Joe Cobb

Rev. Joe Cobb believes that our greatest calling is to love one another by honoring and celebrating what makes us unique and discovering what we can create together. This calling inspires and informs his devotion to public service in Roanoke City, the region, and worldwide.

Joe has a talent for creating experiences that help communities and organizations find creative solutions to their toughest problems. He is a thought leader for local government issues facing families and communities. Joe has 30 years of experience leading organizations, communities, and congregations as Executive Director, Vice-Mayor, and Pastor. Joe adeptly oversees Aspire’s Strategic Planning engagements and leads our Government and Community Engagement practice.

Joe has a Master of Divinity degree from Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas, and a Bachelor of Philosophy from Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas.  He is currently working toward a Doctor of Ministry with Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.

Joe is co-author of Our Family Outing: A Memoir of Coming Out and Coming Through, written with his former spouse, Rev. Leigh Anne Taylor. The book is a unique, two-voice narrative of a gay man and a straight woman and their journey through marriage, children, coming out, divorce, healing, reconciliation, and creating a new way of being a family.