Rev. Dr. Napoleon J. Harris V is the Senior Pastor of the historic Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, and was formally installed in October 2022.
He has served God through the pastoral ministry for well over a decade, having served at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Norwalk, CT, and the First Baptist Church of South Inglewood in Nashville, TN, before arriving at Antioch. Pastor Harris’ pastoral ministry has been characterized by a love-centered holistic approach to ministry, community outreach, and a dedication to transformative preaching and teaching.
Pastor Harris was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Reverend Napoleon Harris IV and Linda Gayle Mosley Harris. Dr. Harris was licensed and ordained by his two spiritual mentors: his father, and late pastor, Rev. C.W. Goodwin Sr., who both instilled in him a dedication to the gospel ministry through activism for biblical justice and a relentless commitment to compassion.
Meet Rev. Dr. Napoleon J. Harris V
Senior Pastor
With a strong commitment to education, Pastor Harris attended Benedictine High School before enrolling at the illustrious Tennessee State University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2003 before re-enrolling to obtain an M.Ed. in Educational Administration. In May 2008, he received a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from Vanderbilt Divinity School. While attending Vanderbilt, he received a certificate from the Kelly Miller Smith Institute in Black Church Studies. In May 2011, he continued his commitment to education, earning a Sixth Year Certificate in Elementary Education and a cross-endorsement in Special Education. Dr. Harris has also worked bi-vocationally as a middle school and high school Special Education instructor in Connecticut and as the Assistant Dean in Student Affairs at Tennessee State University, where he obtained his doctorate in Educational Leadership in 2020. His dissertation was entitled “Turning Sentiment into Cents: Understanding Alumni Donor Motivation at a Southern HBCU.” Dr. Harris was inducted into the Morehouse College of Preachers in 2020.
Pastor Harris prides himself on being a devoted husband and father outside the pulpit and academy. His greatest aspirations in life are to be an exceptional father and husband. He holds that after salvation, his wife is the greatest blessing to have ever happened to him. His lovely wife is the former Sherma Nyasha Douglass of the Murray’s Village region of Kingstown, St. Vincent. Along with his wife, Napoleon enjoys spending time with his two spirited daughters, Grace and Kara Joy. He is also a proud member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated. Additionally, he has also served civically with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Professionally, he has received various service awards and community recognitions, from newspaper articles to commendations from state officials. God has blessed Pastor Harris with a passion and gift for writing; his work has been published multiple times across multiple platforms, and he has traveled the country lecturing, preaching, and conducting workshops.
Rev. Dr. Marvin A. McMickle
Pastor Emeritus
Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1948, Dr. Marvin A. McMickle is a 1970 graduate of Aurora University in Illinois with a B.A. in Philosophy. His alma mater also awarded him the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1990.
He earned a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 1973 and did two additional years of graduate study at Columbia University in New York. He earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey in 1983. He was awarded the Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio in 1998. He was also awarded the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by Payne Theological Seminary in Wilberforce, Ohio in 2010.
He was ordained to the Christian ministry in 1973 at Abyssinian Baptist Church of New York City where he served on the pastoral staff from 1972-1976. He served as the pastor of St. Paul Baptist Church of Montclair, New Jersey from 1976-1986. He was pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio from 1987-2011. During that time, he led the church in establishing a ministry for people infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS. This ministry was the first of its kind in the entire country.
The church also instituted a community tithing initiative in which the church tithed out 10% of its annual budget to various community programs and agencies. Dr. McMickle was named Pastor Emeritus in 2018. He became Interim Pastor in May 2020. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of Cleveland State University in Cleveland, OH, president of the Cleveland NAACP and Urban League, and president of the Shaker Heights Board of Education.
Dr. McMickle was the Professor of Homiletics at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio from 1996-2011. Upon retiring he was named Professor Emeritus by the Board of Trustee and the faculty. He is the author of 17 books. He has authored dozens of articles that regularly appear in professional journals and magazines. He is a member of the Martin Luther King, Jr. International Board of Preachers at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. In the winter semester of 2009, he served as a Visiting Professor of Preaching at Yale University Divinity School. He was also an adjunct instructor at Princeton, New Brunswick, and New York theological seminaries.
Dr. McMickle served as the 12th President of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School from July 2011 to June 2019. He continues to serve on the CRCDS faculty as Professor of African American Religious Studies and as Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program. He is the author of 17 books and dozens of published sermons and articles.
He is an active member of the Progressive National Convention and American Baptist Churches (ABCUSA).
Dr. McMickle has been married to Peggy Lorraine Noble since 1975 and they have one son, Aaron who resides in New York City with his wife Pilar and their two daughters Aaliyah and Lola.