Dr. David Douglas Daniels III to receive lifetime achievement award from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference
02-01-2023
Dr. David Douglas Daniels III, McCormick’s Henry Winters Luce Professor of World Christianity, will receive a Beautiful Are the Feet Award from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference when it holds its 20th Clergy and Lay Leadership Conference in Atlanta, February 20 through 24.
The global network of social justice leaders and organizations will honor Dr. Daniels’ more than 35 years of academic excellence in theological education, his groundbreaking scholarship, and his tireless service to the Church and the Academy.
“The entire McCormick community celebrates this honor with Dr. Daniels,” says David Crawford, president, McCormick Theological Seminary. “His extraordinary contributions to theological education, the Church, and its history have changed the way we think about our world and our roles in it. His excavating of Christian history is helping us dig through the layers of history, thoughtfully reconstructing what we see in new and powerful ways.”
Dr. Daniels joined McCormick’s faculty in 1987 and was inaugurated Professor of Church History in 2003. His research and teaching have focused on the history of the Black Church in North America, Global Pentecostalism, African Christians and the Reformation, and World Christianity. His research on the Reformation brings to light an historical oversight and offers opportunities to portray the Reformation in a way that is more ecumenical, cross-cultural, inter-continental, inclusive, and global.
The author of numerous articles and book chapters about Church history, Dr. Daniels’ work has been published extensively. He serves as an associate editor of the Journal of World Christianity.
He has been quoted in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and other media outlets.
Dr. Daniels has lectured at colleges and seminaries nationally and internationally, including Harvard University, the Bossey Institute in Switzerland, the Spiritan International School of Theology in Nigeria, the Cheikh A. Diop University of Dakar in Senegal, and Emmanuel College of Victoria University at the University of Toronto.
“Having Dr. Daniels as a professor and advisor was a highlight of my seminarian journey at McCormick,” says Richard Mayo, M.Div.’19. “He broadened my view of the global history of Christianity, encouraged me to remember the waters of my baptism, and lives a life that models how all are welcome at God’s table.”
Dr. Daniels has been a member of the American Academy of Religion since 1989, the Society for the Study of Black Religion since 1993 and the Society for Pentecostal Studies since 1979. He has served as a member of the steering committee of the Evangelical Theology Group and Afro-American History Group of the American Academy of Religion. He also has served as a member of the Reformed-Pentecostal International Dialogue. From 1988 to 1991, he served as commissioner for the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches U.S. A. Additionally, he has participated on consultations sponsored by the National Council of Churches in the United States and the World Council of Churches in the United States and Costa Rica.
A graduate of Bowdoin College, Dr. Daniels earned his Master of Divinity from Yale University, and his Ph.D. in Church History from Union Theological Seminary. He has served as a member of various research projects, including Religion in Urban America and the Funding of Black Churches project. He has served as a member of the Lay Formation and Education Project and the Wesleyan/Holiness project, along with serving on the advisory committee of the Contextualized Urban Theological Education Enablement Program.
Currently, he serves on the history of the World Christian movement project and the advisory committee for research projects in Norway and the Netherlands. He is a professor extraordinarious at the Gender Institute of the University of South Africa.
“I was surprised when I received the announcement that I was among this year’s Beautiful Are the Feet honorees,” says Dr. Daniels. “In my scholarship, I have sought to engage the Church, the Academy, and the public arena. In my teaching, I tried exceedingly hard to highlight how the history of Christianity has been shaped by Christians of every race. For the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference to recognize my work is a true honor.”
McCormick Theological Seminary is one of 10 schools related to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and is an accredited member of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and the Higher Learning Commission. The seminary is affiliated with the Association of Chicago Theological Schools. A progressive leader in the Reformed tradition, McCormick provides a transformative educational experience, ignited by the call for justice, that: expands prophetic imagination grounded in real world practice; inspires passionate advocates who accompany those on the margins; and empowers generations of leaders to serve the church and society with integrity, love, and hope.
The Annual Clergy and Lay Leadership Conference is the premier international justice gathering hosted by the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc. The three-day conference offers inspiration, education, fellowship, and communal ingenuity for those involved in the work of social justice. Through the power of prophetic preaching, informed teaching and social activism, clergy and laity work together on behalf of those most vulnerable and marginalized in the world. Conference attendees come from the foremost African American theological scholars, grassroots, and political leaders, to emerging leaders, and practitioners.
Dr. David Daniels
Henry Winters Luce Professor of World Christianity