Affiliate Professor of African American Religious Studies

Ph.D. Northwestern University-History and Literature Of African American Religions

M. Div. Virginia Union University School of Theology

B. S.Southern University, Baton Rouge, La.

Background

Dr. Butler was born and raised in rural Louisiana. He attended the C.M.E.C. and the C.O.G.I.C. as a child and young adult. He was baptized and licensed to preach in C.O.G.I.C.. After graduation from college, and a short tour of duty in the U.S. Army, he enrolled in Virginia Union University School of Theology. After completing his M. Div. degree, he moved to Chicago and pursued a Ph.D. in History and Literature of Religions at Northwestern University, which he completed in 1975. His Ph.D. advisor at Northwestern was Dr. Edmund M. Perry.

He began to attend Calvary Baptist Church of Chicago in 1974 and was ordained in the American Baptist Church in 1975. In 1976, Dr. Butler was elected Pastor of Calvary, where he still serves today. He has also taught as an Adjunct instructor at Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois and The Chicago Baptist Institute in Chicago, Illinois. He came to Northern Seminary as an Adjunct in 1990 and was appointed as a regular faculty member in 1991. He is the author of one book: The Africanization of American Christianity. He is married to Patricia and they have two sons.

Research, Teaching and Writing Interests

African American Religious History

African American Contemporary Theology

African American Preaching

African American Theology from a Historical Perspective

The Holy Spirit & Charismatic Movement