Bishop Thomas L. Brown, Sr. was elected the 54th Bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church on June 28, 2006, in Memphis, Tennessee. Upon his election, the General Conference assigned him to the Fourth Episcopal District which encompasses the states of Louisiana and Mississippi.  At the 2018 General Conference, Bishop Brown was assigned to the Sixth Episcopal District.  He is the Chair of the Department of the Department of Christian Education.

Bishop Brown was born June 21, 1951 in Oakland, Mississippi, the eighth child of Stephen and Lillie H. Brown.  His elementary and secondary education was attained at Walker High School in Oakland from which he graduated as valedictorian of his high school class.  He attended Northwest Junior College, Senatobia, Mississippi; and earned the Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in 1973.  He matriculated at the Phillips School of Theology at the Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, Georgia, from which he earned the Master of Divinity degree, with honors, in 1976.  Bishop Brown also earned, with honors, the Doctor of Theology degree in Pastoral Counseling from the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in cooperation with Candler School of Theology/Emory University and Columbia Seminary in 1991.  He is a member of Theta Phi Honor Society.

The ministry of Thomas Louis Brown, Sr. began during his junior year at Ole Miss when he answered the call to Christian Ministry.  In the fall of 1973, he was admitted on trial in the Mississippi Annual Conference by Bishop Joseph A. Johnson, Jr. and was assigned to pastor Rice Chapel in Durant, Mississippi.  In 1975 and 1976 respectively, Bishop Joseph C. Coles Jr. ordained him Deacon and Elder and admitted him into Full Connection in the Georgia Annual Conference.

Bishop Brown’s itinerant ministry in the C.M.E. Church has been extensive and thorough.  In addition to Rice Chapel, he served Murray Memorial, Covington, GA; St. James, Columbus, GA; Butler Street, Atlanta, GA; and College Park, College Park, GA.  He was the organizing pastor of the Good News Community Church in Lithonia, GA.  From June 1990 until July 2006, Bishop Brown served with distinction as the sixth President/Dean of the Phillips School of Theology at the ITC.  During his tenure, more than ninety-five students graduated.  It was under his leadership in 1996 that the Annual C.M.E. Pastors’ Conference was established.

The 54th Bishop is a noted scholar, lecturer and preacher.  He has served as adjunct professor of CME History and Polity as well as pastoral care; lectured at Candler School of Theology, (Emory University) and Columbia Theological Seminary, and Princeton Theological Seminary; and regular teacher and preacher with the Institute of Church Administration and Management (ICAM).  He is in national demand as a preacher both within and outside the CME Church.  Moreover, Bishop Brown has represented the church exceptionally well.  He has been a delegate to the General Conference of the CME Church from 1978 to 2006; and was a delegate to the World Methodist Conference in Nairobi, Kenya and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  He was a founding member of Concerned Black Clergy of Atlanta, an advocate for the homeless and persons on death row. Civic participation includes the NAACP, SCLC and Urban League.

Bishop Brown is married to Dr. Louise Baker-Brown.  They are the parents of Charisa Nicole Brown-Jefferson and Thomas, Jr.

Pastor Benton, an academically high achiever, offers a much-needed blend of southern hospitality and urban edge. He is a native of Greensboro, North Carolina, and a proud graduate of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University with a degree in business education and administrative systems. He completed his Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary (Princeton, New Jersey), focusing on homiletics and pastoral care, and has a Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Eastern University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).

Pastor Benton’s gifts extend beyond the classroom and the sanctuary. He is a gifted percussionist who served as Chaplain of the N.C. A&T State University Band, also known as The Marching Machine.  As an undergraduate student, Pastor Benton instructed an urban charter middle school drumline. While serving as the Associate Pastor at Berean Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York, he founded the award-winning Berean Community Drumline (BCD) through the Berean Community and Family Life Center. In 2012 Pastor Benton became one of the founders and later that year the Pastor of Berean Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. There he became a founding Board member of the Berean Community Center and was the Vice President of the Garden on Millbrook Catering Company, Inc.

Pastor Benton works closely with public and private organizations, having served as a chaplain intern at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital in Trenton, New Jersey, and Chaplain of the Association of Black Seminarians at Princeton Theological Seminary. His time at Princeton was rewarding and life-changing. Pastor Benton was awarded the Aaron E. Gast Award in Urban Ministry, the Jagow Award in Homiletics and Speech, and the Ray Lindquist Award in Pastoral Care.  The Amsterdam News (New York, New York) featured Dr. Benton as the “Black New Yorker,” and he was awarded a congressional record for his community involvement.

Passionate about the abundant life and holistic health accessible through Christ, Pastor Benton has committed his life to empower others to live spiritually, mentally, and physically healthy lives. Living by example, he completed the TCS New York Marathon and has run countless other competitive races and challenges, such as the Tough Mudder. Pastor Benton truly believes that the transformational power of Jesus Christ can change any circumstance and renew all mindsets.

Pastor Benton is married to his best friend and soulmate, the former Yasmeen Hadaway, and they have three beautiful daughters – Arianna, Mayara, and Zaya. Pastor Benton looks forward to watching his family continue to grow in love for God and each other.