A Conversation with Rev. Dr. Martha J. Simmons hosted by Dr. Frank A. Thomas

The African American Legacy Preaching Series of Christian Theological Seminary presents “A Conversation with Rev. Dr. Martha J. Simmons hosted by Dr. Frank A. Thomas. Rev. Dr. Martha J. Simmons stands among the veterans in ministry. For more than 30 years, she has preached throughout America and in Africa and served in a variety of ministerial capacities. Rev. Dr. Simmons earned her ThD degree at Boston University, Boston, MA; her Juris Doctor from New College of California School of Law (now John F. Kennedy School of Law); her Master of Divinity from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology; and a Bachelor of Science from Bradley University. For the past twenty years, her primary ministry has been the codification, preservation, and elevation of African American preaching for present and future generations and assisting women of color in ministry. Through her work in homiletics, she provides theories and approaches that promote excellence in preaching and ministry. Her writings, lectures, and workshops have made her a homiletics authority, with whooping as one of her areas of homiletical expertise. She is the creator of The African American Online Lectionary, the first African American Lectionary in the 50-plus year history of lectionaries. She served as President and Executive Editor of The African American Pulpit Journal (informally known as TAAP). TAAP was the only African American owned, non-denominational, homiletics and ministry journal in history. She is the co-author of the Christian Minister’s Manual for the Pulpit and Public Square for All Denominations and the author of Doing the Deed: The Mechanics of Twenty-First Century Preaching. Together with Dr. Frank A. Thomas, she is a general editor of Preaching with Sacred Fire: African American Sermons 1750 to the Present, the only Anthology of African American preaching. This interview is a must see for anyone interested in promoting excellence in African American preaching.