» Click here to send an eMail to Pastor Stewart

» Download Pastor Stewarts vitae [PDF]

Carlyle Fielding Stewart, III, was born in Detroit, Michigan. He is the fourth generation of Methodist preachers beginning with his great grandfather, the Reverend Henry Elijah Stewart, who was ordained by Bishop Henry McNeil Turner of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1888.

Dr. Stewart received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio, in 1973; a Master of Arts degree from the University of Chicago in 1974; Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Chicago Theological Seminary in 1977 and 1978; and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1982.

He has been a Bishop Dwight Loder Scholar at Chicago Theological Seminary; a Crusade Scholar at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary; an Urban Affairs fellow at Northwestern University; a William Wilberforce Scholar at Hull University in England; a Special Seminar Fellow at Oxford University, England; a Merrill Fellow at Harvard University Divinity School; and was selected a Fulbright Fellow by the Institute of International Education for study at the University of Ghana in 1973. He is the recipient of numerous awards and citations including the prestigious Circuit Rider Award from the United Methodist Church in 1993; the Harry A. Denman award for Evangelism in 1996; Congressional Citations from Congressmen Sander Levin and John Conyers in 1996; and the “David L. White” Laity Award, National Black Methodists for Church Renewal in 1999. In 2000, Dr. Stewart was honored with the Carlyle Fielding Stewart, III, Scholarship at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois and was inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr., Board of Preachers at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2002, Dr. Stewart was the recipient of the “Drum Major for Justice Award,” given by the East West Districts of the Detroit Conference of the United Methodist Church; the “Martin Luther King, Jr., Humanitarian Award,” from Drew University; and the “Gandhi, King, Ikeda Award” from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.

He is currently pastor of Hope United Methodist Church in Southfield, Michigan, where he has served the past 24 years. Hope Church has received Church Growth awards in the Detroit Conference for ten consecutive years and attributes its growth to a variety of ministries including: weekly radio broadcast; economic and community empowerment corporations; jail, homeless and culinary ministries; the Imani Institute which teaches black culture, spirituality and history and sponsors Rites of Passage Programs for youth; Spiritual Life and Family Life Centers; leadership training and spiritual enrichment programs for youth and adults; a singles ministry; Christian bookstore; Music and Bible Institutes as well as a variety of other empowerment ministries designed to help the people of God realize their optimum potential and experience human wholeness. Dr. Stewart’s dynamic preaching and quality leadership have spurred the growth of Hope United Methodist Church from about 300 members to over 4,000 in less than a decade.

In 1994, Hope Church moved into a 45,000 square-foot facility in Southfield. Hope is planning to build a 2,000-seat sanctuary and has constructed a two-story administrative office, educational center, gymnasium and family life center. In 2003, Hope United Methodist Church dedicated the Carlyle Fielding Stewart, III Family Life Center in honor of Dr. Stewart. Hope is actively involved in many outreach programs in the metropolitan Detroit community.

Dr. Stewart is the co-founder of the Detroit Black United Methodist Youth Scholarship Committee which has awarded over $150,000 in scholarships to black United Methodist youths in the Detroit area; founder of the National African American Youth Leadership Institute; Citizens Against Violence; Southfield Education Action Committee which works with Southfield Schools; and is a co-founder of the African American Political Coalition which facilitates African American political representation in the City of Southfield. The Carlyle Stewart Foundation has awarded over $25,000 in scholarships to outstanding students and leaders in the Detroit metropolitan area.

Of the many programs in which he has involved himself, the most recent is a Rites of Passage mentoring program for African American males at Hope Church. Dr. Stewart has also served on several boards and agencies and was actively involved in the South Oakland County NAACP and the Bandele Project of the Spaulding Institute, which finds adoptive homes for African American children. He has served on the Board of Trustees of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary since 2003.

He is a writer, teacher, preacher, workshop presenter and lecturer.

A former mentor in the Doctor of Ministry Program at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, he has published over one hundred articles in journals and newspapers, and is the author of thirteen books: “God, Being and Liberation: A Comparative Analysis of the Theologies and Ethics of James H. Cone and Howard Thurman”, published by University Press in 1990 and cited in James H. Cone’s and Gayraud Wilmore’s Black Theology: A Documentary History Part II, as “An important contribution to black religious thought”; African American Church Growth: 12 Principles for Prophetic Ministry (Abingdon Press, 1994); Street Corner Theology: Indigenous Reflections on The Reality of God in The African-American Experience (Transformer Press, 2000); Joy Songs, Trumpet Blasts and Hallelujah Shouts: Sermons in the African American Preaching Tradition (CSS Publishing, 1997); How Long Will You Limp? Sermons on Pentecost I (CSS Publishing, 1997); Soul Survivors: An African American Spirituality (John Knox Press, 1997); Sankofa: Celebrations for The African American Church, (United Church Press, 1997); Black Spirituality and Black Consciousness: Soul Force, Culture, and Freedom in the African American Experience (Africa World Press, 1999); Deformed, Disfigured and Despised: Sermons for Lent (CSS Publishing, 2000); The Empowerment Church: Speaking a New Language for Church Growth (Abingdon Press, 2000); Reclaiming What Was Lost (Abingdon Press, 2003); Growing the African American Church (Abingdon Press, 2006); as well as two works in progress: Growing Your Church Through Racial And Size Transitions, and Silence Is Not Required.

More importantly, he is a caring pastor and a faithful servant of the Lord who loves serving the people of God and believes in letting his light shine for Christ. His personal mission statement is "Show people God's way and stay out of God's way."

Broadcasts of Hope’s weekly worship services can be heard each Sunday from 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. on WGPR, 107.5.

Carlyle resides in Bingham Farms, Michigan, with his wife, Jeané, and is the proud father of three children: Mya, Naeemah and Carlyle IV. He is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.