Billy Jim Leonard (born 20 March 1946) is an American historian of religion,

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 ...

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

, teacher and dean.

Early life and education

Bill Leonard was born on 20 March 1946 in Decatur, Texas to a salesman, Marvin R. Leonard, and his wife Lavelle, who worked as a secretary. He was raised a

. After he turned ten, Leonard moved with his family to

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. Leonard earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas Wesleyan College (now ( Texas Wesleyan University) in 1968, followed by 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 ...

at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1971. He then obtained a doctorate at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

in 1975. Leonard completed postdoctoral research at

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 ...

. After his studies, he was ordained minister.

Ministry

Between 1965 and 1972, Leonard was a youth minister at Northridge Baptist Church in

Mesquite, Texas Mesquite is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County with portions extending into Kaufman County, Texas, Kaufman County. The population was 150,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and maki ...

. He then led the First Community Church in Southborough, Massachusetts from 1971 to 1975.

Teaching

He began teaching at

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The s ...

in 1975, was appointed William Walker Brookes Professor of American Christianity for 1990 and 1991, then left for

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

in 1992. Concurrently, Leonard was on the faculty of

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. It was integrated from as early as 1866 ...

between 1989 and 1995, including a stint as dean from 1991 to 1992.

Dean

In May 1996, Leonard was appointed the founding dean of the Wake Forest University School of Divinity. As dean, Leonard expressed support for LGBT students, and the schools inaugural class admitted in 1999 included a lesbian student. He retired as dean effect 30 June 2010, and was succeeded by Gail R. O'Day. In September 2011,

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

announced the creation of the James and Marilyn Dunn Chair of Baptist Studies. On 24 January 2012, Leonard formally assumed the named professorship. Since assuming the role, he has spoken at several educational institutions. He delivered Samford University's 2012 Ray Frank Robbins Lecture, the 2015 William James Lecture at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, as well as the 2017 William L. Self Preaching Lectures hosted by

Mercer University Mercer University is a Private university, private Research university, research university in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the s ...

's McAfee School of Theology. Leonard retired from teaching in May 2018 and was named Professor of Divinity Emeritus.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Bill J. 1946 births Living people People from Decatur, Texas People from Fort Worth, Texas 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American historians American historians of religion Samford University faculty Texas Wesleyan University alumni Wake Forest University faculty Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary alumni Boston University alumni Southern Baptist Theological Seminary faculty Berea College faculty Baptist ministers from the United States Baptists from Texas American university and college faculty deans Historians from Texas