William Willimon

William Henry Willimon
William Henry Willimon in 2011
Born	May 15, 1946 South Carolina
Occupation	Bishop
Spouse(s)	Patricia Parker
Children	Harriet and William

William Henry Willimon (born May 15, 1946) is an American theologian and bishop in the United Methodist Church, who served the North Alabama Conference. He is currently Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke Divinity School. He is former Dean of the Chapel at Duke University and is considered by many as one of America's best-known and most influential preachers. A Pulpit & Pew Research on Pastoral Leadership survey determined that he was one of the two most frequently read writers by pastors in mainline Protestantism alongside Henri Nouwen. His books have sold over a million copies. He is also Editor-At-Large of The Christian Century.

Bishop Willimon, originally from South Carolina and raised at Buncombe Street UMC in Greenville, SC, received a B.A. from Wofford College in 1968 where he became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, an M. Div. from Yale Divinity School in 1971, and an S.T.D. from Emory University in 1973. He has also received several honorary doctorates. Willimon is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

He was elected to the episcopacy in 2004. He was assigned to the Northern Alabama Annual Conference. He retired from the episcopacy at the conclusion of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference in 2012.

In 2013 he was appointed pastor of the Duke Memorial United Methodist Church in Durham, North Carolina.