Special to IFN
Dr. Corey D.B. Walker, dean of the School of Divinity at Wake Forest University, will be the guest lecturer for the 2025 Davis Lectures series scheduled for October 12-13 at Grace Baptist Church in Statesville.
An accomplished scholar and academic leader committed to a broad and inclusive vision of human flourishing, Walker will deliver a lecture based on the theme “Faith for a Fractured World.”
He will speak at 7 p.m. on Sunday, October 12, and Monday, October 13, and during the 11 a.m. service at Grace on October 12. These events are free and open to the public. Grace Baptist Church is located at 719 Club Drive in Statesville.
“We are looking forward to bringing Dean Walker to our community. He is an engaging speaker with a prophetic message that I know will be challenging and bold,” said Rev. Carrilea Hall, interim minister at Grace Baptist. “It is our hope that this year’s lectures and our time together with Dean Walker will stir us and move us to faithful action.”
At Wake Forest, Walker also serves as professor of the Humanities and inaugural director of the program in African American Studies, where he brings visionary leadership and a deep commitment to the transformative power of education, ethical engagement, and critical scholarship.
The Phi Beta Kappa Society selected Walker as the 2023-2024 Phi Beta Kappa Frank M. Updike Memorial Scholar. He has held faculty and academic leadership appointments at Brown University, University of Virginia, Virginia Union University, and Winston-Salem State University and visiting professorships at Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Union Presbyterian Seminary, and the University of Richmond. He is author and editor of several books and has published over 70 articles, essays, and book chapters in a wide variety of scholarly journals and publications.
A native of Norfolk, Va., and an ordained American Baptist clergyperson, Walker holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Norfolk State University. After a successful career in the financial services industry, he earned a Master of Divinity degree from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology of Virginia Union University, a Master of Theological Studies degree from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in American Studies from The College of William and Mary. He also holds a Master of Arts degree, ad eundem, from Brown University.
Grace Baptist started the lecture series in 2002 to offer the community a concentrated study of scripture that includes current topics, serious inquiry and honest dialogue.
The late Dr. Richard T. Davis, a retired minister and chaplain from Durham, led the first series, and in honor of his efforts and commitment to the endeavor, the congregation named the series for him and his wife — the Richard and Barbara Davis Lectures. The series has featured a number of respected religious scholars and authors, including John Dominic Crossan, Phyllis Trible, Diana Butler Bass, Brian McLaren, Lauren Winner, Obrey Hendrix, Gary West and Amy Jill Levine.
Thanks to the continued support of the church and community, the Davis Lectures are open to the community at no cost.
Grace Baptist was organized in 1971 as an alternative Southern Baptist congregation. It withdrew from the SBC and is now aligned with the Alliance of Baptists, the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America and the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists. The congregation reflects a variety of regional religious backgrounds with a common faith that is committed to being a servant church where every member is a minister.
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More information about the Lectures series can be found at www.gracestatesville.org.