Herbert O. (“Bert”) Browning, Jr. is a native of the Richmond, Virginia area.  He spent thirty-seven years serving as senior pastor of four different Virginia Baptist churches.  Two of these were rural congregations, one was in a county seat, and the final parish was in a Richmond suburb where he served for eighteen years.

He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary (B.A. in English); Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div., cum laude); and Union Presbyterian Seminary (D.Min.) where his focus was on pastoral leadership and church administration.

He has served as President of the Virginia Baptist Pastors Conference; 1^st Vice-President and President of the Baptist General Association of Virginia; member of the Coordinating Council of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship at the national level and also as Moderator of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia.  He is a past chair of the Board of Trustees of Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond.  He is currently on the boards of trustees for Hope Tree Family Services (Virginia Baptist Children’s Home) and for LifeSpire of Virginia (Virginia Baptist Homes, Inc.).

He has served in interim positions at River Road Church, Baptist in Richmond and continues to supply the pulpits of various Baptist churches in the greater Richmond area.  He is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, volunteering in Virginia state parks.