Staff

Dr. Lewis Brogdon

Director

Dr. Lewis Brogdon has served in numerous positions in undergraduate and graduate institutions as a professor – Associate Professor of Preaching and Black Church Studies at BSK, Assistant Professor of New Testament and Black Church Studies at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary and Religion and Biblical Studies at Claflin University, and an Associate Professor of Christian Studies at Bluefield College.

He also served those institutions as an administrator – the founding director of Louisville Presbyterian Seminary’s Black Church Studies Program, Provost at Simmons College of Kentucky and Dean of Institutional Effectiveness and Research at Bluefield College.

Brogdon is the author of several books including A Companion to Philemon (Cascade 2018), The Spirituality of Black Preaching (Seymour Press 2016) and others.

Dr. Brogdon is also a popular preacher, lecturer, and panelist. He has lectured at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, the Interdenominational Theological Center, the University of Chicago Divinity School, Claflin University, and Radford University on nihilism in black America.

He was the keynote speaker at a city wide Martin Luther King dinner in Dayton OH, and received an invitation to the White House in 2014.

Brogdon is an ordained minister of twenty six years and has pastored churches in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio.

Dr. Candace Smith

Adjunct Faculty of Practical Theology and Womanist Theology

Dr. Candace Smith is a researcher, preacher, and practical theologian with a focus on serving diverse communities. Drawing from her Black Pentecostal background, she explores the impact of gender and race on spiritual and civic engagement, particularly emphasizing the unique ways Black womanhood informs leadership.

With expertise in embodiment, womanist thought, and ethical leadership, Dr. Smith is dedicated to sharing her insights with others. Her journey includes serving as a chaplain resident at a trauma hospital, young adult and college ministry, and teaching within higher education. She additionally held a series of roles in student leadership and student affairs in universities, seminaries, and other organizations.

Dr. Smith holds a M.Div. from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in Practical Theology from St. Thomas University in South Florida. She currently co-hosts Bridging Theology, which is an interdisciplinary, interdenominational, international, interview-based Christian podcast.

Rev. Erica Whitaker

Associate Director

Erica Whitaker is pastor, preacher, writer and scholar. She has been serving Baptist congregations for over fifteen years. She recently served at Senior Pastor to Buechel Park Baptist Church in Louisville, KY.  She is a member of Baptist News Global’s Board of Directors and serves on Kentucky Baptist Women in Ministry’s Advisory Council. 

A Texas native, Whitaker holds an undergraduate degree from the University of North Texas and a Master of Divinity degree from Baylor University’s George W. Truett Seminary. She is writing a dissertation for a Doctor of Philosophy degree at International Baptist Theological Study Centre in Amsterdam.