Looking back over the past 36 years, Dr. K. David Hines’ career at the University of Mount Olive (UMO) reflects a lifelong commitment to Christian higher education and connecting with students, faculty, and staff. Through empathy, storytelling, and hands-on learning, he has transformed countless lives. As an administrator, he has used his skills as an encourager and communicator to promote policies and people in a place that is so dear to his heart. Hines’ warmth, humility, and passion for spiritual formation and academic excellence continue to influence the UMO campus community. For his service and devotion, the University will forever be grateful!
How it All Started
David Hines measures his life in terms of time before UMO and after UMO. His connection to the institution began during the summer of 1976. A self-professed math geek, Hines had mapped out a course for his future that included attending North Carolina State University and becoming an engineer. However, a different directional pull began forming during the summer of his senior year in high school. He was attending Cragmont Assembly.
“It was a Tuesday night,” Hines recalled. “We were gathered in the tabernacle when a group of friends and I started to sing an old Laney Wolfe Song, ‘Whatever it Takes.’ We belted out the lyrics, ‘Whatever it takes to draw closer to you, Lord that’s what I’ll be willing to do.’
In hearing that song, Hines felt a strong calling towards a career in ministry. With a new vision, he enrolled at Mount Olive College to pursue that calling. He had great professors and “Legends,” as he called them like Dr. Michael Pelt and Mrs. Lorrelle Martin. Hines excelled in his studies. He completed his first two years at MOC and then transferred to Atlantic Christian College, now Barton College, to complete his baccalaureate degree. During his last semester, a professor asked him where he saw himself in 10 years. Hines replied, “I'm going to chair the MOC Religion Department.”
Every decision that Hines made as a seminary student, and later during his graduate studies, prepared him to become a teacher. In the fall of 1985, Hines joined MOC as an adjunct professor. Three years later he became Director of Education for Christian Ministries. In this role, he had the opportunity to meet many OFWB laypeople as he traveled around the state attending and leading workshops, building programs, and attending conferences. In 1995, Hines became a professor. “I just loved the classroom,” he said. “Trying new things and teaching in ways that were a little different from what everybody else was doing has always been a passion of mine.”
“As an educator, you train people to do a skill, but you teach them to think. Likewise, I have encouraged my students to wrestle with evidence and discern fact from fiction. I don’t care what a student thinks; rather, I care about how they got to that point in their thoughts. In my classroom, students must earn the right to an opinion.”
Being empathic is another gift that has served Hines well in the classroom. “I try to understand a struggling student and find a way to connect.” Being concerned over a student's spiritual formation is a skill that he credits to former colleague Tyanna Yonkers. “When I first started teaching, I wanted students to know how smart I was. Now, as I finish out my career back in the classroom, I am more interested in them knowing I seek to be a Godly person.”
Hines the Administrator
Beyond his time in the classroom, Hines’ 36-year career at UMO has included the roles of Chair of the Religion Department, Assistant to the President, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
“As an administrator, I think the most effective thing I was able to do was build a really strong Academic Affairs team of deans and directors,” he said. “To me, the real strength of a leader is in building a team of complementary people who can challenge and push you to think. I can also figure out how to get things done, a gift I learned from my dad. Give me the raw material, let me know the outcome, and I will figure out how to get there.”
Hines credits both his dad and his grandad for this problem-solving ability. “I am a hybrid of these two men,” he said. My maternal grandfather was always my biggest encourager. He could talk the ears off a billy goat. From him, I learned to be an encourager and communicator. My daddy taught me how to think and solve problems.” These skills have served Hines well during his steadily increasing levels of administrative responsibility at UMO.
Hines’ Hair
Another trait that came from his dad is Hines’ trademark thick and perfectly groomed hair, which has been the topic of many conversations over the years. However, none is more memorable than a statement made during a Harrison Lecture in the early 1990s. The lecturer, Dr. George Hunter of Asbury Seminary, said, ‘I would like to thank David Hines for the hospitality. He has that great Baptist hair that you can never forget; once combed, always combed.’” The crowd erupted in laughter. The next day, one of Hines’ students made a poster to reflect that saying, a fond memory, and a story that Hines likes to tell.
A Man of Faith
In the words of Hines, “I have been a Free Will Baptist since nine months before I was born.” He was the older of two children born to Barbara and Melvin Hines. He and his sister, Alice, along with their many cousins, were prominent members of the Winterville OFWB Church.
Hines was nine years old when he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. “I remember it well,” he said. “It was the third Saturday night in October of 1968. The invitational hymn on that revival night was ‘Only Trust Him.’
The words of the song are still prevalent in his memory. “‘Only trust Him. Only trust Him. He will save you. He will save you now,’” he recalled. “I was young, but I knew that I was asking God to be my Savior.”
Pastor Hines
Hines became a licensed minister in January of 1978. The Central Conference of OFWB ordained him on June 7, 1979. He began pastoring his first church, New Sandy Hill OFWB Church when he was just a junior in college. Since then he has served more than a dozen churches as either an interim, lead, or senior pastor.
Outside of his ministerial duties, Hines has served the OFWB denomination in many other capacities. He has been Director of General Youth for Cragmont Assembly, Chair of the Scholarship Committee for the North Carolina Foundation of Christian Ministries, and currently presides over the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists. He has carried out the duties of these and other positions with a servant’s heart and a humble longing to do what is right and just in the eyes of God. His approach to ministry and life is reflected in his favorite Bible verse, Ephesians 4:1–4 “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called…”
The Musically Gifted David Hines
Music has always been a part of Hines’ life. Born into a musically gifted family, he performed his first duet when he was just six years old. He recalls performing with his sister, and their cousins at churches, civic clubs, and other venues throughout eastern North Carolina in a group called “The Hines Cousins.”
In addition to his vocal talents, Hines is widely known as a gifted musician. “For my seventh birthday, my dad bought me my first guitar,” he recalled.
Hines plays both the guitar and the mandolin and often uses music to connect and bridge gaps of both time and age in his classrooms and in the many different churches he has served. “Music crosses all boundaries,” he said.
David Hines the Family Man
Hines met the love of his life, Teresa Kelly, during his sophomore year at MOC. Classmate Alan Lamm (now Dr. Alan Lamm, a history professor at UMO) introduced the two. “Alan came into my room and told me that he had a girl he wanted me to meet. He said she was a water skier. It just so happened that the weekend before had been Labor Day, and I had just learned to ski barefoot. It was the first time in my life that I felt ‘cool.’ I met Teresa in the lounge of Hart Dorm. We started talking about skiing and we just hit it off. She was the prettiest girl at MOC. We started dating and every jock on campus was wondering why me because I was the certified bookworm nerd and she was Miss Mount Olive College. To me, she is still the prettiest and smartest woman in any room.”
This June will mark David and Teresa’s 44th wedding anniversary. The couple are the proud parents of a daughter, Ashley, who is married to their son-in-law, Orlando Rodriguez. Their pride and joy is their six-year-old granddaughter, Elliott.
Retirement Plans
Hines officially retired from UMO on May 15, after 36 years of service. He is ready to pass the torch while cherishing the memories and legacy he leaves behind. Entering retirement, he looks forward to spending more time with his family, skiing, reading, boating, traveling, using his God-given musical gifts, and serving the Gum Swamp OFWB Church Family.
—By Rhonda Jessup, Director of Public Relations
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