Braxton joins faculty as Distinguished Visiting Scholar
05-06-2010
McCormick Theological Seminary is honored to welcome the Reverend Dr. Brad R. Braxton to join the seminary’s faculty as Distinguished Visiting Scholar for the 2010-2011 academic year. During the course of this one-year appointment, Braxton will teach courses in New Testament and Preaching, as well as lead McCormick-sponsored events on leadership in ministry.
“Dr. Brad Braxton is a noted New Testament scholar and a preacher with a national reputation, and we are very pleased that he will be joining our faculty as Distinguished Visiting Scholar,” said McCormick President Dr. Cynthia M. Campbell. “His commitment to the future health and vitality of the church and ministry will bring valuable insights to the classroom and to our broader publics.”
On the occasion of teaching and engaging in community life at McCormick, Braxton said, “As a progressive theologian, I believe that religion should create common ground for the common good. McCormick’s outstanding faculty, diverse student body, and commitment to cross-cultural education make it an ideal setting for expanding my theological imagination. My research and teaching will examine how biblical interpretation and preaching can spark a much-needed revolution of healing, hope, and hospitality in the church and the public square.”
A Jefferson Scholar at the University of Virginia and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, Braxton received his Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from Emory University, quickly gaining a reputation as a top-tier Biblical scholar in the classroom and a captivating, sought-after preacher in the pulpit.
Prior to coming to McCormick, Braxton has served in both academic and parish settings. Most recently, he was Senior Minister at The Riverside Church in New York City in 2008 and from 1995 to 2000 was Senior Pastor of Douglas Memorial Community Church in Baltimore, Maryland. During the last several years, he served as Jessie Ball duPont Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Biblical Studies at Wake Forest University Divinity School, and then joined Vanderbilt University Divinity School’s faculty as Associate Professor of Homiletics and New Testament.
He has been invited to lecture at Yale University, Duke University, Princeton University, Morehouse College, and large denominational gatherings. In 2009, Braxton was McCormick’s commencement speaker and was also invited for three consecutive years to be the African American Church Leadership lecturer for McCormick’s Center for African American Ministry and Black Church Studies.
Much of Braxton’s published work has focused on the Pauline Epistles and includes Preaching Paul (Abingdon Press, 2004), No Longer Slaves: Galatians and African American Experience (The Liturgical Press, 2002), and The Tyranny of Resolution: I Corinthians 7:17-24 (Society of Biblical Literature, 2000). He is also a member of a team of scholars that developed the African American Lectionary, the first, online, ecumenical African American preaching and worship lectionary, which is being funded by the Lilly Endowment.
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About McCormick Theological Seminary
An important part of Chicago’s religious life since its move to the city in 1859, McCormick Theological Seminary prepares women and men for Christian ministry, advancing a model of education that is urban, cross-cultural, ecumenical and Reformed. McCormick is one of 12 schools related to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and is an accredited member of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) and is affiliated with the University of Chicago, the Hyde Park Cluster of Theological Schools and the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS).
Visit McCormick’s Web site at www.mccormick.edu for more information on its programs, faculty, educational events and resources.
