Reginald Blount to lead Center for the Church and the Black Experience
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary professor Reginald Blount has been tapped to lead the school’s Center for the Church and the Black Experience. He succeeds Taurean J. Webb, who has served as CBE director since 2019.
The CBE, which was founded in 1970, provides leadership training for Black seminarians and pastors. Blount is an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and currently pastors Arnett Chapel AME in Chicago.
Blount joined the faculty at the United Methodist–affiliated Garrett in 2006, where his research has focused on adolescent and young adult identity in formation. Blount and his daughter Deborah Ayanna contributed to the 2015 student edition of the Common English Bible. Blount coedited the book Let Your Light Shine: Mobilizing for Justice with Children and Youth, which was published in 2019.
In a statement released by Garrett, Blount said institutions like the CBE are necessary because they nurture “theologically rooted leaders” who can address contemporary societal issues.
“There is also much to learn when the Black experience is centered in this formative work,” he continued. “I am grateful for the opportunity to embrace the 50+ year legacy of CBE and build on the leadership and gifts offered by previous directors in nurturing the next generation of ‘leaders of leaders.’”
In the same statement, Garrett president Javier A. Viera called Blount a visionary.
“I am so grateful that Dr. Reggie Blount is willing to step into this leadership role at this critical moment in Garrett’s institutional life,” he said. “I know that the center will thrive, and the seminary will continue to benefit greatly from his leadership, and I look forward to the close partnership we will have in advancing the mission and work of the Center for the Church and the Black Experience.”
