MMDLU Conference 2024

Rev. Judy Wright
Moderator of The MDDLU

Courtney McBath

Courtney McBath serves as the Founding Pastor of Calvary Revival Church
(CRC) in Norfolk, Virginia. He also serves as the leader of Calvary Leaders
Network (CLN), a growing group of leaders, who serve the church and the
marketplace globally. He is also the President of the Virginia
Christian College in Dumfries, VA.

Courtney began preaching at 13 and was formally ordained at 18 years of
age. After completing his undergraduate studies at the prestigious
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) he went on to work in an
architectural engineering firm and two other Fortune 500 companies. In
1990, McBath moved his family to Norfolk to start CRC which grew from 21
people to a membership of over 7000 today.  Having served as a church
planter, senior pastor, bishop and business leader, Courtney’s heart is to
educate and encourage leaders globally.

Currently, Courtney serves leaders in several nations on five continents
and is committed to encouraging servant-leaders for life. In addition to his
double major in humanities and engineering from MIT, McBath also holds
a Masters in Biblical Studies and Practical Theology from Regent
University, an earned Doctor of Ministry degree from Providence
Theological Seminary and a Post Graduate Diploma in Organizational
Leadership from Oxford University.

Courtney has been married to Janeen McBath for over 42 years. They
have four sons, a daughter, a son-in-law, two daughter-in-laws, 5
grandsons and a grand-daughter. Courtney and Janeen reside in Hampton
Roads, Virginia.

Rev. Elijah Gatling

Reverend Elijah G.S. Gatling is a man after God’s own heart. One who serves, leads, and ministers from the depths of his soul. Reverend Gatling is the son of Elder Tammy G. Gatling and Elder Elijah A. Bryant, and is a native of Rich Square, NC. Reverend Gatling is a proud alumnus of Pitt County Schools Early College High School and Pitt Community College in Winterville, NC. There he obtained his High School Diploma and an Associates in Arts Degree in 2021. Reverend Gatling is a student at Morehouse College, where he majors in History and Religion. Following graduation, he plans to attend graduate school to obtain a Juris Doctorate and a Doctorate of Philosophy.

At a young age, at his home church, Branches Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, under the leadership of the Reverend Doctor Darius J. Horton, Reverend Gatling answered the call to ministry and was licensed on June 5, 2016. On April 22, 2023, Reverend Gatling was ordained in the name of Branches Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. There he continues to serve as a clergyman and adjutant to his senior pastor.

Reverend Gatling serves in many capacities in both the church and community, and is known by many. But ultimately, Reverend Gatling seeks to serve, seeks to aid, seeks to minister, and seeks to do the will of God. For he lives by the words of the old hymn, "If I Can Do My Duty As A Christian Ought...Then My Living Shall Not Be In Vain..."

Rev.  Dr. Peter Wherry

Rev. Dr. Peter M. Wherry is a 40-year veteran pastor, community leader, social activist and scholar. Since January of 2007, he has been Senior Pastor of the Mayfield Memorial Missionary Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC. Through his work as Founding Moderator of the United Missionary Baptist Association, Dr. Wherry provided leadership to 70 mostly Baptist churches in Charlotte and its surrounding counties, having a constituency of over 40,000 persons.

He is one of the pioneer foot soldiers of the Forward Together Moral Movement, under the leadership of Rev. Dr. William Barber, having been among the first two groups of people who submitted themselves for arrest while petitioning the North Carolina General Assembly for economic and social justice, including the fight against voter suppression. He has served as guest lecturer and featured preacher in several seminaries including Gordon Conwell in Charlotte, NC, Union Presbyterian Seminary in Charlotte, NC, Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA; the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University in Richmond, VA where he also served as an adjunct faculty member teaching Baptist History; and the Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, NC where he has served as a doctoral advisor. In 2014, Dr. Wherry was a Main Stage preacher for the centennial session of the Hampton University Ministers Conference, the largest gathering of African American clergy in the world.

Dr. Wherry has preached from cost-to-cost in the U.S, and internationally in Greece, Haiti, El Salvador, South Africa, Burundi and Zambia. Dr. Wherry is the author of several published works as well as other articles and scholarly papers. Along with his wife, Dr. Wanda H. Wherry, he co-wrote a unique devotional book, A Door of Hope: A Devotional with Sermons and Songs of Hope. This first-of-its-kind book included a CD of music, produced by Dr. Wherry and sung by Dr. Wanda. He collaborated with Dr. Rodney S. Sadler, Jr. (Union Presbyterian Seminary, Charlotte) and Dr. William Turner (Duke University) in writing The Forward Together Lectionary (Attribution, p.3) for the NCNAACP. It is a unique resource to assist preachers in the task of incorporating Social Justice into the pulpit ministries of houses of faith. His latest book, published by Judson Press, is entitled Preaching Funerals in the Black Church: Bringing Perspective to Pain, (Available through Judson Press, Amazon, Amazon UK, and other online outlets). Dr. Wherry has been happily married for 39 years (June 2019) to Dr. Wanda H. Wherry. The Wherry Couple are the grateful parents of two adult children Justin (Amy) and Bethany and the excited grandparents of three (Amari, Amaya and Michael).