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faculty & Staff

William Myers

William H. Myers, Ph.D.

Professor of New Testament and Black Church Studies, Director of Black Church Studies Program
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Having spent a large part of his life in the field of finance and investment, Dr. Myers left the lucrative, financial world in pursuit of his call as a professor. He has now spent over 30 years teaching and preparing others to answer their own call to ministry.

Dr. Myers is a scholar of the New Testament, with a specialty in Pauline studies. He is also one of the leading innovators in Black Church studies programs. His Doctor of Ministry work at Ashland Theological Seminary is what brought about the founding of the Black Church studies program at ATS, as well as the McCreary Center for African American Religious Studies in Cleveland.

The partnership between ATS and the McCreary Center brings the world’s most renowned African-American theological educators to Cleveland’s inner-city context to teach courses. This model is unparalleled anywhere else in America and has been a source of inspirational education and encouragement to students.

Dr. Myers is also a pastor at New Mount Zion Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio. He has served as pastor for the last 15 years but has been a member for over five decades! The McCreary Center is located on the same campus as New Mount Zion, allowing the academy and church to intersect in an effort to reach marginalized people. It is a place where both teaching and praxis bring forth justice, liberation, and refreshment for the soul.

Publications

  • Two Seminaries or One: A Plea for a Black-White Dialogue on Theological Education Ashland Theological Journal, Fall, 1984
  • Are You Saved?–Part I (a four-part series) NOUS Vol 1, No. 1, Winter, 1986
  • When Were You Saved?–Part II NOUS Vol. 2, No. 1, Fall, 1987
  • Where Were You Saved?–Part III NOUS Vol 2, No. 1, Fall, 1987
  • What Language Did Jesus Speak? Ashland Theological Journal, Fall, 1987 (review of Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus)
  • Checkmate, Stalemate or Advance-Ment? Ashland Theological Journal, Fall, 1987 (review of Hermeneutics, Authority and Canon)
  • No Room in the Inn. Ashland Theological Journal, 1990 (Chapel address).
  • The Hermeneutical Dilemma of the African-American Biblical Student in Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation Ed., Cain Felder, (Fortress, 1991)
  • The Irresistible Urge to Preach: A Collection of African American Call Stories (Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. & McCreary Center,1992; reprinted by Wipf & Stock, 2015)
  • No Risks, No Rewards: Acts 8:26-40. The Journal of Religious Thought, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Spring-Summer 1992)
  • Mountaintops, Mysteries, and Ministries. Agenda, Vol. 2, No. 2 (1992)
  • Jesus Christ and the Poor: The Bible, the Poor, and the Black Church, The Original African Heritage Study Bible (Winston Publishing Co., 1993
  • God’s Yes Was Louder than My No: Rethinking the African American Call to Ministry (Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.,& McCreary Center 1994; reprinted by Wipf & Stock, 2015)
  • Disentangling the Call to Preach: Certainty, Ambiguity, Mystery? in Sharing Heaven’s Music. ed.,. Barry L. Callen (Abingdon, 1995). Publication in honor of Dr. James Earl Massey.
  • “Call, Calling, Call Stories,” in The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. General Editor, Katherine Doob Sakenfeld (Abingdon, 2006).
  • “The Marcan Jesus’ Call to Ministry and the Black Church’s Response in the 21st Century,”A video Production (McCreary Center for African American Religious Studies and Village TV, Cleveland, OH, Fall, 2008)
  • “A Hope that does not Disappoint: The Obama Presidency and Rom. 5:5,” in Audacity of Faith: Christian Leaders Reflect on the Election of Barak Obama. ed. Marvin A. McMickle (Judson Press, 2009).