Rob Lee

The Reverend Robert Wright Lee, IV is an author, activist, commentator, writer, and preacher. Lee is a native of Statesville, North Carolina and recent graduate of Duke University Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina. He received his Masters of Theological studies in May of this year with a focus in practical theology and homiletics His thesis was on the corpus work of Bishop Will Willimon who was named one of the greatest preachers of our time. Rob completed his undergraduate work in Religious Studies and Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University where he met his wife Stephanie.  Rob is a regular columnist for the Statesville Record and Landmark, his hometown newspaper in the faith section. That column has included interviews with Dr. Stanley Hauerwas, Dr. William H. Willimon, Dr. Diana Butler Bass, the Reverend James Martin, SJ, and many Statesville citizens. He has written extensively for both secular and religious news outlets. Rob's work has appeared in outlets such as NPR’s Morning Edition, Ministry Matters, the Methodist Federation for Social Action, the Huffigton Post, the Common English Bible: Student Edition and most notably the Washington Post. He has preached from churches with 10 members to churches with 4,000 members. Recently, Rob has been engaged as an activist in the field of racial reconciliation. He participated in the MTV Video Music awards and was on the View where he spoke about the need to confront white supremacy and white privilege in white churches. Rob's first book is titled "Stained-Glass Millennials" which explores the relationship between the institutional church and the Millennial generation. It received endorsements from such names as Dr. William Shiell, Dr. Amy Butler, Dr. Stanley Hauerwas, and Dr. Stephen Chapman. This May, he recorded a preaching broadcast for Day 1 Ministries, a Mainline radio preaching ministry that airs on 220 stations worldwide. Rob was baptized and raised United Methodist, at Broad Street United Methodist Church in Statesville, and was ordained in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship at First Baptist Church, West Jefferson. He believes himself to be an ecclesial mutt and cherishes the variety of traditions in which he has served. Lee lives in Boone, North Carolina with his wife Stephanie and his toy poodle Frank.