Thomas Grier Long (born in 1946) is the Bandy Professor of Preaching at

Candler School of Theology Candler School of Theology is one of seven graduate schools at Emory University, located in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. A university-based school of theology, Candler educates ministers, scholars of religion and other leaders. It is also o ...

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

in Atlanta, Georgia. He received his BA degree from

Erskine College Erskine College is a private Christian college in Due West, South Carolina. It is an undergraduate liberal arts college and a graduate theological seminary. The college was founded in 1839 by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Its sp ...

in 1968, the

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 di ...

from

Erskine Theological Seminary Erskine Theological Seminary is an institution of graduate theological and pastoral education. The Seminary is based in Due West, South Carolina, United States, and also offers classes at a second degree-granting campus in Columbia, South Carolin ...

in 1971, and the Ph.D. from

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of t ...

in 1980. He began his career as a preacher at McElroy Memorial Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church near Atlanta, Georgia and since that time has taught at a number of seminaries, including

Erskine Erskine (, sco, Erskin, gd, Arasgain) is a town in the council area of Renfrewshire, and historic county of the same name, situated in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the southern bank of the River Clyde, providing the l ...

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

, and Candler. In 1996, Long was named one of the twelve most effective preachers in the English speaking world by

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of th ...

, along with the likes of Fred Craddock,

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

, James Forbes,

Barbara Brown Taylor Barbara Brown Taylor (born 1951) is an American Episcopal priest, academic, and author. In 2014, ''Time'' magazine placed her in its annual ''Time'' 100 list of most influential people in the world. Education and recognition Taylor was born on S ...

and

William Willimon William Henry Willimon (born May 15, 1946) is a retired American theologian and bishop in the United Methodist Church who served the North Alabama Conference for eight years. He is Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry and Director of th ...

. He was ordained in the

Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC), as it exists today, is the historical descendant of the Synod of the South, a Synod of the Associate Reformed Church. The original Associate Reformed Church resulted from a merger of the Associate ...

and currently a minister in the

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

. He is married to professor of sacramental and liturgical worship Kimberly Bracken Long. Long's field is in

Homiletics In religious studies, homiletics ( grc, ὁμιλητικός ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices or ...

and is a strong proponent of the two pillars of preaching: strong exegetical work held along with strong presentation skills. ''Preaching'' magazine named his ''Witness of Preaching'' one of the 25 most influential books on preaching in the past 25 years. A standard textbook in seminary and undergraduate preaching courses, the book advocates exegetical method seeking to discern a claim from the text to provide clarity of focus and function in sermons.

Books and publications

*''What Shall We Say?'' (2011), *''Accompanying Them With Singing: The Christian Funeral'' (2009), *''Preaching from Memory to Hope'' (2009), *''The Witness of Preaching, Second Edition'' (2005), , *''Testimony: Talking Ourselves into Being Christian'' (2004), , *''Beyond the Worship Wars: Building Vital and Faithful Worship'' (2001) *''Hebrews (Interpretation)'' (1997) *''Preaching and the Literary Forms of the Bible'' (1989)

References

External links

Dr. Thomas G. Long's Faculty Page at CandlerCalled by Name – a Thomas Long sermon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Thomas G. Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Erskine College alumni Princeton Theological Seminary alumni Emory University faculty 1946 births