Joseph L. Roberts, Jr., nationally acclaimed pastor emeritus of Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, will join Columbia’s faculty in early 2009 as the Wade P. Huie Professor of Preaching. The appointment is for a three-year term, during which Roberts will provide leadership for the seminary’s new Center for Preaching. Roberts is the first person to hold the Huie chair. That position and the Center for Preaching were funded by a generous gift to the Formation and Transformation capital campaign from the William S. Morris family of Augusta, GA.

During Roberts’ 30-year tenure as senior pastor at Ebenezer, the congregation grew by more than 2,000 new members and financial giving increased more than 300 percent. Roberts also launched an expansive community outreach program that included the Teenage Mother’s Ministry, a tutoring program, counseling, a food co-op, and a seniors’ daycare center. He is also an accomplished musician and author. Roberts’s book, Sideswiped by Eternity: Sermons from Ebenezer Baptist Church, was published in 2006 by Westminster/John Knox Press.    

Joanna Adams is pastor of Atlanta’s Morningside Presbyterian Church, former chair of the seminary’s Board of Trustees, and a Columbia graduate. “What a coup for Columbia,” Adams says. “Dr. Roberts is one of the most gifted and respected preachers alive today. He will bring a wealth of wisdom, intellect, experience, and skill to his new post, and the church of the future will be mightily blessed by the fruits of his labors.”  

Roberts is a native of Chicago and a cum laude graduate of Knoxville College, in Knoxville, TN. He received the Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City and the Master of Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey. Before coming to Ebenezer, he worked in various administrative positions in the Presbyterian Church, U.S., and was pastor of Weequahic Presbyterian Church and Elmwood United Presbyterian Church in New Jersey. He has received numerous honors from civic, social, and religious organizations. He has been listed in Ebony magazine as an outstanding clergy person, and five institutions have honored him with the Doctor of Divinity degree. In 2004, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from both Union and Princeton seminaries. He serves on several board and committees both locally and nationally.

Columbia trustee and alumnus Joseph Harvard served on the search committee for the Huie chair. Harvard, who is pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Durham, NC, says, “With roots in both the Presbyterian and Baptist denominations, Joe Roberts brings to this position unique insights into Protestant Christianity in this country. We are delighted that he has accepted Columbia’s call to provide leadership for the development of our new Center for Preaching.”

Wade Huie, in whose honor the position was established, says, “Joe Roberts’s strong pastoral and prophetic preaching during his long and fruitful ministry with both Presbyterian and Baptist churches equip him in a special way to lead our new Center for Preaching. His teaching will enhance and enrich the preaching of the students and ministers at Columbia Seminary. I am truly delighted and honored to have him occupy a chair bearing my name.”