About

Dr. Michael W. Waters is the founder and lead pastor of the Abundant Life African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church in Dallas, Texas. A pastor, professor, national award-winning author, and social advocate, Waters’ words of hope and empowerment have inspired national and international audiences. He has appeared on ABC Nightline, BBC World News, CBS This Morning, CNN, Fox Soul, the NBC Nightly News, National Public Radio, and PBS Newshour. He has also been featured or mentioned in the Associated Press, The Chicago Tribune, The Christian Century, Ebony Magazine, Essence Magazine, GQ Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, Texas Monthly, and The Washington Post, among other media outlets.

A subject matter expert for several documentaries including Juneteenth: Faith and Freedom and the BBC’s How a New Christian Right is Changing US Politics, Dr. Waters has addressed such esteemed institutions as the Muhammad Ali Center, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Civil Rights Museum, the Duke Divinity School at Duke University, the Oxford Colloquium at Oxford University, and the World Methodist Conference. The recipient of numerous honors and awards, Waters’ leadership has been formally commended by The White House, the United States House of Representatives, and the Texas Legislative Black Caucus which honored him with an Outstanding Texan Award. He is also a recipient of Southern Methodist University’s Distinguished Alumni Emerging Leader Award and the Distinguished Alumni Award of Mirabeau B. Lamar High School in Houston, Texas.

Dr. Waters is a three-time winner of the Religion Communicators Council’s prestigious Wilbur Award for Stakes Is High: Race, Faith, and Hope for America, named Nonfiction Book of the Year, and For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World and Liberty’s Civil Rights Road Trip, both named Children’s Book of the Year. Awarded the Children’s Book Council’s Youth Book Prize for Social Justice, Essence Magazine calls For Beautiful Black Boys one of the “Six Must-Read Books About Race For Your Children and Teens,” and Liberty’s Civil Rights Road Trip was named among the Library of Congress’ “Great Reads from Great Places.” Publisher’s Weekly calls his latest nonfiction book Something in the Water: A 21st Century Civil Rights Odyssey a “blistering critique of white supremacy and racial injustice [that] should be a wake-up call to Americans in general and the church in particular.” His forthcoming book, Bend Without Breaking: Seven Steps for Thriving in the Struggle, is being published by Broadleaf Books.

Dr. Waters earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees with honors at Southern Methodist University (SMU) and the SMU Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas. He is currently pursuing a second doctorate as a PhD student in the African American Preaching and Sacred Rhetoric Program at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana. His research interests include the African American Prophetic Tradition, Black embodied resistance, and prophetic rhetoric and the public square. Dr. Waters serves as the Bishop Henry McNeal Turner Distinguished Lecturer at Turner Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia, and as an adjunct professor at the SMU Perkins School of Theology. Waters also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Communication and Religion. His research has been supported by the Forum for Theological Exploration, the Louisville Institute, and the Emerson Collective and featured in numerous academic journals, books, podcasts, and online publications.

Committed to the work of racial memory, Dr. Waters is a former vice chair and current board member of Foot Soldiers Park and Educational Center in Selma, Alabama. He is a founding member of the Dallas Black Clergy for Safety, Equity, and Justice. He also serves as the chair of the Social Action and Social Justice Ministry of the Tenth Episcopal District of the A.M.E. Church (State of Texas).

Dr. Waters is married to the Rev. Yulise Reaves Waters, Esq. They are the proud parents of four children.