Who is
?
the rev/awo’s cv
they/them/gem· writer · speaker · scholar · media producer · minister
A writer, speaker, scholar, and media producer working at the forefront of racial justice in America. Author of Dear Church, United States of Grace, Dear Revolutionaries, and Psalms of My People. Former PhD student in Historical and Cultural Studies of Religion at the Graduate Theological Union, researching what they called at the time "a people's history of magic." Co-creator of the podcast BlackBerryJams with PRX.
"I write books because I am trying to survive them. If I don't get them out, I might explode."
Books
Psalms of My People: A Story of Black Liberation as Told through Hip-Hop — 2024, Broadleaf Books
Dear Revolutionaries: A Field Guide for a World Beyond the Church — 2023, Augsburg Fortress
United States of Grace: A Memoir of Homelessness, Addiction, Incarceration, and Hope — 2021, Broadleaf Books (narrated by the author)
Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US — 2019, Broadleaf Books
Podcast
BlackBerryJams — co-hosted with Leslie Mac, presented by Ben & Jerry's, produced by PRX. A 10-episode series exploring the Black Phish Phan experience, jam band culture, and Black liberation work (2021–2022).
Areas of Work & Writing
racial justice liberation theology black queer theology social commentary creative nonfiction hip-hop studies esoteric studies history of magic political analysis memoir public theology abolition
Media & Press
Select Podcast Appearances
• Exvangelical — three episodes (2021, 2023, 2024)
• A People's Theology — two episodes (2019, 2023)
• Compass (UMC) — "Beats, Peacemaking and Authenticity" (2024)
• Queering Contemplation — "Queering Ontology" (Christian Century)
• Sequential Theology — "Witnessing to the Wastebasket of Modernity" (Unbound, 2024)
• Colleen K. Powell — "White Supremacy and the Church" (2019)
• OPB Weekend Edition — interview with John Notarianni (2021)
• NPR Code Switch and Morning Edition — featured work
Substack
A Sorcerer's Notebook — "the inconsistent, inflammatory, inquisitive writings, containing also, but not limited to, sometimes sermons, sometimes podcasts, sometimes a mix tape or two." Recent series: The 4th Great Awakening, Table of the Dawn, Steal Your Beat.
Background
Born on 62nd and Race in West Philadelphia. At 13, stepped out of his house, walked to the Greyhound station, and bought a ticket — the start of a great American adventure that saw him hitchhiking thousands of miles, following the Grateful Dead, experiencing homelessness, incarceration, and addiction. Found faith in the ELCA, attended Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, and was ordained as a Lutheran pastor. Served as mission developer pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church and founded Jubilee Collective in Vancouver, Washington. Resigned his call in 2021 and his rostered minister status in 2022. After three years of healing from burnout and the Portland uprisings, received "Privilege of Call" status in the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries / UCC in 2025. Now a PhD fellow at GTU, researching a people's history of magic in the Americas.
Endorsements
""Lenny Duncan's tale of escape from the miserable lot that life dealt (them) is reminiscent of Claude Brown's Manchild in the Promised Land — powerful and beautifully told — but with a twist: Duncan's triumph comes through an encounter with redemption. I can hardly imagine a more profound story of salvation. You will be inspired by Duncan's strength but also jolted by (their) anger that the odds are so heavily stacked against all who are trapped by oppression and injustice. This is the work of a truly gifted writer."
— Tom Gjelten, Religion Correspondent, NPR News
"This book is the sermon the church most needs to hear and is most afraid to heed."
— The Christian Century
Academic Influence
Dear Church has been cited in approximately 26+ scholarly works (Google Scholar), including peer-reviewed journal articles, doctoral dissertations, law review articles, and theological research across multiple institutions.
Dissertations & Theses
• Kristin Hamilton, DMin, Portland Seminary / George Fox University (2019) — The Church's Lament
• Dorothy Kay Almoney, Lancaster Theological Seminary (2021) — Reclaiming the 'D' Word: Diakonia in the ELCA
• Emory University / Candler School of Theology — DMin dissertation on Corporate Preaching (2025)
• SMU Scholar — Theology & Ministry thesis citing United States of Grace (2024)
Peer-Reviewed Journals
• MDPI Religions (2024) — featured as case study for decolonial Lutheranism
• Dialog: A Journal of Theology (2021) — cited in two articles on Lutheranism and race
• Currents in Theology and Mission — extensive engagement with Dear Church
• Yale Law & Policy Review (2022) — cited United States of Grace
Academic Platforms
• Project MUSE — Dear Church hosted on academic database
• Academia.edu — peer-reviewed book review
Keynotes & Institutional Influence
• NEXT Church National Gathering (Presbyterian) — Keynote, invited by Rev. Denise Anderson (2021)
• St. Olaf College — Keynote, chapel, Taylor Center events (2020)
• Augustana University — 3-day campus residency (2020)
• Festival of Homiletics — Preaching event (2020)
• LlewellynCon25 — Author presentation (2025)
Academic Conference Presentations
"Christian Nationalism is the 4th Great Awakening: A Black Liberation Historical and Ontological Perspective" — 2nd public academic talk (March 2026). Argues Christian Nationalism should be analyzed as the Fourth Great Awakening, not through the lens of 1930s Europe. Self-cites Duncan (2019): "the problem we face is not sociological, but theological."
The Work
Whether through books, Substack essays, sermons, or podcast appearances, Lenny's work is a sustained prophetic witness against white supremacy, empire, and the forces that diminish human dignity — and an unrelenting affirmation of grace, liberation, and the sacredness of marginalized lives. As they wrote in Dear Revolutionaries:
"You are here to save the world so get cracking. No one else is coming."
Compiled June 2026 · Pronouns: they/them · Substack · Goodreads · Google Scholar citations: 26+
