Lillian C. Smith (Author) Pastor Lillian has served as pastor at Cheverly United Methodist Church since July 1, 2016. Prior to that she served as the pastor at St. Matthew's UMC of Valley Forge, PA, where she was the first African-American pastor. She implemented conversations about race and ministry to neighbors of color. She also promoted the idea of enhancing the welcoming nature of the church by cultivating a culture of invitation. Her ministry included Christian Education courses and alternative worship encounters for college students. She has also served as Associate General Secretary, Division on Ministries with Young People with the General Board of Discipleship of the UMC; and as Director, Ministries with Women and Persons of Color with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville, TN. Pastor Lillian received her Master in Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. and her Doctor of Ministry Degree from United Theological Seminary. She is the author of
Words to Live By: Wisdom Keys that Can Change Your Life. No stranger to Prince George's County, she grew up in New Carrollton, College Park, and Glenn Dale.
Erin Beasley (Author) Erin Elizabeth Beasley, is from Gulfport, MS and currently resides in Memphis, TN. Erin is an ordained Elder of the United Methodist Church (2017). She is a member of the Memphis Conference. She attended Millsaps College in Jackson, MS. In 2010, Erin graduated with Bachelor of Accountancy degree and a Minor in Music. In 2011, she decided to answer God's call to the ministry and began her studies at Emory University's Candler School of Theology. While at Candler she fulfilled her contextual education requirements at the United Methodist Children's Home, Zoar UMC, and St. Timothy UMC. In May of 2020, Erin obtained her Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary. Her dissertation explores racial segregation in the mainline church. Erin is the founder and producer of
Waking Up Church podcast.
Waking Up Church explores dynamics within churches and communities that have gone unnoticed, dynamics that must be seen and addressed for the sake of the church's future.
Waking Up Church is devoted to church leaders and parishioners who are ready to have honest conversations about issues that have become invisible detriments to the church's mission and vitality.
Justin Coleman (Author) Justin Coleman is the Senior Pastor of University United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. A native of Houston, he is a graduate of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, and Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina. Rev. Coleman has also served as the Chief Ministry Officer for the United Methodist Publishing House in Nashville, TN, as Lead Pastor of the Gethsemane Campus of St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Houston, TX. His ministry at University UMC includes leading the church as it seeks to live into radical kinship by loving God, serving others, and building Christian community. Rev. Coleman is married to Dr. Chaka Coleman and they have three sons. Rev. Coleman is the author of
Home for Christmas: Tales of Hope and Second Chances and is the Old Testament presenter on
Disciple Fast Track: Becoming Disciples Through Bible Study.
Jevon Caldwell-Gross (Author) Rev. Jevon Caldwell-Gross is a native of Detroit, Michigan. He has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kalamazoo College, a Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry in Transformational Leadership from Wesley Theological Seminary. His passion for leadership guided his research and practice in developing turn-around strategies for Urban congregations. He is a sought after thought leader in creating and sustaining congregational change. His journey has brought him to one of the largest United Methodist churches in the country. He is currently serving as the Teaching and Guest Experience Pastor at St. Luke's United Methodist Church located in Indianapolis, IN. Outside of his regular preaching responsibilities, he has been instrumental at leading the congregational at redefining and expanding its digital footprint to reach people around the world.
Pamela R. Lightsey (Author) Dr. Lightsey serves as Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs, Associate Professor of Constructive Theology and brings a special mix of life experience and professional proficiency to the position. Following service in the US Army and work as a civil servant, she received her academic and theological training at Columbus State University (BS), Gammon Seminary of the Interdenominational Theological Center (M.Div.) and Garrett-Evangelical Theological School (PhD). After ordination, she served first as a United Methodist congregational pastor and then as a theological school educator, scholar and administrator. Throughout her vocational life, she has been a leading social justice activist, working with local, national and international organizations focusing primarily on the causes of peacemaking, racial justice and LGBTQ rights. Pamela's publications include the book,
Our Lives Matter: A Womanist Queer Theology (Wipf and Stock), "He Is Black and We are Queer" in
Albert Cleage Jr and the Black Madonna and Child (New York: Palgrave Macmillan), "Reconciliation" in
Prophetic Evangelicals: Envisioning a Just and Peaceable Kingdom (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), and "If There Should Come a Word" in
Black United Methodists Preach!(Abingdon Press).
F. Willis Johnson (Author) A third-generation educator, Rev. Dr. F. Willis Johnson is a spiritual entrepreneur. An elder in the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church, Johnson is a respected scholar-practitioner, fellow and author of
Holding Up Your Corner: Talking About Race in Your Community. Johnson holds fellowships at Bridge Alliance and Walker Leadership Institute-Eden Seminary. He is a former Vosburgh Visiting Professor of Ministry and Social Engagement at Drew University's Theological School. Currently, he is the leadership pastors Living Tree Church and adjunct faculty at Methodist Theological School of Ohio (MTSO).
Vance P. Ross (Author) The Reverend Dr. Vance P. Ross presently serves as Senior Pastor of the Historic Central United Methodist Church, Atlanta, GA., the "Church at the Heart of the City with the City at Heart." Prior to his appointment to Central, Ross served as: Director of Annual Conference Relationships for Discipleship Ministries where he connected the agency with annual conference; 2011-2015, Senior Pastor, Gordon Memorial United Methodist Church, Nashville, TN an 1100 member urban congregation; 2004-2011, the first ever Deputy General Secretary for Discipleship Ministries, Nashville, TN; 1998-2004, Senior Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Hyattsville, MD, the largest multicultural and international church, at the time, in the Northeast region of the United Methodist Church.
Rodney Lorenzo Graves (Author) Rodney L. Graves is an Inner-city Missionary pastoring McCabe Roberts Avenue, a bi-racial congregation in Beaumont, Texas. Born in Baltimore, Md., he graduated from Howard University with a dual major in Accounting/Economics. Rodney co-founded a Certified Public Accounting firm which was once the largest Black owned CPA firm in a five-state area (Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arkansas). He left his thriving business to attend Wesley Theological Seminary majoring in Urban Ministry, becoming the Wesley Scholar, and upon graduation was awarded Church History Award. In a prior ministry appointment, Rodney led extensive community development resulting in a $5 million wastewater system, lavish affordable housing, irrigation at the neighborhood library, and an Enterprise Zone. In 2017, he graduated from Asbury Theological Seminary's International Beeson program with an emphasis in Church Leadership and Preaching; his doctoral dissertation was
Breaking Generational Poverty Through Collaborative Efforts currently being transformed into a book. Rodney and his wife Ava led congregational ministry which transformed the lives of at-risk youth and children. Rodney's ministry praxis inculcates the prophetic witness of both the Old and New Testaments to affirm the sacred worth of all and empower the least, lost, last, and little.
Tori C. Butler (Author) Rev. Dr. Tori Butler was born and raised by her mother Coretha "Coty" Corry in Baltimore, MD. Ms. Corry taught her that education is of great importance and would be the passport to her future. She would often tell her, "If you are bored, go read a book. It can take you wherever you want to go." Ms. Corry's encouragement in education translated in Tori being the first person in her peer group―from her neighborhood―to graduate with a college degree. Dr. Butler received a BA in History and International Study from McDaniel College in Westminster, MD. Dr. Butler graduated from Duke with a Master of Divinity in 2010 and is published in
Do Not Be Afraid: Bishops & Young Clergy Share Signs of Resurrection & Words of Hope. By God's amazing grace and through tremendous perseverance on May 13, 2019 she received her Doctor of Ministry degree from Emory University with a concentration in Biblical Interpretation and Proclamation. Her Doctor of Ministry project is entitled, "The Power of Mourning: Creating Spaces of Vulnerability for Black Clergywomen to Lament and Holler." She is excited to be the Lead Pastor of Good Hope Union United Methodist Church. She gives praises to God for the opportunity to serve in her home conference and believes that God is up to something good and can't wait to see what it is.
Rudy Rasmus (Author) Rudy Rasmus is an author, humanitarian, and coffee-man with a passion for outreach to the world's most challenged communities. He co-pastors the St. John's United Methodist Church in Downtown Houston with his wife Juanita. A church that began with 9 existing members in 1992, St. John's has grown to thousands where every week people of every social and economic background share the same pew. Rudy founded the Bread of Life, Inc. (a not for profit corporation) with Juanita in December of 1992 and began serving 500 meals per day to the homeless in the sanctuary at St. John's for twenty-five years. The Bread of Life has literally changed the landscape of Downtown Houston providing an array of services to families in peril and homeless individuals. The project distributes over 30 tons of fresh produce weekly to hungry families who have been financially challenged by the COVID-19 Pandemic. For many years Pastor Rudy has coordinated domestic and global anti-hunger initiatives in conjunction with Beyonc's concert tours and travels extensively developing and supporting programs around the world for people experiencing poverty and most recently teamed up with Tina and Beyonc to help Houstonians in the wake of the pandemic through a generous donation from the BeyGood Foundation and the Start Small Foundation (an initiative of Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter.) Pastor Rudy has authored three prior books, contributed to five others and completed his Doctorate in 2019 with dissertation research focused on "The intersection of Black Millennial Culture with Religion."
