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For 45 years, the Urban Theological Institute at United Lutheran Seminary has been dedicated to providing theological education to church leaders that is relevant and upbuilding for the African American community. If you have a sense God is calling you to be a pastor, to serve as a social justice advocate, Christian educator, chaplain, teacher, or church leader, UTI can equip you with the theological education you need to succeed in your chosen ministry. Through programming and courses, UTI provides opportunities for clergy and laypersons to prepare themselves for service as educated leaders of the church.
Learn more about supporting scholarships through The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Sr., Chair in African Studies; The Rev. Dr. J.Q. Jackson Scholarship; and The Bishop E.C. Morris Scholarship.
Areas of Concentration - Visit our Academics page for more information on degrees and certificate programs.
The Rev. Dr. Quintin Robertson joined the staff in July 2009 as Director of the Urban Theological Institute.
The Rev. Wayne E. Croft, Sr., D.Min., Ph.D., has served as the Jeremiah A. Wright, Sr. Professor of Homiletics and Liturgics in African American Studies since 2011.
The major event organized by UTI is the annual Preaching With Power series. Preaching With Power brings to Philadelphia for a week each March, the finest in African American preaching. This series is hosted both on the seminary’s campus and in congregations in the community.
A forum on black preaching and theology, featuring distinguished African American preachers and theologians, Preaching With Power celebrates music and preaching in the African American church. All are welcome to attend individual events or the entire series, which are included on our online calendar.
View photos from 2024 Preaching with Power.
The UTI celebrates its founding each fall (usually in September) with the UTI Lecture and Worship Celebration, featuring an outstanding scholar and preacher from the African American church.
The Wright Chair in African American Studies was established in honor of the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Sr., who in 1949 was one of the first two African Americans to receive an STM degree from the seminary. Pastor Wright served Grace Baptist Church of Germantown, Philadelphia, PA, for more than 40 years. Fund raising continues to make this a fully endowed academic chair at United Lutheran Seminary.
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The Rev. Dr. Quintin L. Robertson, a native of Newark, New Jersey, is the Director of the Urban Theological Institute and the Black Church Studies Program. He has intentionally served as an interim pastor in local American Baptist Churches and currently serves as the Executive Minister of the Philadelphia Baptist Association. Prior to joining United Lutheran Seminary (ULS), he served as Director of Admission and Recruitment for the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in Atlanta, GA.
Since his arrival at ULS he has seen the growth of African American students by over 120% and overseen the growth of the endowed chair in African American Studies by more than $600,000 and the collection of more than $500,000 in scholarship aid. He has served as Interim Pastor of the Grace Baptist Church of Germantown, First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, First Baptist Church of Levittown-Fairless Hills and Central Baptist Church of Wayne, PA. He has preached at more than 30 colleges and universities. He has preached and conducted seminars and workshops in the areas of Preaching, Worship, Theology, Church Leadership and African American Church History across denominational lines at local churches, associations, and conferences throughout the nation.
Dr. Robertson’s essay “Worship in the African American Tradition with a View Towards the Future” appears in the book Church After the Corona Pandemic: Consequences for Worship and Theology, published in 2023 by Springer, and an essay in the 2020 devotional guide Jesus Parables on Justice: Philadelphia Pastors’ Reflections. He was inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers in 2024 and is life-member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.
D.Min. - Interdenominational Theological Center
M.Div. - Interdenominational Theological Center
M.B.A. - Clark Atlanta University
B.B.A. - Howard University
Mailing address:
7301 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19119
