William Henry Willimon

Bishop Willimon, 2011

William Henry Willimon (born May 15, 1946) is a bishop in the United Methodist Church in the U.S., currently serving in North Alabama. He is best known as a theologian, writer, former Dean of the Chapel at Duke University, and as one of America's best known preachers.^{[citation needed]} A Pew Foundation Survey said he was one of the two most frequently read writers by pastors in mainline Protestantism (Henri Nouwen also noted).^{[citation needed]} His books have sold over a million copies. Bishop Willimon is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

Biography

Bishop Willimon, originally from South Carolina and raised at Buncombe Street UMC in Greenville, SC, received a B.A. from Wofford College in 1968, an M. Div. from Yale Divinity School in 1971, and an S.T.D. from Emory University in 1973. He has also received several honorary doctorates.

Professional life

He was elected to the episcopacy in 2004.

With his stress on the wisdom of the Church through the centuries, he is sometimes associated with the post-liberal movement and narrative theology.

He has written more than 50 books, garnering a reputation as an outstanding preacher, being named in a 1996 Baylor University survey along with Billy Graham as one of the 12 best preachers in the English-speaking world.

He was, with Prof. Joel B. Green, the general editor of The Wesley Study Bible, published in 2009.

A former student, Michael A. Turner, says about Willimon in the book A Peculiar Prophet which he co-authored with William F. Malambri: "First and foremost Willimon is a pastoral theologian whose primary message is that the God revealed in Jesus matters for everything in life. Thus his most influential work has been in calling the Church to be a faithful witness to the God revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ." In the same book, they also say: "Willimon, it seems, never tires of telling the Church just how distinctive our way of life should be because of the particular God who has captured us."

Personal life

He married Patricia Parker on June 7, 1969. They have two children: Harriet and William.

Important Works

• Undone by Easter: Keeping Preaching Fresh (2009) ISBN 978-1-426-70013-2
• Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry ISBN 0-687-04532-0
• Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony (with Stanley Hauerwas) ISBN 0-687-36159-1
• Calling & Character: Virtues of the Ordained Life ISBN 0-687-09033-4
• Acts in the Interpretation commentary series ISBN 0-8042-3119-2
• Rekindling the Flame: Strategies for a Vital United Methodism (with Robert L. Wilson) ISBN 0-687-35932-5
• "To the Church Called Mainline" in Christianity Today (Oct. 25, 1999 issue)

Ordained Ministry

• Pastor, Level Creek UMC, Buford, GA, 1971
• Associate Pastor, Broad St. UMC, Clinton, SC 1971–73
• Pastor, Trinity UMC, North Myrtle Beach, SC, 1973–76
• Pastor, Northside UMC, Greenville, SC, 1980–84
• Duke University, Durham, NC, 1984-2004 (one of the youngest professors in the history of Duke Divinity School)
• Dean, Duke Chapel, Duke University, Durham, NC, 1989-2004

See also

• List of Bishops of the United Methodist Church

References

• The Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church[1]
• InfoServ, the official information service of The United Methodist Church. [2]
• Biography [3]

External links

• "A Peculiar Prophet" (Bishop Willimon's blog)
• Bishop Willimon's podcast
• 2004 Photo of Bishop Willimon
• Example of William Willimon sermon