Bishop E. Lynn Brown was born in
Madison County, Tennessee, the third son of the late Willie T.
and Ocie Bell Brown. He received his elementary and secondary
education in the public schools of Madison County, Tennessee;
the Bachelor of Arts degree from Lane College in Jackson,
Tennessee; the Master of Divinity degree from Phillips School of
Theology at the Interdenominational Theological Center in
Atlanta, Georgia, where he was the recipient of a Rockefeller
Foundation Fellowship. His doctoral studies were done at the
McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. Several
honorary degrees have been conferred upon him from the following
institutions: D. D., Lane College, Texas College, Miles College
and Phillips School of Theology at ITC. He has taught at
LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tennessee, lectured extensively
and has earned an international reputation as a world traveler
(throughout Africa, Europe and Israel), a dynamic preacher and a
forceful speaker. He, also, has authored several books, some of
which includes: Salvation Is Of The Lord, The Pastor As An
Enabling And Equipping Disciple and Conception Of Sin In Thought
Of Reinhold Neibuhr.
He was elected the 46th
Bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in 1986 in
Birmingham, Alabama. Upon his election as a bishop, he was
assigned to the Ninth Episcopal District, which encompassed the
California, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington
and Alaska Regions. Prior to his elevation to the office of
bishop, he was General Secretary of the Board of Publication
Services of the CME Church. He distinguished himself as a most
effective pastor at the Temple of Love CME Church in Memphis,
Tennessee, which he started in the CME Publishing House. Bishop
Brown was also a prominent pastor of Mt. Pisgah CME Church in
Memphis, where he developed a model urban ministry for the
entire community.
Bishop Brown has served in many
positions in the CME Church, as well as in the community. He is
the past chairperson of the CME Lay Ministry, past chairperson
of the Department of Evangelism, Social Justice and Human
Concerns, among many other positions. Presently, he is the
resident bishop in Cincinnati, Ohio for the Ohio-Central Indiana
and Kentucky Regions of the Christian Methodist Episcopal
Church. He is the chairperson of the Department of Publication
Services, a member of the Board of Trustees of Phillips School
of Theology; a national board member of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference, chairperson of Closing the Health Gap of
Greater Cincinnati, chairperson of the MLK Coalition, City of
Cincinnati, chairperson of the Clergy Advisory Health Council
and a member of the Electoral Reform Commission, City of
Cincinnati. He is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity,
Inc.
The hallmark of the entire
ministry of Bishop Brown has been his community activism. He
has received hundreds of awards, plaques, commendations,
trophies and citations for his outstanding contributions toward
improving the life of his fellowman.
Bishop Brown is married to Gladys
Delores Stephens Brown and is the father of Alonzo Victor Brown
and Cheronda Brown Guyton. He is the grandfather of Kyrhee
Sjamont (KJ) Brown, Alonzo Edward (AJ) Brown, Stephen Andrew
Guyton and Sean Matthew Guyton.
