Corey J Hodges

Corey James Hodges (born December 14, 1970 in St. Petersburg, Florida) is an African-American preacher and a columnist for The Salt Lake Tribune Newspaper. He is a regular host of the television program This week in the Word [1] which airs weekly on Utah's KTMW. Hodges is currently the pastor of New Pilgrim Baptist Church [2], a multicultural Christian fellowship in Salt Lake City, Utah that has membership from over 30 different nations and holds weekly services in both English and Spanish. His church is affiliated with both the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. and the Southern Baptist Convention. Pastor Hodges served six years as the president of the Intermountain General Baptist Convention Inc. The convention consists of three states: Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming.

He is the founder of the New Pilgrim School of Fine Arts that offers instruction in Music, Dance and Theatre.In 2006, Hodges was appointed to serve on the Initiative on Utah Children in Foster Care (IOU) board by Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Christine M. Durham. He previously served on the Governor’s Olene Walker Board of Economic Development.

Hodges is a 2006 recipient of the Community of Peace Award given to outstanding citizens who model peace and make a personal commitment towards making Salt Lake County a community of peace. In 2009, he received the City of Taylorsville, Utah citizen’s award and in 2010, Utah Governor Gary Herbert presented him with an award for his outstanding service to the Utah community. Pastor Hodges is also the 2010 recipient of the NAACP Salt Lake Branch Albert B. Fritz Civil Rights/Humanitarian Worker of the Year Award.

On July 14, 2007 Hodges wrote a column for The Salt Lake Tribune titled, "Women face many difficulties leaving abusive spouses," [3] in which he stated that Fox News Channel commentator Bill O'Reilly blamed Nancy Benoit and Jessie Davis for their deaths. O'Reilly retorted by calling Hodges' claim an "outrageous lie" on the July 16 O'Reilly Factor "Most Ridiculous Item of the Day." Hodges responded with another column in the Salt Lake Tribune on July 21 titled, "Perhaps I misunderstood O'Reilly's comments about murders," [4] in which he argued that his statements were "probably more accurately characterized as a misinterpretation rather than a lie." On his July 23 show, O'Reilly again said that Hodges statements were a "flat out lie."

Hodges holds an associates and bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Marketing and a Masters of Arts in Divinity from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is working on a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership with a concentration in Ecclesiastical Leadership and Practice at Regent University School of Global Leadership and Entrepreneurship, Virginia Beach, Virginia.