Otis Moss III (born 16 September 1970) is the pastor of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

's Trinity United Church of Christ. He espouses

black theology Black theology, or black liberation theology, refers to a theological perspective which originated among African-American seminarians and scholars, and in some black churches in the United States and later in other parts of the world. It contex ...

and speaks about reaching

inner-city The term inner city (also called the hood) has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Soc ...

black youth.

Early life and education

His father Otis Moss Jr. was an affiliate of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

working together in the

Southern Christian Leadership Conference The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African Americans, African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., ...

and serving in 1971 as co-pastor with his father Martin Luther King, Sr. at Ebenezer Baptist Church. After growing up in the Cleveland suburb of

Shaker Heights, Ohio Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was 29,439. Shaker Heights is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland, abutting the eastern edge of the c ...

, graduating from Shaker Heights High School, Moss attended

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

in Georgia as an undergraduate, initially majoring in political science and film with the intent of becoming a filmmaker. He was a runner and named by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

as an All-American Track and Field athlete. After hearing his call to the ministry during track practice, he changed majors to religion and philosophy and graduated with honors in 1992. He then attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in Connecticut, receiving in 1995 a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree with a concentration in ethics and theology. During his time at Yale he became enamored of the

of James Hal Cone. He was also ordained as a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

minister by his father in 1995. Moss moved to

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

to study for a Ph.D. in religion and social change from a joint program of the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

and the

Iliff School of Theology Iliff School of Theology is a private graduate Methodist theological school in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1892, the school's campus is adjacent to the University of Denver. Iliff is one of thirteen United Methodist Church seminaries in th ...

, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

seminary. However, he entered ministry full-time before completing the degree. While in Denver, he became the minister of youth programs at the New Hope Baptist Church. A sermon tape from a youth rally was given to the retiring pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia, leading to his call there.

Career

Tabernacle Baptist years

In 1997, Moss moved to

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

, to take up the pastorate at Tabernacle Baptist Church, founded in 1885 as Beulah Baptist Church. During the Civil Rights Movement the church served as a local base for that movement. At the time Moss took over the church, it had 125 members, growing to 2,100 members by the time he left it in 2006, reportedly mostly through the inclusion of formerly unchurched young people. During his tenure, the church also undertook a major renovation of their historic building. In 2000, he published a sermon collection entitled ''Redemption in a Red Light District - Messages of Hope, Healing and Empowerment'', consisting of sermons from his first year of ministry. He also periodically swapped pulpits with the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Augusta, where the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...

was originally organized in support of slavery. In 2002, he was the first recipient of a prize, carrying a $25,000 stipend, for exemplary community service, evangelism and preaching. He had been nominated by the historian of the

Chautauqua Institution The Chautauqua Institution ( ) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education center and summer resort for adults and youth located on in Chautauqua, New York, northwest of Jamestown, New York, Jamestown in the western southern tier of New York (state), N ...

in New York who considered him one of the best to have preached there. The prize is jointly awarded by three

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

organizations; the Columbia Theological Seminary, the

Presbyterian College Presbyterian College (PC) is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina, United States. It was founded in 1880 and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History Presbyterian College was founded in 1880 by Willia ...

, and the Peachtree Presbyterian Church of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. During this period, Moss was a member of the

Progressive National Baptist Convention The Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC), incorporated as the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., is a Baptist denomination emphasizing civil rights and social justice. The headquarters of the Progressive National Baptist Co ...

as well as state and local Baptist organizations. Politically, he was a member of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

and the Georgia branch of the Rainbow/Push Coalition founded by

Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American Civil rights movements, civil rights activist, Politics of the United States, politician, and ordained Baptist minister. Beginning as a ...

. He also served on the boards of the local

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chapter and Augusta's black history museum, which is named after Lucy Craft Laney.

Trinity United Church of Christ

Moss received two job offers. One was to come to the Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio to succeed his father as pastor, the other to move to Chicago's Trinity United Church, a

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...

(UCC) church pastored by Jeremiah Wright, to become Wright's successor at the roughly 8,500-member

megachurch A megachurch is a church with a very large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities. Most megachurches are Evangelical, although the term denotes a type of organization, not a denomination. A megachurch draws 2 ...

. Moss says that after

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

and

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

, he felt God's call was for him to go to Chicago, and did so in 2006, initially as Wright's assistant. Moss assumed responsibility for regular preaching at Trinity on March 9, 2008, and was installed as the senior pastor in May 2009. Early in 2007, Moss was one of four additional contributors to the book ''The Gospel Remix: Reaching the Hip Hop Generation'' by Professor Ralph C. Watkins of the

Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an Evangelical seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller has a student body of approximately 2,300 students from 90 countries and ...

. That summer, Moss was one of several black ministers who gave eulogies at a mock funeral the

put on for the word "

nigger In the English language, ''nigger'' is a racial slur directed at black people. Starting in the 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been increasingly replaced by the euphemistic contraction , notably in cases where ''nigger'' is Use–menti ...

", where he described it as "the greatest child that racism ever birthed". , Moss is a board member of ''

The Christian Century ''The Christian Century'' is a Christian magazine based in Chicago, Illinois. Considered the flagship magazine of US mainline Protestantism, the monthly reports on religious news; comments on theological, moral, and cultural issues; and reviews ...

''.

Personal life

Moss is married and has two children.

References

External links

Trinity United Church of Christ, Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Otis III Clergy of historically African-American Christian denominations Morehouse College alumni United Church of Christ United Church of Christ members Living people African-American Christians University of Denver alumni People from Shaker Heights, Ohio Yale Divinity School alumni 1970 births Chicago Theological Seminary alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people Iliff School of Theology alumni