Leadership
Rev. Lerone J. Wilder, PhD, Pastor
The Reverend Lerone Jonathan Wilder, Ph.D.
The Reverend Dr. Lerone Jonathan Wilder is a minister-educator-scholar who serves as Stated Supply Pastor of the historic Mattoon Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC. He is also an Assistant Professor of Religion at Newberry College in Newberry, SC and an Adjunct Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Claflin University in Orangeburg, SC.
He received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Political Science with a Minor in Spanish from the University of South Carolina in December 2005. Moreover, he is a 2010 honor graduate of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, GA, where he earned a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree. Furthermore, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Union Institute & University in Cincinnati, OH in June 2019 with a concentration in Ethical and Creative Leadership, along with a specialization in Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Studies. While at Union, Dr. Wilder completed a certificate in Educational Leadership and has been a recipient of the institution’s Doctoral Scholarship Award for successful academic achievement and the Christine R. Day Scholarship Award for his devoted research to the field of ethics.
Since his tenure at Mattoon began in November 2018, the church has built connections with the Hampton-Pinckney Neighborhood and the Porchfest Committee, other congregations, and local organizations, providing opportunities to serve and minister to those in need such as the Community Day feedings, Seven Last Words Service, Alzheimer’s Awareness, Autism Action, and Juneteenth. Furthermore, it received a $2,500 grant from the Foothills Presbytery to further assist its mission in the community. Since the 2020 pandemic, the church relaunched Bible Study on social media, streamed live services on Facebook, and introduced Prayer Service on Conference Call. Mattoon also has a historical marker, an updated website, new logo, and vision statement, which is to “become a vibrant, intergenerational congregation through equipping, educating, empowering, and engaging persons to meet human needs while holding true to its history and heritage.”
In addition to his academic and pastoral responsibilities, he is a writer and a speaker who contributes and speaks to numerous publications and audiences (locally, nationally, and globally) regarding the topics of spirituality, the role of the church in the public arena, social justice, the life and ministry of Dr. King and more. Dr. Wilder is a member of the American Academy of Religion, the Black Doctoral Network, the International Leadership Association, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the Academy of Religious Leadership, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. College of Ministers and Laity Board of Preachers at Morehouse College. Out of all his accomplishments, his greatest ones are being married to his wife, the former Kelli Glaspie of Greenville, SC, and being a father to two sons, Douglass Jonathan and Robert Asher. Overall, Dr. Wilder’s purpose in life is for God to use him as an instrument for positive, liberative, and transformative change in our world.