Rev. Delman Lamont Coates
 

Born in Richmond, Virginia, the Rev. Delman Lamont Coates was licensed to preach the Gospel at the Pilgrim Baptist Church in Richmond on August 8, 1991. He graduated magna cum laude from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion in May 1995, and received the Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, MA in May 1998. While at Harvard, Rev. Coates served as the Interim Pastor of the United Baptist Church in Boston, MA.

In September 1998, Rev. Coates was admitted to the Ph.D. program in the Department of Religion at Columbia University in New York City. While at Columbia, he served as the Youth Pastor at the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey from 1999-2004. During this time, Rev. Coates was also employed in the Community Development Grants unit of JP Morgan Chase & Co., providing grants to faith-based institutions and non-profit organizations engaged in the development of affordable housing, childcare centers, and other community and economic development projects. In February 2002, he received the Master of Philosophy degree in Religion from Columbia University.

In February 2006, Rev. Coates received the Doctor of Philosophy degree in New Testament & Early Christianity from Columbia University (Department of Religion). His area of specialization is patristic exegesis and interpretation. His research interests include: the history of early Christian scriptural interpretation, the history of modern New Testament studies, and contemporary biblical hermeneutics. His dissertation entitled, “Resistance Reading: Reconsidering the Functions of Early Christian Allegory,” examines the cultural-critical function of early Christian “spiritual exegesis” or allegorical interpretation.

His published articles entitled, “And the Bible Says: Methodological Tyranny of Biblical Fundamentalism and Historical Criticism” in Blow The Trumpet In Zion (2004); “Towards a Progressive Christian Interpretive Praxis” in The African-American Pulpit (Fall 2004); and “Origen of Alexandria” in Union Seminary Quarterly Review: New Testament and Roman Empire: Shifting Paradigms for Interpretation (vol. 59:3-4, 2005) examine the implications of pre-modern, modern, and postmodern interpretive methodologies for contemporary biblical hermeneutics.

Since February 6, 2004, Rev. Coates has served as the Pastor of the Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, MD. In three and one-half (3 1/2) years, the congregation of 4,000 has experienced a considerable amount of spiritual and numerical growth, adding 2,000 new disciples, initiating and revitalizing ministries, expanding the church's ministry campus, and impacting the community for Jesus Christ. Pastor Coates is leading Mt. Ennon to be “A Caring, Christ-centered, Community Church, with a Kingdom Agenda.”

A member of the Society of Biblical Literature and the Morehouse College Board of Preachers, Rev. Coates' preaching and teaching ministry enables him to minister at churches and seminaries across the nation. He is committed to a ministry of spiritual renewal, social justice, and community revitalization. He has been happily married to Yolanda Walsh Coates of San Francisco, California for 11 years, and they are the proud parents of two sons, Nathaniel and Joshua Coates. The Rev. Delman L. Coates, pastor of Mount Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton bused several hundred people into the District on Saturday night to protest the BET Honors awards show as part of his campaign against music videos that air on the company's cable television network.

The glitzy awards show, at the Warner Theatre, recognized African American titans, including Time Warner board Chairman Richard D. Parsons, model-turned-media-mogul Tyra Banks, Princeton professor Cornel West and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). But Coates called the event a "smoke screen."

"The BET Honors award show is a red herring to distract people from the main issue," Coates said. "The thing that African Americans across the country have been complaining about is misogynistic violence and stereotypical images and messages that BET sends out in their video programs that are marketed to youth."

Coates, 34, started his Enough Is Enough Campaign in September by protesting outside the NW Washington home of Debra Lee, president and chief executive of Black Entertainment Television. Since then, the protest has expanded to include the New York home of Philippe P. Dauman, Viacom president and chief executive. Viacom bought BET in 2001.

Coates and his followers have enlisted the support of Walter E. Fauntroy, former D.C. delegate to Congress, E. Faye Williams of the National Political Congress of Black Women and Joe Madison, a WOL (1450 AM) personality.

BET officials responded with a written statement, explaining that the company established a process years ago to review all of its programs and reject those considered inappropriate.

"BET Networks has long been concerned about the portrayals of African Americans in the media overall and in music videos specifically," the statement says.

The network also released a statement from a prominent group of ministers and the Recording Industry Association of America, in support of the awards program.

"Over the years, we have seen BET evolve and change, and while we might not always agree with every step they make, they have always shown a willingness to listen to their viewers, and adjust accordingly," the statement from the ministers said.