The Rev. Otis Moss III, an influential author and pastor has been named professor of homiletics at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta.
Moss, 51, the senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, is currently serving as a visiting professor of preaching at the school. He will remain as pastor of Trinity and his expanded role at McAfee becomes effective in the fall.
“It is a wonderful opportunity to share with students across the nation who are seeking to lead communities of faith,” Moss said.
The Morehouse College graduate was recently recognized as one of the 12 most effective preachers in the English-speaking world by Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary. He was also named to the inaugural Root 100 listing that recognizes the nation’s top emerging and established African-American leaders who range in age from 25 to 45.
“I have known, worked with, followed and admired Otis Moss for nearly two decades. His experience and giftedness as a preacher and pastor will serve our school and our expanding learning community of pastors and lay-leaders,” said Dr. Greg DeLoach, dean of McAfee School of Theology in a press release about the appointment. “
Homiletics is the art of preparing sermons and preaching.
“We need women and men who are willing to speak prophetically, in other words, speaking truth to power in this nation today,” he said. The preeminent model of homiletics in America is Martin Luther King Jr. and we need to produce women and men who are willing to speak with the same authority and humility “ as King.
He is the recipient of a 2016 NAACP Image Award and is the founder of Unashamed Media Group, a social justice and faith-based company that produces documentaries, music CDs and short films designed to inspire people to make change in the world. Unashamed Media produced the award-winning short film “Otis’ Dream,” which told the story of his grandfather, Otis Moss Sr.’s, attempt to vote in Georgia’s Troup County in 1947.
Moss, a native of Cleveland, earned a master of divinity degree from Yale University’s Divinity School and a doctorate from Chicago Theological Seminary.
His father is the Rev. Otis Moss Jr., a former co-pastor with the Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, and also a prominent theologian, civil rights leader, speaker and author.
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