A. Jerome Fowlkes founded Leaning on the Rock after his studies in Christian Ethics, Theology, and the History of the Christian Church convinced him that too many believers struggle to connect Scripture to the lives they actually live. He launched the platform as an extension of his ministry calling, which he accepted in 2025.

Jerome is a Divinity student at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, pursuing his Master of Arts in Theological Ministry. He serves as a ministerial candidate at New Zion Baptist Church in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Outside of his studies and the blog, Jerome leads community engagement and employee programs at a financial institution in Hampton Roads, Virginia. He holds an MBA from the College of William and Mary and a bachelor's degree in business from Virginia Tech.

His writing draws from the progressive Black Baptist tradition, with particular influence from Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, Rev. Dr. Delmon Coates, and Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III. Like them, Jerome believes the work of ministry is not to tell people what to think, but to invite them into honest conversation with Scripture, with history, and with their own questions.

That invitation is what Leaning on the Rock is about.