(2026, March 26). Wesleyan Profile. The Decree. https://anyflip.com/kosg/ertk/

Robert Simpson, a Methodist minister, religious studies professor, and former college athlete, is the new head coach of Wesleyan’s lacrosse team.

A Maryland native, Dr. Simpson, 57, attended Frostburg State University before finishing his undergraduate education at the University of Baltimore. He earned a Master of Divinity from Duke University and was ordained a deacon in 1995 and an elder in 1998.

Throughout his ministry, Simpson has served at a number of Methodist churches across North Carolina. While serving at Front Street United Methodist Church in Burlington, he completed a Doctor of Divinity degree from the University of the South in Tennessee. His studies focused on the Eucharist and spiritual formation within the tradition of the church’s table-centered liturgy. He is also the author of Who Moved the Table, a book that examines the role of the Eucharist in shaping Christian spirituality.

Before accepting an adjunct teaching position at North Carolina Wesleyan University, Simpson taught courses in spiritual formation and assisted with classes covering Methodist history, polity, and practical discipleship at Duke Divinity School. He currently serves as pastor of Red Oak United Methodist Church.

Athletics have also played an important role in Simpson’s life. Having played lacrosse from a young age, he was a two-sport athlete in both high school and college. At Woodland Senior High School, he earned the football team’s scholar-athlete award as a placekicker and was named the lacrosse team’s Most Valuable Player while playing attack. At Frostburg State, he continued his athletic career as both a football kicker and a lacrosse midfielder after being moved from attack by his coach.

Early in the semester, The Decree sat down with Simpson to discuss his background, faith, athletic career, and vision for Wesleyan lacrosse.

Q. Tell us about your hometown and family.

A. I was born in Western Maryland in the Cumberland/Frostburg area. My father was a pastor in the United Methodist Church, so we moved around every six or seven years. So, I really grew up all over Maryland. In my younger childhood years, we lived in northern Baltimore County. We moved to Leonardtown in southern Maryland and then to the southwest side Baltimore for high school.

My father and mother are now retired and live in Fairfield, Pennsylvania, near Ski Liberty. My older sister lives in Hampstead, Maryland. We’re a close family. We continue to be very connected through social media and phone calls.

Q. Describe a favorite childhood memory.

A. I would say it’s playing in the backyard late into the evening with friends, using our imagination to play any sport, everything from football and soccer to kickball and “Kick the Can.” In our backyard, we were able to create the entire experience of any sporting event we desired to play.

Q. What’s the most adversity you’ve experienced in your life? How did you deal with it?

A. There have been several challenging moments in my life. When I was five, I had a stroke due to an aneurysm in the left side of my brain. I remember I was at a friend’s birthday party, and I suddenly lost my ability to speak. We were playing charades and a little girl was leading the game. I knew the answer, a panda bear, but I couldn’t get it out of my mouth. I started to cry.

Not only did I lose the ability to speak; I lost motor skills and my right arm and leg were paralyzed. I spent two weeks in Greater Baltimore Medical Center. It all healed without surgery, but it took quite a bit of therapy. I recalled that a woman from our church, an artist, volunteered to help me and she had me work with Play-Doh as part of the therapy. I soon got feeling back in my arms and legs and after a month I uttered my first words, “Dirty doggy,” while at McDonald’s with my family.

Q. Can you talk about adversity you may have faced in college?

A. Two things come to mind.

One incident occurred when I was 21 and a student at the University of Baltimore. It was also a time that I served as a pastor of a church in the town of Paw Paw, West Virginia.

I remember I was driving down a windy mountain road and lost control of my car. I was ejected from the car (a Plymouth Colt). I ended up in a Cumberland, Maryland hospital with a concussion, two broken collar bones and lots of cuts. I missed a couple weeks of school.

But I would say the most adversity had been learning who I was in the midst of transferring from Frostburg State to the University of Baltimore. I struggled to find what was important in life. But when I started to put Christ first in my life, I was able to focus more on my studies and a purpose for the future.

Q. Describe your experience in playing lacrosse as a youth.

A. They always say once a lacrosse player, always a lacrosse player.

When you live in Baltimore, it’s what you do; you play lacrosse. You eat, sleep, and live lacrosse. I began playing organized lacrosse in junior high and continued to play through college. I wish I could still be playing now. I miss it so much. I’m grateful for this position at Wesleyan to continue my love of the game.

There are many moments that I remember fondly: from around-the-back goals and playing in front of a sizable crowd, to a special coach in high school who taught me more than lacrosse. I think what I remember most was the feeling of confidence that playing lacrosse gave me, the sense of working together as a team and having people believe in you.

Q. Describe your previous coaching experiences.

A. I volunteered to coach my son’s little league soccer team. For three years I coached lacrosse at Durham’s Githens Middle School, which won the championship in its third year. It was the first time a Durham middle school beat the Chapel Hill middle schools. It was an exciting three years for those young boys.

Q. What attracted you to teach and coach at Wesleyan?

A. I’ve always wanted to be involved in an academic setting at the university level. I had taught Spiritual Formation at Duke for years. When the Bishop appointed me to the Red Oak-Bethlehem United Methodist Charge, I sent my resume to the religious studies department at NCWU.

When Andrew Stern called and invited me to teach religion, I was never more excited. It was a blessing as I feel God has called me here.

The school’s size encourages a family atmosphere where diversity is a gift and shared in every aspect of university life. At this institution, there are students from all over the world who are pursuing their future. I’ve seen the positive characteristics of this special diversity.

Q. Tell us about your current lacrosse roster at Wesleyan.

A. This is a unique team of young ladies. The roster has only two players who were recruited. The rest were walk-ons and many had never even played the game before they joined the Wesleyan team a year ago.

Q. What do you consider the biggest challenge you will face as coach this season?

A. Besides the limited number of athletes who are new to the sport, I would say it’s the size of the roster overall. Lacrosse involves a significant amount of running. We only have 13 players, just enough to put 12 players on the field with only one substitute to give a teammate a rest during a match.

Another challenging aspect is that North Carolina is not a very big lacrosse area. It has just been recently that some areas of the state have started to see lacrosse. It’s difficult to recruit young women with a lacrosse background to Wesleyan. But I feel we’re taking small steps toward making lacrosse visible in the area.

Q. In what specific ways will your experience as a teacher and minister help you in your new position? Think in terms of both coaching and recruiting to build a sustainable program?

A. It’s a delicate balance between supporting players now on the roster, while continuing to recruit more developed players who will build a strong team for the future. I feel that my experience as a pastor helps in encouraging the women to keep going through adversity and giving hope so that they will grow together as a team. I’ve always said that a pastor’s main job is to be a cheerleader. As a coach, I’m their main cheerleader.

Teaching here has given me a unique understanding of the athletes’ different interests in life other than lacrosse. As a pastor and a teacher, I am able to listen to my players in ways that can help guide them in beneficial ways toward their future.

Q. Turning to your life outside of work, tell us more about your family.

A. They both got the math brains. My son, Alex, is 24 and lives in Durham.