Dr. Butts is a native New Yorker. He spent a few years in the South, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Morehouse College in Atlanta. He returned to New York and earned a Master of Divinity degree in Church History from Union Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry degree in Church and Public Policy from Drew University in New Jersey. He taught Urban Affairs and served as an Adjunct Professor in the African Studies Department at The City College of New York and Black Church History at Fordham University, and has given numerous lectures and speeches at colleges and universities across the nation.

In addition to his professional and religious avocations, Dr. Butts is President of The Council of Churches of the City of New York; a Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of United Way of New York City; a member of the Board of Directors of The September 11th Fund; and Chairman of the National Affiliate Development Initiative of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS (BLCA), as well as a founding member of the organization's Board of Commissioners. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of North General Hospital in Harlem and is a member of the Board of American Baptist College in Nashville, Tennessee.

Dr. Butts previously served as President of Africare, a non-profit organization dedicated to the improvement of the quality of life in Africa, and Chairman of the Board for the Harlem YMCA. He has been presented with honorary degrees from The City College of New York; Tuskegee University in Alabama; Claflin College in Orangeburg, South Carolina; Dillard University in New Orleans; Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania; and Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.