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Luke Powery

Professor of Homiletics
Divinity School
060 Chapel, Box 90974, Durham, NC 27708
401 Chapel Dr, Room 060, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


The Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery is the Dean of Duke University Chapel and Professor of Homiletics and African and African American Studies. He holds faculty appointments in Duke’s Divinity School and the Department of African and African American Studies in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. 

His teaching and research interests are at the intersection of preaching, pneumatology, music, and culture, particularly expressions of the African diaspora. His book Becoming Human: The Holy Spirit and the Rhetoric of Race received the 2023 Book of the Year from the Religious Communication Association and also the Academy of Parish Clergy. He is also the author of Spirit Speech: Lament and Celebration in PreachingDem Dry Bones: Preaching, Death, and HopeWays of the Word: Learning to Preach for Your Time and Place (with Sally Brown); Rise Up, Shepherd! Advent Reflections on the SpiritualsWere You There? Lenten Reflections on the SpiritualsGetting to God: Preaching Good News in a Troubled World (with John Rottman and Joni Sancken); and most recently, Living the Questions of the Bible. He is a general editor of the nine-volume lectionary commentary series for preaching and worship Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship.

Dr. Powery was ordained by the Progressive National Baptist Convention and has served in an ecumenical capacity in churches throughout Switzerland, Canada, and the United States. He is a member of the Academy of Homiletics, for which he has served as Secretary; the American Academy of Religion; the Society for the Study of Black Religion; the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality; and the Association for Chaplaincy and Spiritual Life in Higher Education. He served as a member of the executive lectionary team for The African-American Lectionary and is the recipient of numerous scholastic fellowships and awards. In 2008, the African-American Pulpit named him one of twenty outstanding black ministers under the age of forty who are helping shape the future direction of the church. In 2014, he was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College for his ethical and spiritual leadership in the academy, church, and broader society. In 2017, he was given the Speakman Chair of Preaching Award at the Massanetta Springs Camp and Conference Center.

Prior to his appointment at Duke, he served as the Perry and Georgia Engle Assistant Professor of Homiletics at Princeton Theological Seminary. He received his Bachelor of Arts in music with a concentration in vocal performance from Stanford University, his Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and his Doctor of Theology from Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto.

He is married to Gail Powery, and the couple has two children, Moriah and Zachary.

More information on education and work history can be found in Luke Powery's CV.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor of Homiletics · 2023 - Present Divinity School
Associate Professor of African & African American Studies · 2022 - Present African & African American Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

In the News


Published February 12, 2025
‘Say the Thing’: Ways for Students to Connect with Themselves, and Others
Published September 17, 2024
Where Small Steps Make a Difference in Middle East Crisis
Published October 26, 2023
Good Reads for the Fall: New Books From Duke Authors

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Recent Publications


Living the Questions of the Bible

Book · May 16, 2023 By exploring various passages in the Bible, this book attempts to invite readers into an interrogative spirituality, one in which we learn that even God questions. Faith seeks and keeps on seeking. It may reach understanding, or it may not. ... Cite

Becoming Human The Holy Spirit and the Rhetoric of Race

Book · November 2022 "Urges the church to live up to the inclusive story of Pentecost in its worship life"-- ... Cite

Were You There? Lenten Reflections on the Spirituals

Book · January 8, 2019 In these devotions for the season of Lent, Luke A. Powery leads the reader through the spirituals as they confront the mystery of Christs atoning death and victory over the grave. ... Cite
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Education, Training & Certifications


Emmanuel College of Victoria University (Canada) · 2007 D.Th.