Special Edition: Sacred Memories with Dr. Frank A. Thomas, hosted by Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, III

The African American Legacy Preaching Series of Christian Theological Seminary presents as Special Edition “Sacred Memories with Dr. Frank A. Thomas.” This conversation hosted by Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, III was recorded at the Legacy Gala in support of the Legacy Endowment Project. Frank A. Thomas, PhD, served as the Director of the Compelling Preaching Initiative and the Nettie Sweeney and Hugh Th. Miller Professor of Homiletics at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, Indiana until his retirement in December 2025. The Compelling Preaching Initiative is an outgrowth of the PhD Program in African American Preaching and Sacred Rhetoric founded by Thomas. According to Thomas, the mission of both these programs is “to teach and develop the beauty, the depth, the genius, the history, and the power of African-American preaching in order to ignite a preaching renaissance to revive American Christianity in the twenty-first century.” He continues to teach, mentor, and advise PhD students. He is the CEO of Hope For Life International, Inc., which formerly published The African American Pulpit. Thomas also served as a former member of the International Board of Societas Homiletica, an international society of teachers of preaching and as former President of the American Academy of Homiletics. Thomas served with distinction as the senior pastor for two remarkable congregations: New Faith Baptist Church of Matteson, Illinois; and Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church of Memphis, Tennessee, for eighteen years and thirteen years, respectively. Thomas has spent a lifetime practicing, studying, teaching, and writing about preaching. Thomas’ many publications include: The God of the Dangerous Sermon, Surviving a Dangerous Sermon, How to Preach a Dangerous Sermon, and Introduction to the Practice of African American Preaching, released by Abingdon Press. He also co-edited Preaching With Sacred Fire: An Anthology of African American Sermons 1750 to the Present with Martha Simmons, published by W. W. Norton & Company in 2010. Thomas is also the author of several other books on subjects from matters of prayer to spiritual maturity. Thomas holds a PhD in Communications (Rhetoric) from the University of Memphis; a Doctor of Divinity from Christian Theological Seminary and United Theological Seminary; Doctor of Ministry degrees from Chicago Theological Seminary and United Theological Seminary; a Master of Divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary; and a Master of Arts in African-Caribbean Studies from Northeastern Illinois University. Thomas and his wife Joyce Scott Thomas have two adult children, Anthony William and Rachel Dickerson (Milton) and one granddaughter, August Elise Dickerson. Find out how you can support the Legacy Endowment Project and learn more about the Frank A. & Joyce S. Thomas Endowed Chair at https://www.cts.edu/thomaschair/