Dr. Jonathan C. Augustine serves as the senior pastor of Big Bethel AME Church, in Atlanta, GA, and as a member of the faculty at Hampton University and Duke Divinity School. He has also taught at North Carolina Central University Law School, Southern University Law Center, and Jarvis Christian College.

Augustine is the author of When Prophets Preach: Leadership and the Politics of the Pulpit (2023) and Called to Reconciliation: How the Church Can Model Justice, Diversity and Inclusion (2022). His scholarly articles appear in the Howard Law Journal, University of Richmond Law Review, Hastings Race & Poverty Law Journal, the Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, and the Louisiana Law Review, among others.

An inductee into the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers (2024), Augustine received the President’s Award for Volunteer Service (2024 & 2017), and was named "Outstanding Alumni Brother of the Year" by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (2017). He has appeared on C-SPAN Book-TV and on the cover of USA Today.

Jay Augustine earned a B.A. from Howard University and served as a decorated officer in the U.S. Army before earning his law degree from Tulane University. He also served in both elected and appointed public offices before earning his M.Div. from United Theological Seminary and doctorate from Duke University. More information can be found at www.jayaugustine.com