Founder & CEO
Reverend Willie J. Webb
Minister. Theologian. Educator. Community Advocate. For over six decades, Reverend Willie J. Webb has dedicated his life to the intersection of faith, scholarship, and public service — founding CAPT in 2002 to give that lifelong calling an organizational home.
Explore his full biography below — select any section to read more about his education, ministry, professional career, published works, and honors.
Full Biography
Life & Legacy of Rev. Willie J. Webb
Willie James Webb committed himself early in life to securing a good education, graduating from the first Rosenwald School of 4,500 built throughout the South by Booker T. Washington. His academic path took him from Tuskegee to Morehouse to Clark Atlanta to Georgia State — and ultimately to a Master of Divinity from the Morehouse School of Religion.
Tuskegee Institute High School
National Honor Society member and president of his senior class. Valedictorian of the Rosenwald School eighth-grade class — one of 4,500 Rosenwald Schools built throughout the South by Booker T. Washington.
Morehouse College
B.A. with honors, concentration in sociology and religion. Recipient of the Benjamin E. Mays Debating Prize. Selected most outstanding student in religion; chosen to preach the Senior Sermon in the Morehouse College Chapel. Mentored by legendary President Dr. Benjamin E. Mays and theologian Rev. Lucious M. Tobin.
Clark Atlanta University
Master's degree, concentration in sociology and criminology under the scholarly Tilman Cothran. Thesis: "The Social Characteristics of Juvenile Recidivists at the Fulton County Juvenile Court."
Georgia State University — Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Master's degree in government administration and decision-making, awarded via Ford Foundation Fellowship. Thesis: "A Framework for Establishing an Out-Client Administration."
Morehouse School of Religion — Interdenominational Theological Center
Master of Divinity degree in pastoral care and psychology. Completed Clinical Pastoral Education and Chaplaincy at Saint Luke Episcopal Church, Atlanta. Ministered to the homeless, drug-addicted, and mentally ill through the Crossroads Ministry and Atlanta Enterprise Center.
1958
Licensed & Ordained
Responded to the call of God at Macedonia Baptist Church, Notasulga, Alabama — where he was baptized at age eight and converted at age twenty-one. Licensed and ordained to preach the Gospel by Pastor T. J. Askew at age twenty-three.
1968–1989
Wheat Street Baptist Church
Served as Associate and Assistant Pastor to the Rev. William Holmes Borders, Sr. Upon Pastor Borders' retirement, served as Interim Pastor (1988–1989). Established a worship and counseling ministry in the Wheat Street Towers complex through the tenant association, which continues today. Also served as president of the Harwell Heights Community Association, raising the community's election poll voting rate to over 90%.
1996–Present
Foundation Baptist Church — Senior Pastor
Founded and began service as senior pastor of the Foundation Baptist Church, now located at the Summerset Assisted Living Facility in southwest Atlanta.
2002
CAPT & CIPT — Founder
Founded and incorporated the Christian Institute of Public Theology (CIPT) — a training organization devoted to increasing the number of active and engaged public theologians — and the Christian Association for Public Theology (CAPT), a fellowship organization dedicated to the advocacy of God-guided principles across social, political, and economic platforms.
Juvenile Justice
Distinguished himself as one of the first Black probation officer supervisors to lead an integrated professional staff at Fulton County Juvenile Court (1968). Served as Investigated Supervisor, Community Outreach Supervisor, Referee Pro Tem Hearing Officer, and Project Director Correction Specialist. Directed the Impact Program, which secured a $1 million U.S. Department of Justice LEAA grant and successfully reduced juvenile crime in high-crime census tracts across Atlanta. From 1976–77, served as probation and parole supervisor with the Georgia Department of Offender Rehabilitation.
Mental Health & Substance Abuse
Served 14 years as a Social Worker at the Cobb-Douglas Mental Health Center (1977–1991) in roles including Addiction Counselor, DUI Instructor, EEO Officer, Coordinator of 504 Standards for the Disability Act, Supervisor of Case Management Services, Coordinator of Criminal Justice Services, and Liaison to Regional Hospitals. One of 6 employees out of 200 nominated to receive the Governor's Award for Outstanding Service in State Government. Established mental health and substance abuse services in jails and correctional institutions for inmates and their families.
Job Corps & Education
Employed 13 years with Management Training Corporation and the Atlanta Job Corps Center as a Trainee Employee Assistance Program Specialist. Provided alcohol and drug education for staff and students; administered drug testing, substance abuse and addiction classes, tobacco use prevention programs, drug awareness, and counseling for thousands of Job Corps students. Wrote policies and procedures for administering effective trainee employee assistance programs.
Public Theology Education
Taught 12 theological courses through the continuing education program of Atlanta's Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC), leading to the granting of certifications in public theology for his students.
Rev. Webb is a prolific writer on the issue of public theology. His published works include:
The Way Out of Darkness: Vital Public Theology — Actions to Turn the Lethal Tide
God's Spiritual Prescriptions for Healing, Liberation, and Salvation
Psychotrauma: The Human Unjustice Crisis
Official Press Release · January 13, 2020
Willie James Webb Presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who's Who
Mr. Webb has been endorsed by Marquis Who's Who as a leader in the counseling field.
Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Willie James Webb with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Mr. Webb celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Mr. Webb is renowned as a minister, theological educator, author and pastoral addiction counselor with more than 30 years of excellence in his respective fields. He responded to the call of ministry while a senior in high school and was ordained in his second year of college. Webb has notably earned a Bachelor of Arts from Morehouse College, a Master of Arts from Clark Atlanta University, a Master of Science from Georgia State University and a Master of Divinity from the Morehouse School of Religion at ITC in Atlanta.
From 1968 to 1972, Mr. Webb achieved success as a probation investigative supervisor and community outreach supervisor, rising to Project Director Correction Specialist at the Fulton County Juvenile Court in Atlanta. Webb became the first correction specialist in Georgia and established the first Court Community outreach services. He continued his involvement in corrections as a probation and parole supervisor with the State of Georgia from 1976 to 1977.
He transferred to the Georgia Department of Human Resources in 1977 as a psychiatric social worker, mental health forensic services coordinator, stabilization supervisor, and case management supervisor — establishing mental health services in Georgia correctional institutions. Webb received the Georgia Governor's Award in 1987. After leaving the State Mental Health Department in 1991, Webb worked with the Job Corps as an EAP and Addiction Specialist from 1991 to 2006, where hundreds of youth became drug-free, educated, and enriched through his guidance.
In addition to his work in public and mental health, Webb has served as the pastor of Wheat Street Baptist Church and Foundation Baptist Church for twenty-three years. Webb's ministry is geared to ameliorate the national and global lethal culture crises. He is leading the vanguard to expand private religion to public theology and to the public square through the Christian Association of Public Theologians and the Christian Institute of Public Theology, as CEO and Founder.
Webb's latest of six books that he has authored, Hatred Addiction Recovery (2018), is a compilation of his clinical, educational, and theological experiences to reduce society's escalating crises. He is a certified clinical supervisor with Georgia Addiction Counselors' Association, National Addiction Counselors Association, and the National Association of Forensic Counselors, and is a former Ford Foundation Fellow.
In 2019, Minister Webb taught and certified 10 public theologians, and licensed and ordained eight ministers of the Gospel.
Professional Certifications
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
Special Recognition
Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award
Reverend Willie Webb was presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to ministry, public theology, and community service.
"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."