. Teddy Rashaan Reeves

He recently reflected on his unique call to a nontraditional ministry, one that came into sharper focus at the Seminary, and one that was not without its challenges and growing pains.

Dr. Reeves was raised in the Baptist and Pentecostal churches attended by his mother. “The continuity of community and the continuity of faith and doctrine was very much instilled in me,” Dr. Reeves stressed, noting he was active in church plays, youth ministry, and youth missionary groups, all of which were crucial to his religious development.

Living in both spaces in the Black church was pivotal to my formation and my understanding of faith and how spirit would move.

While he was always active in the church, Dr. Reeves’ original dream was to be a broadcast journalist. While teaching at an independent school in Ojai, CA. the first of several serendipitous moments occurred. “I was teaching a class on race and religion,” which discussed different social issues such as what it meant to be Black in America.

Dr. Reeves brought in Rev. Jeff Holland, Pastor of Ojai Presbyterian Church, and an alumnus of Princeton Theological Seminary, to engage students on what it meant to be Christian in America. “We discussed his experiences at Seminary, but I had no desire to go to Seminary.” However, the meeting would eventually prove prophetic.

His next stop was a day school in Charlotte, NC. “One day I was teaching Death of a Salesman to my sophomores and heard a voice, as clear as day, saying, ‘Go to Seminary.’ I sat down immediately and began to look up seminaries. It was something that just never dawned on me. My mother would later confirm that she always knew, but it was not in my purview.”

Dr. Reeves thoroughly investigated his options and remarked that a visit to Princeton Seminary left him feeling “very peaceful.” When it came time to purchase money orders for his Seminary applications, “I heard that same voice say, ‘PTS.’” A person who always wants “a back-up to the back-up,” Dr. Reeves uncharacteristically decided to send only one application. “That’s what ended up bringing me to the Seminary. That was my call to ministry.” 

Dr. Teddy Rashaan Reeves

A Challenging Call

“Like the Church, Princeton Seminary is always trying to figure out what it means to be a loving community,” Dr. Reeves noted. During his first semester, “We had a racial incident on campus” that eventually led to the Slavery Audit, which would examine the institution’s historic connections to slavery. “This and other initiatives would lead the Seminary on the better path that it is on now, but when you’re the one who’s involved in the incident you have a different experience.”

He added, “To navigate that while you’re trying to navigate spiritual formation, theological terms and concepts, is very challenging.” Dr. Reeves stressed that while that first year was a trial of sorts, as he continued his journey at the Seminary, the relationships he cultivated were essential to his future success.

Dr. Teddy Rashaan Reeves
ABS 2013

He felt emboldened to help the institution move forward in a positive way. The following year he became moderator of the Association of Black Seminarians (ABS) and immersed himself in several other campus activities, including fundraising for what would eventually become the Theodore Sedgwick Wright Library, the first space named after an African American at the Seminary.

My desire for leadership in that community was to really help PTS become the best community it could be

While Dr. Reeves served in two local congregations, he was not called to pastor people in the traditional sense. “I was always trying to find ways to navigate that in the curriculum.” At Princeton Seminary, he found mentors like Dr. Yolanda Pierce, the institution’s first tenured African American female, who would help shape his gifts through independent study as well as her course offerings.

Exploring areas like fundraising, theater, and creative writing all informed the ministry Dr. Reeves would eventually bring to fruition. “The freedom of independent study allowed me to really figure out what would work.”

After graduation, Dr. Reeves returned to Princeton Seminary to work under Dr. Pierce at The Betsey Stockton Center for Black Church Studies. “As the moderator of ABS, we were always pushing to have a Center for Black Church Studies at the Seminary, so to work under her as the founding program administrator was a full circle moment.”

At heart, Dr. Reeves is a storyteller. While he initially believed that would manifest itself as a career in newscasting, it became something far richer and more meaningful. What the Seminary helped him do is refine that passion. “PTS allowed me to learn to do it in theological and religious spaces. The curriculum informed my pluralistic work today at the Museum. I credit Yolanda Pierce for allowing me to use my creativity in my writing. That’s the filmmaker in me. That’s the storyteller in me. I needed that academic piece, but I got to feed the creativeness in me.”

The creativity initially fueled at Princeton Seminary has manifested itself in a myriad of ways that Dr. Reeves could never have envisioned while he was a student. In addition to his substantial work at the Smithsonian, he created the nonprofit organization, Art Like ME Inc., which gifts original artwork by Black and Brown artists to Black and Brown boys in an effort to enhance the emotional intelligence and self-awareness of these young men through art and culture.

Dr. Teddy Rashaan Reeves

gOD Talk has earned accolades at numerous prestigious film festivals and continues to captivate audiences across the country. His innovative approach to pairing the film with live talkback panels fosters meaningful conversations about spirituality, culture, and identity, leaving a lasting impact on viewers.

Through his theological training and life experience Dr. Reeves developed the critical understanding that his call went far beyond the local Church. “And that isn’t to say that the local Church is less than, but really my mandate to ministry was to follow the work and life of Christ. Jesus spent more time outside the temple than inside. I see my call now to those who find themselves outside the traditional space. It has taken me to the art world, to the entertainment space, to filmmaking.

“I am called to those who find themselves still living out the precepts and the concepts and the work of Christ but doing it within and without the traditional Church.”

Looking back on his years at the Seminary, Dr. Reeves explained that every institution of higher learning that he has traveled through was always in a season of transition. “Part of my call is to go into these spaces, not alone, and help these spaces become the best they can be. I’m excited that I got to play a part in that and even more excited that the students that come into the space now get to experience a different Princeton Seminary.”

This year during Reunion 2025, Princeton Seminary is honored to present Dr. Reeves with the Alumni Council Service Award.