OCEAN VIEW, NJ, August 26, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Pastor Robert G. Hughes, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DD (HON), with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Mr. Hughes celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Robert was born on August 28, 1937, the son of George W. and Ethel M. Hughes of Tamaqua, PA. Educated in the Tamaqua schools, he received his religious training at St. John's Lutheran Church, where he met and later married a teenage friend, Dona Lee Warne, who served many years as a school nurse in the Philadelphia area. The proud couple, who recently celebrated a sixtieth wedding anniversary, have been blessed with three sons, five grandchildren, and one great grandchild.
Now retired, Mr. Hughes was a minister, pastor and religious organization administrator who devoted 40 years to his field. Early in his career in ministry, he had the opportunity to work in Ashland, Pennsylvania, as a pastor at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church from 1963 to 1969. This role followed his previous service as an assistant pastor at the St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Springfield, Pennsylvania, in 1962 and 1963. During his time in Ashland, Mr. Hughes learned how to successfully merge struggling congregations, including Christ's United Lutheran Church, where he served as pastor from 1969 to 1971. Transitioning into academia, Mr. Hughes was subsequently hired in 1971 by his alma mater, the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, where he spent the next 31 years as a faculty member and, during his tenure, served as both the president and the St. John chairman of practical theology.
While employed at Lutheran Theological Seminary, most of Mr. Hughes' teaching involved preaching and congregational renewal. Many Christian congregations exhibit a similar pattern, plateauing after years of growth, becoming stagnant, and sometimes closing. Mr. Hughes found his Ashland, PA experience with church consolidation and renewal beneficial in his teaching.
Once Mr. Hughes became established as a professor, he began writing. His first publication was titled "A Trumpet in Darkness: Preaching to Mourners," which was released in 1985. He wrote the book because he felt inadequate in his congregational ministry, and the book served as a guide for navigating the ministry of death as well as ministering to people outside of funeral services. The contents of the book were also notably the subject of his graduate dissertation at Princeton Theological Seminary. Mr. Hughes later co-authored "Preaching Doctrine for the Twenty-First Century" in 1997 with Robert Kysar and "Preaching God's Compassion" in 2002 with LeRoy Aden.
Engaged in his community, Mr. Hughes remains a senior advisor for Adult Lutherans Organized for Action (ALOA), a pan Lutheran organization he served in retirement as volunteer board member, project leader, and executive director. ALOA serves to help older members of the congregation in ministry, service and other areas of their lives.
Highly educated, Mr. Hughes earned a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, at Lehigh University, a Master of Divinity at Lutheran Theological Seminary, and both a Master of Theology and a Doctor of Philosophy, cum laude, at Princeton Theological Seminary. While pursuing a bachelor's degree at Lehigh, Mr. Hughes originally focused on civil engineering. In his junior year he transitioned into English literature and communication to better prepare for seminary training. However, in his new calling Mr. Hughes was able to utilize his technical training in leading two construction projects-an educational building at Good Shepherd, Ashland, PA and the Wiedemann Center multi-purpose building, the first unit of a three-stage plan for campus renewal at, what is today, the United Lutheran Seminary (ULC) with campuses at Gettysburg and Philadelphia.
Mr. Hughes has enjoyed membership with the Academy of Homiletics, which is an international association comprised of professors and teachers of homiletics. He is also the founder of the Academy of Preachers, a professional guild of preachers that sponsored continued education for all denominational clergy interested in improving their preaching and communication skills. Consisting of several clergy members from various backgrounds, including Roman Catholic, Presbyterian and Methodist ministries, the organization boasted a number of chapters throughout the U.S. Through the Academy of Preachers, Mr. Hughes also established a professional publication in 1985 called Academy Accents, which he headed as an author and editor. He notably authored 26 articles in the journal.
In 2001, Mr. Hughes was recognized with a Distinguished Alumni Award from Lutheran Theological Seminary. He also received an Honorary Doctorate from Muhlenberg College in 1992. A celebrated Marquis listee, Mr. Hughes has been cited in the 60th and 61st editions of Who's Who in America.
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