The Center is funded through the Compelling Preaching initiative of the Lilly Endowment and is headquartered within the University鈥檚 Clamp Divinity School.
Armstrong will lead The Clamp Center for Preaching Excellence in strengthening preaching in local churches through a variety of emphases, including developing effective educational curriculum and creating training cohorts for young pastors, with a special emphasis on African American pastors, who represent more than 50 percent of Clamp Divinity School鈥檚 enrollment.
The new Executive Director has a strong record of effective leadership, serving as a pastor of several churches in the Dallas metroplex as well as in Louisville. He has led Proclaiming the Word Ministries for nearly 30 years, and for several years served as director of the E.K. Bailey Preaching Conference, one of the nation鈥檚 premier events for African American pastors and preachers. Before transitioning into full-time ministry Armstrong served as a senior engineer.
Armstrong is a graduate of the University of Kansas and received his Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. He is currently in the PhD in Preaching program with Clamp Divinity School and did previous doctoral study at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville.
鈥淲e are excited to have someone with Leroy Armstrong鈥檚 pastoral and leadership experience leading this important new initiative,鈥� said Michael Duduit, Dean of Clamp Divinity School. 鈥淥ur goal is to ultimately impact thousands of churches through helping pastors more effectively proclaim God鈥檚 Word through preaching.鈥�
Clamp Divinity School was established in 2009 as part of 91福利社 and now offers a variety of masters and doctoral programs for theological and ministry training.