Dr. William H. Willimon, bishop of the United Methodist Church, will be the guest preacher at Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church in Southern Pines Sunday, April 25. Willimon will be preaching at both the 8:45 a.m. and the 11:10 a.m. worship services in the sanctuary, and he will also be speaking at 10 a.m. in fellowship hall. The visit is made possible through Brownson’s Bill Jones Lecture Series endowment.

Presently leading the 157,000 Methodists and 792 pastors in North Alabama, Willimon has been a bishop of the United Methodist Church since 2004. He was the former Dean of the Chapel and professor of Christian ministry at Duke University for 20 years. A graduate of Wofford College, Yale Divinity School and Emory University, he is the author of 60 books, and his “Worship as Pastoral Care” was selected as one of the 10 most useful books for pastors when it was first published. Over a million copies of his books have been sold.

The topic of Willimon’s sermons and at his presentation between services in fellowship hall is based on his most recent work on salvation, “Who Will Be Saved?” Writing about the book, L. Gregory Jones, dean and professor of theology at Duke Divinity School, said, “With his characteristic wisdom, wit and provocative style, Will Willimon addresses some of the critical questions Christians are asking in congregations. Willimon takes old questions and asks and addresses them in fresh ways, challenging all of us to think more deeply — and talk with others — about matters that matter in light of our convictions about God.”

An international survey conducted by Baylor University named Willimon one of the 12 most effective preachers in the English-speaking world, and Pastor Grady Perryman of Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church observes Willimon is a rare individual with the ability to speak fluently in the languages of both the academy and the church.

“Bishop Willimon proclaims the gospel as a professor, a pastor, a preacher, and as a plain ‘ole’ person who knows ordinary life, addressing our minds, our hearts and our hands,” says Perryman.

In addition to serving as a pastor at churches in Georgia and South Carolina, Willimon has given lectures and taught courses at many pastoral schools and at colleges and universities throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia, most notably at Harvard, Princeton, Vanderbilt, Oxford and the University of Bonn, Germany. His articles have appeared in many publications, including The Christian Ministry and Christianity Today, and he is editor-at-large for The Christian Century. He has written curriculum materials and video presentations for youth, young adults and adults, and his “Pulpit Resource” is used each week by more than 8,000 pastors in the United States, Canada and Australia.

The Bill Jones Lecture Series was established by the estate of a late member of the church, who provided a generous endowment to support special events that inform, educate and enrich the spiritual life of the congregation and the community. The endowment makes it possible to draw outstanding lecturers and preachers each year, and Perryman issues an open invitation to the whole community to hear “this well-known, much-respected Christian author, preacher, teacher and leader.”

Additional information may be found on the website at www.brownsonchurch.org or by calling the church office at (910) 692-6252.