William Henry Willimon (born May 15, 1946) is a retired American theologian and bishop in the United Methodist Church who served the North Alabama Conference for eight years. He is Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry and Director of the Doctor of Ministry program at Duke Divinity School. He is former Dean of the Chapel at Duke University and is considered by many as one of America's best-known and most influential preachers. A Pulpit & Pew Research on Pastoral Leadership survey determined that he was one of the two most frequently read writers by pastors in mainline Protestantism alongside the Roman Catholic writer Henri Nouwen. His books have sold over a million copies. He is also Editor-At-Large of The Christian Century. His 2019 memoir Accidental Preacher was released to wide acclaim, described by Justo L. Gonzalez as "An exceptional example of theology at its best." Biography Bishop Willimon, originally from Greenville, South Carolina and raised at Buncombe Street UMC in Greenville, SC, received a Bachelor of Arts from Wofford College in 1968, a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School in 1971, and a Doctor of Sacred Theology from Emory University in 1973. He has also received thirteen honorary doctorates, from schools including Colgate, Moravian Seminary, Lafayette, Lehigh, and Westminster. Willimon is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Professional life Willimon first served as pastor of United Methodist churches in the North Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina Conferences. From 1976 to 1980, he was on the faculty of Duke Divinity School as Professor of Liturgy and Worship. After serving as pastor of Northside United Methodist Church in Greenville, South Carolina, he became Dean of the Chapel at Duke University in 1984 where he served for twenty years. He was elected to the episcopacy in 2004 and assigned to the North Alabama Annual Conference. He retired from the episcopacy at the conclusion of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference in 2012. In 2013, he was appointed pastor of the Duke Memorial United Methodist Church in Durham, North Carolina. He has written over 80 books which have sold over a million copies, been translated into six languages, and won numerous awards. He has collaborated with his friend the theologian Stanley Hauerwas on six books, including their widely influential Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony. The Concise Encyclopedia of Preaching which he wrote with Richard Lischer is widely used as