Rev. Delman Coates is a graduate of Morehouse College (B.A. in Religion, 1995), Harvard Divinity School (Master of Divinity, 1998), Columbia University (Master of Philosophy in Religion, 2002), and Columbia University (Ph.D. in New Testament & Early Christianity, 2006).  His area of specialization is patristic exegesis and interpretation, and his research interests include, the history of early Christian scriptural interpretation, the history of modern New Testament studies, and contemporary biblical hermeneutics. Dr. Coates' dissertation entitled, "Resistance Reading: Reconsidering the Functions of Early Christian Allegory," examines the cultural-critical function of early Christian allegorical interpretation, and proposes an alternative comparative methodology for the study of early Christianity. 



Dr. Coates' published articles entitled, "And the Bible Says: Methodological Tyranny of Biblical Fundamentalism and Historical Criticism" in Blow The Trumpet In Zion (2004); "Towards a Progressive Christian Interpretive Praxis" in The African-American Pulpit (Fall 2004); "Origen of Alexandria" in Union Seminary Quarterly Review: New Testament and Roman Empire: Shifting Paradigms for Interpretation (vol. 59:3-4, 2005); and “Reaching Eutychus: Reflection on Ministering to the Disconnected in the Postmodern Age” in Doing Church: A Practical Guide from Those Who Do It, vol. 2 (April 2010)  examine the implications of pre-modern, modern, and postmodern interpretive methodologies for contemporary biblical hermeneutics.  Among his published sermons are “From Proclamation To Protest (The African American Pulpit, July 2008), and “Race Still Matters” (TAAP, Fall 2009). 


Since February 2004, Dr. Coates has served as the Senior Pastor of the Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, MD.  In eight (8) years, the congregation has grown in excess of 7,500 members, adding 6,000 new disciples, initiating and revitalizing ministries, doubling the church's ministry campus and land holdings, incorporating Mt. Ennon Development Corporation, and impacting the community in Prince George's County, Maryland.  Under his leadership the church has engaged in media advocacy and healthcare reform advocacy.  In October 2009, Mt. Ennon was named by Outreach Magazine as one of the 100 Fastest Growing Congregations in the U.S.


Dr. Coates is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Morehouse College Board of Preachers, the NAACP, a board member of the Parents Television Council, and a board member of the National Action Network.  In 2010, Dr. Coates was elected as an officer in the Hampton Ministers’ Conference, the nation’s largest ecumenical body of African American ministers.  His preaching and teaching ministry enables him to minister at churches, seminaries, and conferences across the nation. In the Summer of 2008, he was honored by The African American Pulpit as one of the "20 To Watch." Dr. Coates is committed to a ministry of spiritual renewal, social justice, and community revitalization. He has been happily married to Yolanda Walsh Coates of San Francisco, California for 17 years.  She is a graduate of Spelman College and Northeastern University School of Law.  They are the proud parents of two sons, Nathaniel and Joshua, and twin daughters Ava Marie and Leah Blair.

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