Rev. Dr. Valerie Miles-Tribble
Dr. Valerie is Professor of Ministerial Leadership and Practical Theology at BST. Valerie engages liberation theology as a womanist scholar, practical theologian, and community activist pastor to raise critical awareness of systemic oppressions. As the 2021 GTU Distinguished Faculty Lecturer, Valerie holds dual GTU department alignment in Theology & Ethics and Religion & Practice to integrate theoethics with intersections of social justice praxis in church and society for restorative public approaches. In addition to several journal publications and book chapter contributions, she authored the monograph, Change Agent Church in Black Lives Matter Times: Urgency for Action. Valerie is the Interim Pastor at Faith Church in Oakland, California.
Doctor of Ministry, 2017
Rev. Dr. Marie Onwubuariri
Marie is director of Intercultural Ministries for American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) in Pennsylvania and also affiliate faculty at BST. She edited the book Trouble the Water: A Christian Resource for the Work of Racial Justice and authored the article “Reframing tension for transformation: Bridge-crossing | bridge-making | bridge-being“.
Rev. Dr. Shane B. Scott
On Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024, Rev. Dr. Scott formally began as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill in Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to this position, for 12 years Rev. Dr. Scott served as Senior Pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church, in Watts (Los Angeles), California. A native of Franklin, Louisiana, and raised in Richmond, California, Dr. Scott graduated from Berkeley School of Theology in 2008 with a Master of Divinity degree. He also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion and Philosophy from Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and a Doctor of Ministry degree from New York Theological Seminary in New York City, New York. Dr. Scott also holds a certificate in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Master of Community Leadership, 2011
Doctor of Ministry, 2024
Rev. Dr. Michael A. Smith
Michael has been Pastor of the McGee Avenue Baptist Church in Berkeley California for 18 years. In 2014, he became the founding Executive Director of The Center for Food, Faith & Justice which serves as a faith-based non-profit arm of the church as a lead organization dedicated to the issues of environmental and food justice, health equity and economic development. His DMin dissertation topic was The Black Earth Theology Project: Toward Reconciliation and Care of God’s Creation.
Rev. Dorothy Taliaferro Staples
Rev. Staples received her Master of Divinity Degree in 2005 and is celebrating her 20th graduation anniversary from Berkeley School of Theology. Rev. Staples was present at the February virtual alumni gathering, “Hope in Spiritual Care”, for the alumni graduation anniversaries segment where she acknowledged one of her influential professors, Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith, Sr., professor of Preaching and African American Spirituality. Upon graduation, Rev. Staples was the recipient of the L. Doward McBain Preaching prize for outstanding preacher in the graduating class of 2005. Rev. Staples completed her pastoral education at Sequoia Hospital, now Dignity Health, and then was Chaplain for ten years with the Veterans Affairs. She was also a faculty member of the Leadership Institute at Allen Temple Baptist Church. Rev. Staples thoroughly enjoyed the 1:1 spiritual care aspect that chaplaincy offered.
Rev. Dr. Warren H. Stewart, Sr.
Rev. Dr. Stewart is ABCOFLASH’s Annual Meeting speaker from October 4-5, 2024, in Glendale, California. The sessions are: “Preaching and Leading God’s Unfinished Business Today”; a breakout opportunity titled “Pastoring and Serving God’s Unfinished Business in the War Zone: A Conversation with Dr. Warren Stewart”; and “Our Strategic Assignment: Passing the Lord’s Baton Generationally.” Dr. Stewart is Senior Pastor of First Institutional Baptist Church in Phoenix, Arizona and has served there since July 1, 1977. Dr. Stewart was appointed Executive Secretary of the Home Mission Board of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., in November 1994 and served 10 years. In 1982, Dr. Stewart received his Doctor of Ministry from Berkeley School of Theology. Dr. Stewart has also served on BST’s Board of Trustees, including as the Board Chair.
