Dr. Corson

Thomas Adams Corson
President and Founder

Thomas Adams Corson is the founder of Christian Scholar ~ Servant Ministries. He was born to godly Christian parents, for whom he is eternally grateful and whom he would desire to honor even now.   Early on “Little Thomas” realized that he had not just disobeyed his parents, but God, and that he was a sinner in God’s sight in need of forgiveness and cleansing. John 3:16 became precious to him: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Thomas in child-like faith looked to the Lord Jesus Christ to be his Savior.

Thomas’ education began in the home and was nurtured by both his parents and a caring local church. His learning continued in his home until his parents went home to be with the Lord. The authority of Scripture, God’s Written Word, the Holy Bible, was paramount. His father would frequently begin his discourses with “What does the Lord say?”, and his mother would often conclude her teaching with “This is Scriptural.”   He was also a beneficiary of secular education and finished high school with a New York State Regents Diploma.   He furthered his studies in the Christian Liberal Arts at Houghton College (A.A.). In addition, he is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Arts and Sciences (B.A.), School of Medicine (M.D.), and School of Hygiene and Public Health (M.P.H.). He became the first in the history of the Johns Hopkins Hospital to complete a residency on both the Osler Medical Service and Harriet Lane Pediatrics Service after doing a transitional (“rotating internship) at the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, NY, an affiliate of the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Pediatrics. In later years, Dr. Corson was able to complete a Certificate in Christian Studies (C.C.S.) with First Rank Honors at Westminster Theological Seminary.

Dr. Corson has served on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine since 1987, though he has been more limited-time in recent years. For much of his tenure, even in his student and training years, he was a shepherd to the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Christian Fellowship. In addition to campus ministry within the academy, Dr. Corson has been involved in a number of pastoral and missions capacities at home and abroad.   His international work has been in both Asia and Africa. He has taught at all educational levels from pre-school to postgraduate with an age range from infant to nonagenarian!

Dr. Corson married a widow in his church, who had four sons in their formative years. He & his beloved wife have one precious daughter, whom the Lord gave after losing another precious child to miscarriage one year earlier.

In seeking to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, Dr. Corson has been mindful of the whole of Scripture, but for this short biography would highlight the following: “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”(Matthew 9:35-38, ESV)   “And he [i.e. the Lord Jesus Christ] gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers …”(Ephesians 4:11, ESV)   The best understanding of my calling at this stage of my life would be as a pastor and a teacher with all of my education and experience in medicine as a wonderful resource in showing the love & compassion of Christ to a hurting world and a plentiful harvest. Because of the importance of excellence in any human endeavor, but particularly one that would represent the Lord Jesus Christ, and because of the great demands of being a physician of body and a physician of soul, Dr. Corson after much prayerful consideration would see a greater emphasis in his time & effort on the pastoral, missional, and educational needs within the harvest in his remaining years. He does not view himself as “Jesus reincarnate” or “God’s answer to the world”, but as a servant of Jesus Christ who would like to use his gifts and talents in a way that would glorify God and be a blessing to others.

Dr. Corson does not want to have an exalted view of himself or think more highly of himself than he ought. He is not the only servant of Jesus Christ. In a sense, he only desires to be a living sacrifice. Thomas remembers well the speaker who admonished at a winter youth camp, “The only problem with the living sacrifice is that it keeps getting off the altar.” Only by God’s tender mercies has Thomas sought to live a life that would not keep getting off the altar. What does the Lord say? “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: …”(Romans 12:1-6a, ESV) This is Scriptural!