The Rev. Dr. Luke Powery

Denomination: Other
Organization: Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC

The Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery is the dean of Duke University Chapel and associate professor of the practice of homiletics at Duke Divinity School. Prior to his appointment at Duke, he served as the Perry and Georgia Engle Assistant Professor of Homiletics at Princeton Theological Seminary. He received his B.A. in music with a concentration in vocal performance from Stanford University, his M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and his Th.D. from Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto. His teaching and research interests are located at the intersection of preaching, worship, pneumatology, and culture, particularly expressions of the African diaspora. He has written two books, titled Spirit Speech: Lament and Celebration in Preaching, and Dem Dry Bones: Preaching, Death, and Hope and is currently working on a co-authored introductory textbook on preaching, Ways of the Word: Learning to Preach for Your Time and Place, as well as two devotional books of meditations on the Spirituals for the liturgical seasons of Advent and Lent.

Powery was ordained by the Progressive National Baptist Convention and has served in an ecumenical capacity in churches throughout Switzerland, Canada, and the United States. He is a member of the Academy of Homiletics, for which he has served as secretary; the American Academy of Religion; and the Society for the Study of Black Religion. Powery served as a member of the executive lectionary team for The African-American Lectionary and is the recipient of numerous scholastic fellowships and awards. In 2008, the African-American Pulpit named him one of 20 outstanding black ministers under the age of 40 who are helping shape the future direction of the church. More recently, in 2014, he was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College for his ethical and spiritual leadership in the academy, church, and broader society.

He is married to Gail Powery, and the couple has two children.