The Rev. Dr. Kenyatta Gilbert

Denomination: Other
Organization: Howard University School of Divinity, Washington, DC

 

The Reverend Dr. Kenyatta R. Gilbert is Professor of Homiletics at the Howard University School of Divinity.  He earned his B.A. in Political Science from Baylor University and both his M.Div. and Ph.D. in Practical Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Dr. Gilbert specializes in the history, theory, and practice of African American preaching.  His research focuses on the theology and rhetoric of prophetic preaching, African American religion, hermeneutical theory, and constructive practical theology. He is author of The Journey and Promise of African American Preaching (Fortress Press 2011). A Pursued Justice:  Black Preaching from the Great Migration to Civil Rights (Baylor University Press 2016).

His forthcoming book is Exodus Preaching:  Crafting Sermons on Justice and Hope (Abingdon Press 2017).  Dr. Gilbert's articles "What Shaped Martin Luther King Jr.'s Prophetic Vision?" (New Republic) and "Hidden Figures:  How Black Women Spoke Truth to Power" (AP) have enjoyed wide-circulation.

Dr. Gilbert is the 2009-2010 recipient of Louisville Institute's First Book Grant for Minority Scholars, Howard University's 2011 Emerging Scholar Award, and Andrew Mellon Fellowship (inaugural class) at Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Washington, DC, summer 2013.   He has served as faculty collaborator for HUSD's Equipping the Saints: Promising Practices in Black Congregational Life, a national study funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc.  

Dr. Gilbert is an ordained Baptist minister and founder of The Preaching Project: Restoring Communities through Spoken Word (www.thepreachingproject.org), a website ministry promoting the nurture of the preaching life of ministers serving African American churches and communities.  Prior to joining the Divinity School's faculty in 2006, he served congregations in Texas, New York, New Jersey, and Kenya. 

Dr. Gilbert is married to Dr. Allison Blow Gilbert, a pediatrician.  The Gilberts have three daughters: Olivia Copeland, Ella Jane, and Ava Sage.

 

Day1 Weekly Programs by The Rev. Dr. Kenyatta Gilbert

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Kenyatta Gilbert: Pinocchio Prophecy

Tuesday June 23, 2020
The beloved story of Pinocchio sheds light on an important reality, says Dr. Kenyatta Gilbert: If you tell lies, you will find yourself bereft of moral integrity. This is true for persons in ministry leadership--the temptation to succeed at any costs is very real. This is also true for all believers in any walk of life.

Kenyatta Gilbert: Pinocchio Prophecy

Tuesday June 27, 2017
The beloved story of Pinocchio sheds light on an important reality, says Dr. Kenyatta Gilbert: If you tell lies, you will find yourself bereft of moral integrity. This is true for persons in ministry leadership--the temptation to succeed at any costs is very real. This is also true for all believers in any walk of life.

Articles by The Rev. Dr. Kenyatta Gilbert

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Kenyatta Gilbert: King built on a long legacy of prophetic preaching

Monday January 16, 2023
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s preaching used the power of language to interpret the Gospel in the context of Black misery and Christian hope. He directed people to life-giving resources and spoke provocatively of a present and active divine interventionist who summons preachers to name reality in places where pain, oppression and neglect abound.