Dr. Joel C. Gregory holds the George W. Truett Endowed Chair in Preaching and Evangelism at the George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University. In 2016 he spoke or taught 163 times in seven academic institutions, 36 churches and 17 conferences in 20 states, Wittenberg, Germany, and Oxford, UK. He brought the concluding message at the Baptist World Congress in Durban, South Africa last summer. He also serves on the BWA Commission on Worship and Spirituality. More recently, Joel was invited to bring the Second Annual Ecumenical Worship Service in Charleston, SC, a citywide event along with the governor and mayor to commemorate the Emanuel 9, lost in an act of racial violence at Mother Emanuel AME Church.
Joel holds the B.A summa cum laude and Ph.D. from Baylor University. He received the M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (1973) and taught preaching there 1982-1985. He served for two terms unanimously elected as President of the 5400-church Baptist General Convention of Texas. He has preached at venues as varied as Westminster Chapel, Spurgeon’s College and Kensington Temple, all in London, as well as Regent’s Park College, Oxford. He has preached at the Baptist World Congress in Seoul as well as Durban, the International Seminary in Buenos Aires, Princeton Seminary and Princeton University chapels as well as scores of seminaries and colleges. Among his pastorates were Travis Avenue, Fort Worth and First Baptist Dallas.
His Proclaimers Place® seminars have been conducted in 18 states, Oxford, Paris, Rome, Athens, Wittenberg and Israel with more than 80 four-day seminars and more than 1100 pastors trained over the last ten years. For the last 12 years Joel has taught the seminar at Regent’s Park College, Oxford University.
For years Joel was the preacher on the International Baptist Hour radio program heard on more than 500 stations. He brought the annual sermon at the critical 1988 Southern Baptist Convention in San Antonio, “The Castle and the Wall,” widely considered a watermark message in recent Baptist history. He is the author of five books, editor of three anthologies and the subject of a nationally performed play, God’s Man in Texas. He has been recognized by Baylor and his peers for his 50th preaching anniversary.
He is the husband of Joanne Michele Gregory (B.A., RN), a Baylor alumna, and they are the parents of four adult children.
