Black Theologians and Apologists Spotlight
Dr. Vince Bantu
Dr. Vince Bantu is the assistant professor of church history and Black church studies at Fuller Seminary. He also serves as a liaison to the William E. Pannell Center for Black Church Studies and networks with Black churches, pastors, and students.
Prior to Fuller, Bantu taught in various capacities at a number of colleges and institutions, including Nyack College, New York Theological Seminary, North Park Theological Seminary, the Center for Early African Christianity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Covenant Theological Seminary.
Additionally, he has years of pastoral experience in African American, Asian American, and Hispanic churches, as well as extensive involvement in multicultural urban communities.
Bantu earned his PhD in Semitic and Egyptian Languages from the Catholic University of America, and his dissertation married his interests in African Christianity and social identity. He also directs the Meachum School of Haymanot, which provides theological education for urban pastors and leaders.
He is the author of Gospel Haymanot: A Constructive Theology and Critical Reflection on African and Diasporic Christianity, and A Multitude of All Peoples: Engaging Ancient Christianity’s Global Identity, as well as numerous articles on global Christianity, Syriac and Nubian Christianity, apologetics, justice, evangelism, and African American theology.
Dr. Carl Ellis, Jr.
Carl Ellis, Jr. is a theological anthropologist with decades of ministry experience as a pastor, a campus minister (with Tom Skinner Associates), a community instructor (with Prison Fellowship), and a faculty member with the Center for Urban Theological Studies (C.U.T.S.), Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, and Redeemer Seminary in Dallas. He is also the Provost’s Professor of Theology and Culture, Assistant to the Chancellor, and Senior Fellow of the African American Leadership Initiative at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson. He is the author of several books, including Free at Last? The Gospel in the African-American Experience and Going Global Beyond the Boundaries: The Role of the Black Church in the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Bruce L. Fields is associate professor of biblical and systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has taught at Trinity since 1988.
Prior to coming to Trinity, Dr. Fields was on staff for six years with Campus Crusade for Christ. There he served in a variety of roles including Athletes in Action, the Indian ministry in Colorado, and the staff of the University of Michigan. He also taught for six years at Trinity’s College of Liberal Arts.
Dr. Fields received the Bachelor of Arts in biology from the University of Pennsylvania; the Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; the Master of Theology in systematic theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and the Doctor of Philosophy in New Testament at Marquette University.
Dr. Fields’s areas of expertise include Pauline studies and liberation and black theology. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society of Biblical Literature. He is the author of Black Theology: 3 Crucial Questions for the Evangelical Church.
Dr. Brian Bantum
Dr. Brian Bantum is the Neil F. and Ila A. Professor of Theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. He writes and teaches on the intersections of theology and embodiment, particularly on questions of race and identity. He is a contributing editor for The Christian Century and has published three books: Redeeming Mulatto: A Theology of Race and Christian Hybridity and The Death of Race: Building a New Christianity in a Racial World and most recently, Choosing Us: Marriage and Mutual Flourishing in a World of Difference, co-authored with his spouse, Rev. Gail Song Bantum. He speaks throughout the country on how racial imagination shapes our identity and how our lives as disciples might live into the fullness of God’s life and create spaces of justice and flourishing and life in their midst, becoming slight glimmers of God’s present and coming kingdom.
Dr. Anthony Bradley
Dr. Anthony Bradley was most recently professor of religious studies and director of the Center for the Study of Human Flourishing at The King’s College, Theologian-In-Residence at Redeemer Presbyterian Church—Lincoln Square, and now serves as a distinguished research fellow at The Acton Institute and Research Professor of Interdisciplinary and Theological Studies at Kuyper College.
Dr. Bradley lectures at colleges, universities, business organizations, conferences, and churches throughout the U.S. and abroad. His writings on religious and cultural issues have been published in a variety of journals, including: the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Washington Examiner, Al-Jazerra, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Detroit News, Christianity Today, and World Magazine.
Dr. Bradley is called upon by members of the broadcast media for comment on current issues and has appeared on C-SPAN, NPR, CNN/Headline News, and Fox News, among others. He studies and writes on issues of the covenant theology, criminal justice reform, youth and family, poverty, education policy, social ethics, and race in America.
His books include: Liberating Black Theology, Black and Tired, The Political Economy of Liberation, Aliens In The Promised Land, John Rawls and Christian Social Engagement, Black Scholars In White Space, Something Seems Strange, Ending Overcriminalization and Mass Incarceration, Why Black Lives Matter, Heroic Fraternities and more.
Thabita Anyabwile
Thabiti Anyabwile is a pastor at Anacostia River Church in southeast Washington, DC. After a few years as a practicing Muslim, Thabiti was converted under the preaching of the gospel in the DC area. Thabiti is the author of several books, including The Life of God in the Soul of the Church; The Gospel for Muslims; What Is a Healthy Church Member?; Reviving The Black Church; The Decline of African-American Theology; and The Faithful Preacher. He has served as a council member of the Gospel Coalition, is a lead writer for 9Marks Ministries, and blogs regularly at The Front Porch and Pure Church.
Lisa Fields
Lisa Fields is one of the world’s most sought-after Christian apologists. She combines her passion for biblical literacy with her heart for sharing God’s love to all those she meets. Lisa is a graduate of the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Communications and Religious Studies. She also graduated from Liberty University with a Master of Divinity and a focus in Theology. Her time in seminary propelled her into her calling as an apologist.
During her last year of seminary, her passion to teach others how to defend their faith became very clear. It was then that the Jude 3 Project was born. As founder and president, Lisa’s primary mission for the Jude 3 Project is to help the Black Christian community know what they believe and why they believe. Lisa speaks regularly at evangelism, apologetic, and biblical literacy events at various universities and churches across the country.
Damon Richardson
Damon Richardson, the founder of UrbanLogia Ministries, is a highly sought after speaker, Bible teacher and Christian Urban Apologist from Queens, NY.
Damon lived his formative years as a Muslim and practiced the tenets of Islam through the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam, until he became a born again believer of Jesus Christ at the age of 16. He holds Master of Arts in Religious Studies and a Ph.D. in Leadership from Beulah Heights University. He has done additional graduate studies at Virginia Union University Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Regent University School of Divinity, and at St. Petersburg Seminary and Yeshiva.
It is Damon’s hope and prayer that by deconstructing false ideas about Christianity, you will be better able to articulate the basis of your faith, and point Millennials, Urbanites, and other searching Christians to God’s word, and the gospel of Jesus Christ as the only answer to the needs of all humanity.
Christopher Brooks
Chris Brooks is a Pastor, Radio Host, Dean and Community Developer. He is the Senior Pastor of Woodside Bible Church. Before his time at Woodside Bible Church, he served as the Senior Pastor of Evangel Ministries, a thriving 1600-member church. Chris is also a Dean at Moody Theological Seminary in Plymouth, Michigan. He is a popular national radio host of Equipped with Chris Brooks, which is heard on over 200 stations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Chris is author of Kingdom Dreaming and Urban Apologetics. He graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Finance, completed his MA in Christian Apologetics at Biola University, and graduated from the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. He is currently a doctoral candidate at Asbury Theological Seminary where he is studying the Integration of Economics and Theology.