The Reverend Doctor Wallace Charles Smith has served as Senior Minister of the historic Shiloh Baptist Church of Washington, DC since July 1991. With a membership of over 4,000 persons, Shiloh is one of the oldest African American churches in Washington, and its congregation has a long history of community outreach and family empowering ministries.

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Smith graduated from Villanova University in 1970. He received the Master of Divinity degree (1974) and the Doctor of Ministry degree (1979) from the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.

Dr. Smith's ministerial career includes the pastorate of two outstanding congregations: First Baptist Church-Capitol Hill, Nashville, Tennessee (1985-1991) and Calvary Baptist Church, Chester, Pennsylvania (1974-1985), where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. served as student intern while attending Crozier Baptist Seminary.

In addition to Dr. Smith's pastoral career, he served as Professor of the Practice of Ministry at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tennessee (1988-1991), and Assistant Professor for Practical Theology at the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (1979-1985) where he was the first African American to be appointed to full-time Faculty status. He continues to serve as an occasional guest lecturer at both institutions, and has also taught courses at Howard University Divinity School and Wesley Theological        Seminary, both located in Washington, DC. He is a member of the Board of Trustees at Eastern Baptist Seminary.

Dr. Smith is a member of the General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, a worldwide fellowship organization representing Baptists in more than 160 countries. He chairs the Special Commission of Baptists Against Racism, sponsored by that organization, and authored a section of the Harare Declaration, adopted by the Baptist World Alliance in Harare, Zimbabwe in August 1993. That document articulates the Baptist World Alliance's strong opposition to any and all forms of racism.

Dr. Smith has traveled extensively and has preached in several countries, including South Africa, Argentina, Zimbabwe, and Cuba. He served as a member of a reconciliation team to bring black and white Baptists together in South Africa.

Among his many community responsibilities, Dr. Smith is a member of the 1994 Class of Leadership Washington, a board member of the Interfaith Council of Washington and Vicinity, the United Black Fund of the National Capitol Area United Way, and the Advisory Board of Riggs National Bank. He also chairs Project Koinonia for the District of Columbia Baptist Convention which assists churches in securing grants for needy persons in their communities. In addition, he has received numerous invitations to attend official White House functions, including the signing of the historic Israeli-Palestinian Peace Accord.

Dr. Smith is a longtime member of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. for which he has taught leadership courses, led seminars and served in various other capacities. He is a trustee of the Board of Home Missions.

He is contributing editor of  The Pulpit Digest

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