Reverend Willie J. Webb

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 Willie James Webb committed himself early in the life to securing a good education, graduating from the first Rosenwald School of 4500 built throughout the South by Booker T. Washington at the Macedonia Baptist Church in Notasulga, Alabama.  On graduation from the Rosenwald School and being the valedictorian of his eighth grade a class, he graduated from Tuskegee Institute High School being a member of the National Honor Society and the president of his senior class in 1956.

In his senior of high school, Webb responded to the call of God to the Gospel ministry at the Macedonia Baptist Church in Notasulga, Alabama where he was baptized at the age of eight, converted at the age of twenty one, licensed and ordained to preach the Gospel in 1958 by Pastor T. J. Askew at the age of twenty three.

On recommendation of Tuskegee Institute High School Principal, R.W. Stone, Webb was accepted as a student at Morehouse College in 1957.  He graduated with honors from Morehouse College with the B.A. degree with a concentration in sociology and religion in the class of 1961.  While a student at Morehouse College, he received the Benjamin E. Mays Debating Prize.  In his senior year, he was selected the most outstanding student in religion and was chosen to preach the Senior Sermon in the Morehouse College Chapel.  Webb benefited significantly from the required chapel services of Morehouse College in conjunction with the Morehouse School of Religion.  

Webb benefited significantly from the inspiration of legendary President, Dr. Benjamin E. Mays and the mentoring of legendary President, Dr. Benjamin E. Mays and the mentoring from the most religious read theologian, the Reverend Lucious M. Tobin.

In 1970, Webb went on to earn the Master's degree from Clark Atlanta University with a concentration in sociology and criminology.  The scholarly Tilman Cothran was his major professor.  The title of his Masters Thesis is:  The Social Characteristics of Juvenile Recidivists at the Fulton County Juvenile Court.

He graduated from Georgia State University with the Master Degree in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies in 1976.  He was awarded a Ford Foundation Fellowship to earn a Master's in government administration and decision-making.  The title of his Master's thesis at GSU is:  A Framework for Establishing an Out-Client Administration is an essential guide for a healthy and productive workplace according to Webb. 

In 1968, Reverend Webb served as Associate and Assistant Pastor to the Reverend William Holmes Borders, Sr., Pastor of the Wheat Street Baptist Church, where he remained in this service until 1988.  Upon retirement of Pastor Borders, Reverend Webb was selected as Interim Pastor of Wheat Street, in which capacity her served from 1988 - 1989.  He established a worship and counseling ministry in the Wheat Street Towers complex through the tenant association, which continues today.  In addition, during that same time, Reverend Webb exercised his civic responsibility and social consciousness through service as president of the Harwell Heights Community Association, raising the election poll voting rate of that community to over 90%. 

Webb went on to teach 12 theological courses through the continuing education program of Atlanta's Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC), which led to the granting of certifications in public theology for his students.

In 2000, Willie Webb graduated from Morehouse School of Religion at the Interdenominational Theological Center in pastoral care and psychology, with a Master's of Divinity degree.   He completed his Clinical Pastoral Education and Chaplaincy at Saint Luke Episcopal Church in Atlanta.  He worked with the homeless, destitute, drug addicted, and mentally ill through the Crossroads Ministry and the Atlanta Enterprise Center during his clinical pastoral education.

Webb excelled in his professional work, as a highly effective juvenile probation officer and was promoted to supervisory and managerial positions within four years.  He distinguished himself as being among the first Black probation officer supervisors to supervise an integrated professional staff at Fulton County Juvenile Court in 1968.  At Fulton County Juvenile Court, he served as an Investigated Supervisor, Community Outreach Supervisor, Referee Pro Tem Hearing Officer and Project Director Correction Specialist.  Based on the data from the community outreach program supervised by Webb, Fulton County Juvenile Court received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA).  The project, known as the Impact Program (directed by Webb), successfully reduced juvenile crime in high crime Census tracts and involved the federal government, State of Georgia, Atlanta Regional Commission, Fulton County, and the City of Atlanta Criminal Analysis Team.  Some 50 probation officers, assistant probation officers, and other staff were assigned to community-based decentralized offices in high crime communities.
 

From 1976-77, Willie Webb served as a probation and parole supervisor with the Georgia Department of Offender Rehabilitation.  There, he provided innovation in training other supervisors in the efficient utilization of group counseling where there are high case loads.  From 1977-1991, Webb served as a Social Worker with the Department of Human Resources, Mental Health, Mental Retardation, Substance Abuse Division at the Cobb-Douglas Mental Health Center.  During this 14 year period, he worked under the titles of Addiction Counselor, DUI Instructor, Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, Coordinator of 504 Standards for the Disability Act, Supervisor of Case Management Services, Coordinator of Criminal Justice Services, and Liaison to Regional Hospitals.  Webb was one of 6 employees out of 200 nominated, to receive the Governor's Award for Outstanding Service in State Government.  He established mental health and substance abuse services in jails and correctional institutions for inmates and their families.  He trained and supervised over 30 volunteers and college interns in providing alcohol and drug education, evaluations, and counseling for clients in the criminal justice system. 

Webb was employed for 13 years with Management Training Corporation and the Atlanta Job Corps Center as a Trainee Employee Assistance Program Specialist.  He provided alcohol and drug education for staff and students and was tasked with providing drug testing, substance abuse and addiction classes, tobacco use prevention programs, drug awareness, and counseling and support services for thousands of Job Corps students.  He also wrote policies and procedures for administering effective trainee employee assistance programs for a healthy workplace.

On 1996, Webb founded and began service as senior pastor of the Foundation Baptist Church, now located at the Summerset Assisted Living Facility in southwest Atlanta.  He also founded and incorporated the not for profit Christian Institute of Public Theology in 2002, a training organization devoted to increasing the number of active and engaged public theologians; and the Christian Association for Public Theology, also in 2002, a fellowship organization of of individuals and groups dedicated to the advocacy of God-guided principles across social, political, and economic platforms. 

 Webb is a prolific writer on the issue of public theology, with works that include:  The Way Out of Darkness:  Vital Public Theology - Actions to Turn the Lethal Tide; God's  Spiritual Prescriptions for Healing, Liberation, and Salvation; and Psychotrauma:  The Human Unjustice Crisis.

At the core of Reverend Webb's lifelong work is his unwavering commitment to intellectual competence, professional standards, ethical conduct, and passionate concern for the common good.  He maintains professional certifications as Clinical Supervisor and Addiction Counselor  II (Georgia Addiction Counselor's Association); Pastoral Addiction Counselor and Criminal Justice Specialist (National Association of Forensic Counselors); Clinical Evaluator and Treatment Provider (Georgia Department of Human Resources, Addictive Disease Section).