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A quarterly journal that serves as a repository for the very best of African American preaching and provides practical and creative resources for persons in ministry.
Advisory Board
The following persons are currently advisory board members to The African American Pulpit. Their significant experience and diverse backgrounds allow for consultation that assures a journal of the highest quality and most relevant content.

Brad R. Braxton

Brad R. Braxton is the former pastor of the Riverside Church in New York City, and he and his family currently reside in Chicago, Illinois. He has served as Associate Professor of Homiletics and New Testament at Vanderbilt University Divinity School in Nashville, Tennessee, and was the Jessie Ball duPont Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Biblical Studies at Wake Forest University Divinity School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Dr. Braxton is a Phi Beta Kappa and Rhodes Scholar and holds a Bachelor's degree in Religious Studies (University of Virginia), a Master of Philosophy in New Testament (University of Oxford), and a Ph.D. in New Testament (Emory University). His research interests include Pauline interpretation, hermeneutics, and the history and theories of Christian preaching. Dr. Braxton is the author of three books: The Tyranny of Resolution: 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 (Society of Biblical Literature); No Longer Slaves: Galatians and African American Experience (The Liturgical Press); and Preaching Paul (Abingdon). Dr. Braxton is a frequent guest preacher and lecturer at churches and conferences, and he recently lectured in Ghana and preached at Westminster Abbey in London as part of the bicentennial commemoration of the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire.
 
Leslie D. Callahan

Leslie D. Callahan is pastor of St Paul’s Baptist Church in Philadelphia. She is the former assistant professor of Modern Church History and African American Studies at New York Theological Seminary and the former assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Callahan hails from Gary, West Virginia, where she experienced her first Christian education and formation at Apostolic Temple Church. Growing up in a tiny congregation, she developed an enduring love for Jesus Christ and for Christ's body, the Church. Having experienced her call to ministry at an early age, Callahan began the public proclamation of the gospel at age 19. Her formal education includes the Bachelor of Arts in Religion from Harvard University and the Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. She received her Ph.D. in Religion from Princeton University in 2002. Her research interests include religious history in the United States, particularly independent African American Christianity and Pentecostal studies. Dr. Callahan was ordained in 1997 at Judson Memorial Church in New York City.
 
Delman Lamont Coates

Delman Lamont Coates serves as the Senior Pastor of the Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Maryland. In five years Mt. Ennon has experienced a considerable amount of spiritual and numerical growth, adding 3,000 new disciples and impacting the community in Prince George's County, Maryland. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Morehouse College Board of Preachers, and the NAACP, and is a national advisory board member of the Parents Television Council. He graduated magna cum laude from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion and received the Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He received the Master of Philosophy degree in Religion in February 2002, and the Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) in New Testament & Early Christianity from the Department of Religion at Columbia University in New York City. His area of specialization is patristic exegesis and interpretation, and his research interests include the history of early Christian scriptural interpretation, the history of modern New Testament studies, and contemporary biblical hermeneutics.
 
John E. Guns

A native of Chesapeake, Virginia, John E. Guns serves as Senior Pastor of the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church of Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida. Rev. Guns holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Norfolk State University and a Masters of Divinity degree from Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, and currently he is completing the requirement for Doctor of Ministry Degree from the same university. Rev. Guns serves on the Board of Directors for the James Weldon Johnson YMCA and is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. He can be seen on the National Religious Broadcasting (NRB) Network and Faith TV Network. Rev. Guns is nationally and internationally known as a prolific and relevant preacher, teacher and presenter.
 
Luke A. Powery

Luke A. Powery is the Perry and Georgia Engle Assistant Professor of Homiletics at Princeton Theological Seminary. He received his B.A. in music with a concentration in vocal performance from Stanford University, his M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and his Th.D. from Emmanuel College, University of Toronto. His teaching and research interests are located at the intersection of preaching, worship, pneumatology, performance studies, and culture, particularly expressions of the African diaspora. He is the author of Spirit Speech: Lament and Celebration in Preaching (Abingdon Press, 2009) and numerous other articles. He is a member of the Academy of Homiletics, for which he serves as secretary, the American Academy of Religion, and the Society for the Study of Black Religion. In addition, he is a member of the executive lectionary team for The African American Lectionary, a project funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc., and a Consulting Reader for a new English translation of the Bible, The Common English Bible. Though he was nurtured in the Holiness-Pentecostal tradition, he is an ordained Baptist minister, and has served in an ecumenical capacity in churches throughout Switzerland, Canada, and the United States.
 
Marcus D. Cosby

Marcus D. Cosby serves as senior pastor of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. He received the Bachelor of Arts in religion and English from Fisk University in Nashville, a Master of Divinity from the Morehouse School of Religion, and a Doctor of Ministry from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary of the Associated Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS). The African American Pulpit selected Rev. Cosby as one of the "Twenty to Watch" young preachers in America. Rev. Cosby serves as a member of the board of directors of the Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston; the Home Mission Board of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.; and the Houston Area Urban League. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Inc., and of the NAACP. He is a much-sought-after national preacher and lecturer.
 
Christopher B. Davis Sr.

Christopher B. Davis Sr. is numbered as one of the emerging outstanding teachers and preachers in America. As senior pastor of St. Paul Baptist Church since 2000, he leads one of the most vibrant churches in Memphis, Tennessee. In the last ten years, the 130-year-old church has grown from approximately 200 members to more than 1,000. Due to this tremendous growth, Dr. Davis led the congregation in acquiring its current 14-acre campus. Christopher graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arkansas and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Arkansas Baptist College. He earned the Master of Arts in Religion degree (cum laude) from Memphis Theological Seminary in Memphis. In June 2007, he received his Doctorate of Ministry degree with special emphasis on Preaching and Leadership from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He is also a contributor to The African American Lectionary and to I’m Challenged: Daily Meditations for Christian Living. Additionally, Dr. Davis serves as assistant professor of homiletics at Memphis Theological Seminary.
 
Otis Moss III

Otis Moss III serves as pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois. Rev. Moss received his Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Philosophy from Morehouse College and a Master of Divinity from Yale University. Rev. Moss has done extensive research in the areas of African American culture, theology, and youth development. His essays, articles, and poetry have appeared in The African American Pulpit, Sojourners, and Urban Spectrum, and he is the author of Redemption in a Red-Light District (Four-G Press). In 2006, Pastor Moss co-wrote the book The Gospel Remix: Reaching the Hip Hop Generation (Judson Press). The African American Pulpit named Rev. Moss one of the "Twenty to Watch" ministers under forty who are positively affecting the future of the African American church. Rev. Moss is a sought-after speaker across the globe for his expertise in the study of the Post-Soul generation and hip hop.
 
Debra J. Mumford

Debra J. Mumford is the Frank H. Caldwell Assistant Professor of Homiletics at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Dr. Mumford earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University; a Master of Divinity from the American Baptist Seminary of the West, Berkeley, California; a Master of Arts in Biblical Languages and a Ph. D. in Homiletics (with an allied field in New Testament) from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Dr. Mumford’s academic interests include African American prophetic preaching, preaching and culture, eschatology and preaching, congregational exegesis, and anxiety and preaching. Dr. Mumford’s recent publications include “Jeremiah Wright and Black Prophetic Preaching” and “Prosperity Preaching: Will Jesus Make You Rich?” for The Thoughtful Christian. Dr. Mumford is an ordained minister in the American Baptist Church and has served as an associate minister at several churches. She has professional memberships with the Academy of Homiletics, the American Academy of Religion, the black Scholars Group of AAR, and the Together in Ministry Covenant Group. She also serves as a mentor for the Louisville Youth Group (a community grassroots organization that provides resources and safe space for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning young people).
 
Gina M. Stewart

Gina Marcia Stewart has led the congregation of Christ Missionary Baptist Church since 1995. Dr. Stewart travels extensively conducting revivals, workshops, and seminars on issues related to ministry, women in ministry, leadership development, and church growth. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Memphis and a Master of Education from Trevecca Nazarene College in Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated from Memphis Theological Seminary, where she received the Master of Divinity degree, and she received the Doctor of Ministry degree from The Interdenominational Theological Center. She was the producer and host of an inspirational talk show and she is one of the contributing writers for the African American Devotional Bible, the Lott Carey Whole Life Stewardship Bible Study, Careful Preaching-from Sermon to Caring Community, and Those Preaching Women, A Multicultural Collection.
 
Gardner C. Taylor

Gardner C. Taylor is senior pastor emeritus of Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, New York. Dr. Taylor is one of the most acclaimed preachers in our day. TIME magazine named him "the dean of the nation's black preachers," and The Christian Century named him the "poet laureate of American Protestantism." In a 1996 Baylor University study, Dr. Taylor was named as one of the "Twelve Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World." Dr. Taylor is the author of The Words of Gardner Taylor (Judson Press), a six-volume masterpiece collection that includes his sermons, lectures, addresses, and radio sermons. Dr. Taylor's resounding voice can be heard on the Essential Taylor Volumes 1 and 2 audio cassette and CD resources (Judson Press).
 
F. Bruce Williams

F. Bruce Williams was installed as Senior Pastor of Bates Memorial Baptist Church located in Smoketown, one of the poorest zip codes in Jefferson County, Louisville, Kentucky in 1986 after serving as an associate minister. Earning numerous honors, he graduated summa cum laude from Florida A & M University and went on to obtain his Masters of Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and his Doctorate in Ministry from the United Theological Seminary. Over twenty years later, the congregation has grown exponentially, seeing its membership increase from a hundred members to over four thousand members. In addition, the ministries of the church have increased and currently provide over 30 diverse areas for people to serve and also provide, through the Bates Community Development Corporation, a number of additional, creative ministry opportunities. In 2004, Bates Memorial unveiled its newly constructed multi-million dollar Worship Facility in an effort to reach more souls for Christ, through teaching biblical principles and applying them to practical life issues.
 
Jesse T. Williams Jr.

Jesse T. Williams Jr. is the senior pastor of the Convent Avenue Baptist Church of Harlem in New York City. Dr. Williams served sixteen years as pastor of Washington Tabernacle Baptist Church of St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Williams’s academic credentials include a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Eden Theological Seminary in Webster Groves, Missouri; a Master of Divinity degree from Eden Seminary; a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kansas; and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Kansas. For ten years, Dr. Williams was a member of the Eden Theological Seminary faculty in St. Louis, Missouri, and currently serves on their Board of Directors. He is a faculty mentor for the Doctoral Studies Program at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, and a Field Education Supervisor at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
 
 
Moses probably would not have heard God had he not been on the backside of the desert. God calls us at times way over in life to tell us that our dreams are to come true.

Sandy F. Ray
Great Revivalists I Winter - 2001-2002
You've got to want to see God, talk with him, walk with him, want him to talk with you, to speak with you during the course of your week. You've got to have a desire to hear God speaking to you when the preacher ain't talking, when the Sunday school teacher is not teaching.

Donald L. Parson
Great Revivalists I - Winter 2001-2002
 
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