Written by Pat Cole | January 18, 2026
The Interim Pastor Search Team has unanimously recommended Dr. Lewis Brogdon to be Interim Pastor of
Crescent Hill Baptist Church. He will preach in view of a call on Sunday, February 1, and a vote of the congregation will occur at the close of worship. If elected, he will begin his duties immediately.
Dr. Brogdon is a pastor, scholar, and institutional leader whose ministry and teaching focus on preaching, Black Church Studies, and public-facing Christian witness shaped by justice and practical faith. He describes himself as “a product of the church,” raised in rural West Virginia in a large ministerial family, and called into ministry after a decisive “road to Damascus” experience early in college.
His ministry began in Pentecostal Holiness contexts and quickly expanded across denominations and communities. Over time, his pastoral work included Baptist, Methodist, Christian church, and Presbyterian settings, and he speaks of “crossing divides” as a consistent theme—serving in contexts where his family was sometimes the only Black family present. He is ordained in both the Pentecostal and Baptist traditions.
Dr. Brogdon’s academic preparation includes a B.A. in Christian Studies and Sociology (Bluefield College), an
M.Div. in New Testament Studies (Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary), and a Ph.D. in Theology (Regent University School of Divinity). He completed graduate study while working full-time and raising a family, reflecting his long-standing commitment to rigorous work and bi-vocational realities often present in Black church life.
Professionally, beginning in 2026, Dr. Brogdon will serve as Executive Director of JustFaith Ministries in Louisville. He previously served as Executive Director of the Institute for Black Church Studies and Associate Professor at BSK Theological Seminary in Lexington, where he founded and directed a Black Church Studies program and taught graduate courses in preaching, theology, New Testament, and ethics. His leadership background also includes service as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Simmons College of Kentucky, as well as significant work in institutional effectiveness at Bluefield University.
As a scholar and public theologian, Dr. Brogdon is the author of multiple books, including The Gospel Beyond the Grave (2025) and The Bible in the Ashes of Social Chaos (2023), as well as earlier works on Black preaching, nihilism, and clergy wellbeing. He is also known as a lecturer and panelist, with academic engagements at major institutions and on topics such as nihilism in Black America.
In pastoral ministry, Dr. Brogdon has served congregations in multiple states and traditions, including senior pastor and interim pastor roles. In the interim context, he emphasizes both clarity and the ethics of the role. At Trinity Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio, he led a period of significant growth while remaining committed to serving as an interim rather than leveraging the role into a permanent call.
Dr. Brogdon frames his theology as intentionally practical and transformational—“not just orthodoxy but orthopraxy” (defined as right belief combined with right practice, with the emphasis on the latter).
He describes this posture as modeled after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., seeking theology that changes communities rather than merely shapes ideas. In congregational leadership, he brings a structured planning approach.
Selected recognitions and public engagements include an invitation to the White House in 2014 regarding President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative and other scholarly speaking engagements.
This interim season is planned for one year and may be extended by mutual agreement between the church and Dr. Brogdon. If a permanent pastor is called during this time, the interim period will conclude early.
