Dr. Wherry has earned recognition as a gifted preacher and teacher, serving in faculty roles at some of the nation's leading theological institutions. His past teaching assignments include Christian Theological Seminary, where he taught homiletics in the Ph.D. program in African American Sacred Rhetoric; Wake Forest University School of Divinity; and the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, where he taught Baptist History and Ethics. At Union Presbyterian Seminary, where Dr. Wherry serves as a trustee, he recently taught “Awakening the Church to Social Justice” in their Center for Social Justice and Reconciliation. He has also taught and lectured at Hood Theological Seminary, Regent University, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Dr. Wherry was recently inducted into the Bishop Alfred G. Dunston College of Preachers, Lecturers, and Scholars, an honor conferred upon him by the A.M.E. Zion Church.
As a scholar and advocate, Dr. Wherry has made a significant impact on the intersection of faith and social/biblical justice. A founding former Moderator of the United Missionary Baptist Association, he once led more than 70 congregations comprising over 40,000 constituents. He was one of the earliest foot soldiers of the Forward Together Moral Movement, under the leadership of Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II.
His ministry has been marked by global reach, having preached and taught across the United States, as well as in Haiti, South Africa, Greece, El Salvador, Burundi, and Zambia. He has been a featured preacher at the Yale Divinity School, where he shared facilitation duties with award-winning Gospel artist Lisa Page-Brooks and multiple Grammy Award winner Kirk Franklin. Dr. Wherry was the noonday mainstage preacher, to wide acclaim, at the centennial celebration of the Hampton University Ministers Conference,
Dr. Wherry is also a prolific author. His published works include Preaching Funerals in the Black Church: Bringing Perspective to Pain (Judson Press) and a groundbreaking devotional co-authored with his wife, Dr. Wanda H. Wherry, titled A Door of Hope: A Devotional with Sermons and Songs of Hope. His work in collaboration with scholars such as Dr. Rodney S. Sadler Jr. and Dr. William Turner produced “The Forward Together Lectionary,” equipping clergy to preach prophetically for social transformation. He is also a contributing author in the soon-to-be-released anthology, The Sound of the Genuine, edited by Dr. Frank Thomas.
Married for 45 years (June 2025), he and Dr. Wanda H. Wherry are the proud parents of two adult children, Justin and Bethany, and the joyful grandparents of Amaya, Michael, Marco III, and Saniyah. His ministry continues to inspire, teach, and equip leaders in the church and the academy.
