The Biography of:

Pastor George C.L. Cummings

George C.L. Cummings, is an internationally known theologian and pastor whose ministry extends around the world.He is the founding pastor of Imani Community Church (Baptist); and the Pearl Rawlings Hamilton Professor of Systematic Theology, at the American Baptist Seminary West, (ABSW) in Berkeley, California.He has been a teacher at ABSW for twelve years, and is currently serving as the Dean.Prior to pastoring the Imani Church, he served six years as pastor of The Church By The Side of the Road in Berkeley, California.His ministry has been characterized by his commitment to pastoral ministry as the appropriate context of theological scholarship.

Pastor Cummings, a native of Brooklyn, New York, studied at Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts (Bachelor of Arts, Religion, 1975), Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Hamilton, Massachusetts, (Master of Divinity, 1978) and Union Theological Seminary in New York City (Master of Sacred Theology, 1980, Master of Philosophy, 1982, Doctor of Philosophy, Systematic Theology [Ph.D], 1990).For Pastor Cummings, his long years of theological preparation were the foundation upon which he built his scholarly and ministerial vocation.

He has received many honors including the Young Scholar Award, 1991, 1992 (Association of Theological Schools) and the Outstanding Teacher’s Award, 1993 (Graduate Theological Union).He received tenure, at the American Baptist Seminary of the West, 1996.He has lectured and preached across the United States, in Japan, Thailand, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Peru, Costa Rica, Brazil, Panama, Nicaragua, Guyana, Trinidad, Barbados, St. Kitts, Puerto Rico and Cuba.He holds membership in the American Academy of Religion, The society for the Study of Black Religion, and the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians.

He was ordained at Twelfth Baptist Church, Boston Massachusetts, 1979, as an American Baptist Minister.He has been active in the denomination, for the last two decades.He currently serves on the Board of Managers for the American Baptist Churches of the West (ABCW), the General Board, the Executive Committee of the General Board, the Board of National Ministries, and the Commission for Denominational Structure Review for the American Baptist Churches, USA (ABCUSA).He was also Chair, of the Task Force on Violence, for ABCUSA.

Pastor Cummings was one of the founding ministers of the East Bay Lenten Caravan.EBLC is an ecumenical consortium of seven churches and pastors in the East Bay, who have come together for fellowship and service.They support various Bay Area community agencies.

In addition to his work as a theologian, pastor and denominational leader, Pastor Cummings has been blessed to be the husband of Althea Grannum-Cummings, and the father of Chantal and Charisse.The remainder of the Cummings/Grannum family resides in Brooklyn and Queens, New York.

Pastor Cummings has a global vision for his vocation as a theologian and a pastor.In his work as a scholar, his primary interest is exploring African-American religious and cultural traditions.He believes that churches must be involved in the religious, cultural, political, economic and educational life of the community; and that ”…we must strive to become all that God calls us to be.”His objective is to discover theological insights that can inform the current struggle of Africans for liberation.

Pastor Cummings has published two books: Cut Loose Your Stammering Tongues:Black Theology in the Slaves Narratives(1993, Orbis Books) and A Common Journey: Black Theology USA and Latin American Liberation Theology(1995, Orbis Books).He is currently working on a third project entitled Emancipatory Rhetoric in African American Religious and Cultural Texts.

In his work as a pastor, his primary concern is that the Black church continues to provide a safe space where African-Americans can be friends in mind, soul and body; and a space where they can collectively pursue the holistic liberation witnessed to in the gospel.Pastor Cummings believes that we learned, from Martin Luther King Jr., that prophetic Christianity was a powerful instrument for the ongoing struggle.He further believes, from Malcolm, we learned that our history and culture should be affirmed.He challenges Christians to clarify their purpose, their vision and their mission, so that they might be a community of people of faith, dedicated to changing our world.

In his involvement with scholarship, pastoring, teaching, fathering, “husbanding”, and leading, Pastor Cummings lifts up the words of the ancient African, St. Augustine, who said, “If you desire to praise him…then live what you express…Live good lives and you yourselves will be His praise.”It is our pastor’s wish that his life would be one that continually manifests his praise of God.