Rev. Michael Yandell, PhD (he/him) serves as the Director of the Soul Repair Center and the Doctor of Ministry program at Brite Divinity School. He spent 4 years in the U.S. Army as an enlisted explosive ordnance disposal (E.O.D.) technician before earning his Bachelor of Music at the University of Tennessee at Martin; a Master of Divinity at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas; and a Ph.D. in religious studies with a concentration in religion, conflict, and peacebuilding at Emory University.

While at Emory, he co-directed the Theological Certificate Program at Lee Arrendale State Prison for Women – a program designed to provide theological education and opportunities for deep inquiry for women who are incarcerated. He also served patients in the Emory Healthcare Veterans program as a pastoral consultant as they received 2 weeks of intensive outpatient treatment for PTSD. He spent 5 meaningful years as pastor to First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Greensboro, NC before returning to Brite in his current role.

As a theologian, scholar, and ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Dr. Yandell is passionate about bridging gaps between the academy, church, and the public sphere. He first encountered the language of moral injury, the language through which he reflects theologically and ethically on the experience of war, betrayal, and despair, as a student at Brite when Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock co-founded the Soul Repair Center in 2012. It is his honor to continue and build on her work and the work of Dr. Nancy Ramsay, who directed the Center from 2018-2025.

Select publications:

• War and Negative Revelation: A Theoethical Reflection on Moral Injury (Lexington Books, 2022).

• “Do Not Torment Me: The Morally Injured Gerasene Demoniac”. In Moral Injury: A Guidebook for Understanding and Engagement, edited by Brad E. Kelle. (Lexington Books, 2020).

• “Moral Injury and Human Relationship: A Conversation”. In Moral Injury and Spiritual Care: A Resource for Religious Leaders and Professional Caregivers, edited by Nancy Ramsay and Carrie Doehring. (Chalice Press, 2019)

• “The War Within,” The Christian Century, 132, no. 1 (2015).

Select interviews:

• “Iraq war veteran helps others recover from invisible wounds at Emory” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2019.

• “A Veteran’s Next Mission,” Emory News Center, 2018.

• Story Corps, NPR Morning Edition, 2017.

• “The Secret Casualties of Iraq’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons,” The New York Times, 2014.

Michael lives in the DFW area with his spouse Amy and their 2 pups, Elsie and Snow. He enjoys running, listening to metal music, and reading X-Men comic books.