Dr. Jinkins retired as the president of Louisville Seminary in 2018. He recently served as the Interim Senior Pastor of Saint Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church in New Orleans. He was previously a professor of Pastoral Theology at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, where he also served as academic dean. 

Dr. Jinkins earned his B. A. at Howard Payne College; his M.Div. from Southwestern Seminary; a Doctor of Ministry from Austin Seminary; and the Ph.D. In Theology from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. As a PC(USA) pastor, he has served congregations both in the United States and Scotland.

Dr. Jinkins is excited to return to Fifth Avenue and is already thinking ahead to his summer preaching series. “At the gracious invitation of my old friend, Scott Black Johnston, I’ve enjoyed teaching classes and preaching at Fifth Avenue on several occasions. I’m particularly excited to serve in the pulpit for five weeks this summer. This will allow me to develop a theme I’ve begun working on just for Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church.” 

“It is an honor to welcome my good friend, Michael, back to New York and to the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church pulpit,” comments our Senior Pastor. “Michael is the one of the best preacher/theologians in the Presbyterian Church and I know we will be blessed by his thoughtful and irenic preaching.”

This summer, Dr. Jinkins and his wife, Deborah, will be living in the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church manse for their 5-week stay. They officially call home Saint Simons Island in Georgia. Their son, Jeremy, serves as senior pastor of Westfield Presbyterian Church, in Westfield, New Jersey. Jeremy’s spouse, Caroline, also serves as a Presbyterian pastor at the Lamington Presbyterian Church. Michael and Deborah’s daughter, Jessica, is a homemaker in Austin, Texas. They have three grandchildren: Grace, Clara, and Anderson.