Teresa L. Fry Brown
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs; Bandy Professor of Preaching
Degrees
PhD, Iliff School of Theology and University of Denver, 1996
MDiv, Iliff School of Theology, 1988
MS, University of Central Missouri, 1975
BS, University of Central Missouri, 1973
Phone
(404) 727-4436
EMAILThe Rev. Dr. Teresa L. Fry Brown is the Bandy Professor of Preaching, a chaired professorship created in 1986 with a gift from B. Jackson Bandy that is considered by many to be the country’s premier chair in homiletics. Fry Brown has taught at Candler since 1994, and in 2010, she became the first African American woman to attain the rank of full professor. She also served as the director of Candler’s Black Church Studies program until 2015.
Fry Brown’s research interests include homiletics, womanism, womanist ethics, socio-cultural transformation, and African diaspora history focusing on African American spiritual values. In addition to five monographs and four books, she has written articles and chapters for over a dozen more, including Delivering the Sermon: Voice, Body and Animation in Proclamation (Fortress Press, 2008); Can A Sister Get a Little Help: Advice and Encouragement for Black Women in Ministry (Pilgrim Press, 2008); and Weary Throats and New Song: Black Women Proclaiming God’s Word (Abingdon Press, 2003).
A former speech pathologist, Fry Brown is ordained in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and currently serves as the denomination’s historiographer, executive director of research and scholarship, and editor of the AME Review. She currently serves as the vice chair of the AME General Officer’s Council, and convened the inaugural AME Scholar’s Convocation in 2018. She is a member of several scholarly guilds, including the Society for the Study of Black Religion; the Academy of Homiletics, where she currently serves as second vice president; and the American Academy of Religion, where she is the co-chair on the Womanist Approaches to Society and Religion group.
In 2014, Candler students chose Fry Brown as “Faculty Person of the Year.”
BOOKS
African American History & Devotions: Readings and Activities for Individuals, Families, and Communities, Abingdon Press, 2018
Delivering the Sermon: Voice, Body, and Animation in Proclamation, Fortress Press, 2008
Can a Sistah Get a Little Help?: Advice and Encouragement for Black Women in Ministry, Pilgrim Press, 2008
African American History Month Devotions, Abingdon Press, 2006
Weary Throats and New Songs: Black Women Proclaiming God’s Word, Abingdon Press, 2003
God Don’t Like Ugly: African American Women Handing on Spiritual Values, Abingdon Press, 2000
CHAPTERS AND ARTICLES
“Prophetic Truth Telling in a Time of Fatigue and Fragmentation,” in Questions Preachers Ask, Westminster John Knox, 2017
“Reestablishing the Purpose and Power of the Preached Word through Black Church Studies,” The Black Church Studies Reader, Palgrave Macmillan, January 01, 2016
“Matthew 15:1-11, 12-20, 21-28: Homiletic Strategy Entries,” Feasting on the Gospels, Matthew vol 2, Westminster John Knox, December 09, 2013
“Opening Pandora’s Box: Reflections on Sexuality for the Bible-Based Church,” Doing Church: A Practical Guide for Ministry, New Seasons Press, January 01, 2010
“Poetic Persuasion: A Master Class on Speaking the Truth to Power,” Our Sufficiency is of God: Essays on Preaching in Honor of Gardner C. Taylor, Mercer University Press, March 01, 2010
“Birthing A Sermon,” Birthing the Sermon: Women Preachers on Creative Process, Chalice Press, January 01, 2001
“How Beautiful Are the Feet” Award, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, 2020
Emory Williams Distinguished Teaching Award, Emory University, 2017
Faculty Person of the Year, Candler School of Theology, 2014
Lifetime Achievement Recognition Award, American Academy of Religion Black Religious Scholars Group
Introduction to Preaching
Preaching, Language, and Popular Culture
Contemporary Black Preaching
Black Church Studies Reflection Seminar
Transformative Voices
Women and Preaching
Prophetic Voices for a New Century
In the media
December 30, 2019
Watch Night services hold significance for many metro Atlanta churches
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
February 4, 2019
‘Do the work your soul must have’: Honoring Katie Geneva Cannon
The Presbyterian Outlook
February 23, 2018
Rev. Dr. Teresa Fry Brown Preaches at San Francisco Theological Seminary
San Francisco Theological Seminary
October 16, 2017
A Conversation with Rev. Dr. Teresa Fry Brown hosted by Dr. Frank A. Thomas
The Academy of Preaching and Celebration at Christian Theological Seminary
