Dr. Christopher Davis

A native of Proctor, Arkansas, Dr. Davis has served for over thirty years in congregational ministry.  He was licensed in the gospel ministry in 1994, and subsequently ordained in 1996.  He graduated with Bachelor of Arts degrees from both the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and Arkansas Baptist College.  He earned the Master of Arts in Religion degree (Cum Laude) from Memphis Theological Seminary in Memphis, Tennessee.  In June 2007, Rev. Davis received the Doctor of Ministry degree with special emphasis on Preaching and Leadership from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.  He is presently a candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Leadership, Union Institute and University, Cincinnati, Ohio.  Additional studies were completed at Regents Park College, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and Harvard University, Graduate School of Education.  He also holds the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Arkansas Baptist College.

As senior pastor of St. Paul Baptist Church since 2000, Dr. Davis leads one of the most vibrant churches in Memphis.  In the last twenty years, the nearly 150-year-old church has grown from approximately 200 members to over 1800.  

In addition to his work as a local church pastor, he also serves as President of the Tennessee Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention, Inc; General Secretary of the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc.; and the 14th President of LeMoyne-Owen College.  

Dr. Davis has received numerous awards and recognition.  One of the more notable includes being named one of the “20 to Watch” by The African American Pulpit Journal.  This list is announced every three years and clergy throughout the country are nominated.  Dr. Davis has been inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers and Collegium of Scholars of Morehouse College.  His sermons, Deliverance Brought by Death and Living on the Left Side of God have been published in the African American Pulpit Journal.  Dr. Davis also previously served as a member of the advisory board of The African American Pulpit.

Dr. Davis was a contributor to The African American Lectionary, a collaborative project with the Kelly Miller Smith Institute of the Divinity School, Vanderbilt University.  This resource is an online, ecumenical preaching and worship lectionary.  He contributed to I’m Challenged: Daily Meditations for Christian Living, published 2009, Grant House Publishers.  He’s presently a contributor to Working Preacher, a Revised Common Lectionary Commentary for bi-vocational clergy sponsored by Luther Seminary.

Dr. Davis previously served as Associate Professor of Preaching and Pastoral Ministry and Associate Dean of Doctoral Studies at Memphis Theological Seminary, Memphis, Tennessee.  

His additional commitments include his work as a member of the Board of Directors for the Rise Foundation, Sisters Network, Inc., Greater Whitehaven Economic Development Corporation, Leadership Memphis, Tennessee Higher Education Commission HBCU Advisory Board, Board of Trustees of Baptist Health Sciences University, American Baptist College, and the Board of Visitors at West Africa Theological Seminary, Lagos, Nigeria, where he also serves as an adjunct preaching professor.  

In addition, Dr. Davis is an avid golfer, spades player, aspiring chef and life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

Dr. Davis is married to the lovely Rhonda Richardson Davis and together they share five adult children – Christopher II, Jaden, Allie, Jenna, and Savanna.