Rev. Dr. Ralph West and Rev. Dr. Charlie Dates Announced as Affiliate Faculty

Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary is delighted to announce the appointments of Rev. Dr. Ralph Douglas West, Sr., and Rev. Dr. Charlie E. Dates as Affiliate Faculty Members of the Seminary.

“Rev. Dr. Ralph Douglas West and Rev. Dr. Charlie E. Dates have been friends of Baylor’s Truett Seminary for many years now. To formalize our friendship in faith and our partnership in the gospel with them by welcoming these two preeminent pastors to our school’s Affiliate Faculty is a ‘grace upon grace,’” said Dr. Todd D Still, DeLancey Dean and Hinson Professor of Christian Scriptures. “We look forward to the manifold and manifest ways that Drs. West and Dates will continue to contribute to the Truett Seminary family. These godly and gifted ministers will add appreciable strength to our ongoing commitment to equip God-called people for gospel ministry in and alongside Christ’s Church by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Rev. Dr. Ralph Douglas West, Sr., is the Pastor/Founder of The Church Without Walls (Brookhollow Baptist Church) in Houston. He also serves as the W. Winfred and Elizabeth Moore Visiting Professor of Ministry Guidance for Baylor University. West earned his B.A. from Bishop College, his M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and his D.Min. from Beeson Divinity School at Samford University.

“For 15 years it has been my privilege to be part of Truett Seminary in multiple ways. My children are all graduates. Our church has sent more than 30 students to Truett. We have called Truett graduates to be on our staff. It has been a fulfilling privilege to be a guest professor, chapel speaker, and national conference speaker, as well as a leader in the Preaching Plus program,” West said. “Now to be reaffirmed as an Affiliate Faculty is both meaningful and significant for me. I look forward to growing this 15-year relationship in new and creative ways. The best is yet to be.”

Rev. Dr. Charlie E. Dates currently serves as the Senior Pastor of Progressive Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois as well as Affiliate Professor of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and NFL Chaplain for the Chicago Bears. Dates earned his B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his M.Div. and Ph.D. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

“It is my honor to both receive and accept the invitation to join Baylor’s Truett Seminary as an Affiliate Faculty Member,” Dates said. “My respect for the work of the Truett faculty is longstanding and profound. Our home is abuzz with excitement around the potential that this special opportunity brings; one that can further equip men and women to serve The Church in such striking times. May it bear much fruit!”

In the role of Affiliate Faculty, West and Dates will add significantly to Truett’s Doctor of Ministry and Ph.D. in Preaching programs in addition to engaging with and contributing to the Seminary’s Black Church Studies Program. Truett is grateful for this new and continued partnership as the Seminary seeks to train thoughtful, faithful Christian ministers for a twenty-first century Church and world.