Duke Divinity School and the Office of Black Church Studies have announced the Black Pastoral Leadership Collaboration, led by The Reverend David Emmanuel Goatley, Ph.D., research professor of theology and Black Church Studies and director of the Office of Black Church Studies. This initiative draws on original research from the Black church for the whole church.

The key drivers of the initiative are three-fold: research, teaching, and convening.

David Goatley headshot
Launching this effort at Duke University means this important work will be done in a top tier research environment where we can focus on deep and multidisciplinary research that will produce substantial learning and forward-leaning framing for leadership needed for thriving.
David Emmanuel Goatley, Ph.D.
A woman watches the 2018 Gardner C. Taylor lecture

Research

During the research phase, 12 multidisciplinary scholars will discover, design, and disseminate effective models of leadership about black pastoral strategies, successes, and struggles. Research will focus on the following eras:

  • Reconstruction era
  • Civil rights era
  • Megachurch era
Rev. Gerald Lamount Thomas preaches in Goodson Chapel

Teaching

Continuing education programs will bring together pastors from across the country to focus on teaching in the following areas:

  • Contextualization – understanding circumstances of oppression
  • Conscientization – helping people facing oppression to understand better the causes of the oppression for agency
  • Construction – how to design strategies, build partnerships, resource projects, and execute programs
Gardner C. Taylor lecture in Divinity School York room, wide shot of audience

Convening

The collaboration will  extend its work by hosting biennial conferences to discover and disseminate applied pastoral theology. Pastoral leaders will present models of ministry, workshop ideas and work toward publishing a book series on practical theology from black church contexts.

Faculty and Staff

Deborah A. Williams
Program Coordinator, Office of Black Church Studies
dwilliams@div.duke.edu
(919) 660-3461

Dr. David Emmanuel Goatley
Director, Office of Black Church Studies
dgoatley@div.edu
(919) 661-3461