Robert Smith serves as professor of Christian preaching at Beeson Divinity School. Previously he served as the Carl E. Bates Associate Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. A popular teacher and preacher, he received Southern’s 1996 Findley B. Edge Award for Teaching Excellence. An ordained Baptist minister, he served as pastor of the New Mission Missionary Baptist Church for twenty years before returning to complete his Ph.D. He is a contributing editor of a study of Christian ministry in the African American church, Preparing for Christian Ministry, and co-editor of A Mighty Long Journey. His research interests include the place of passion in preaching, the literary history of African American preaching, Christological preaching, and theologies of preaching. At Beeson, Smith teaches Christian Preaching and other electives in homiletics. He received Beeson Divinity School’s "Teacher of the Year Award" in 2005. He and his wife, Wanda, are the parents of four adult children.