J. D. Greear | |
|---|---|
| Church | The Summit Church |
| Installed | 2002 |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1999 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James David Greear May 1, 1973 |
| Denomination | Baptist (Southern Baptist Convention) |
| Spouse | Veronica Greear |
| Occupation | Pastor, President of the Southern Baptist Convention (June 13, 2018 – June 16, 2021) |
| Education | Campbell University (BA) Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (MA, PhD) |
James David "J.D." Greear (born May 1, 1973) is an American Baptist pastor. He is the pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina. He served as the 62nd president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 2018 to 2021.
Early life and education
Greear was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[1] He graduated from Word of Life Bible Institute and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Campbell University.
He entered the PhD program at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1999, graduating in 2003 with a doctorate in philosophy, concentrating primarily on Christian and Islamic theology.[1] His dissertation was titled Theosis and Muslim Evangelism: How the Recovery of a Patristic Understanding of Salvation Can Aid Evangelical Missionaries in the Evangelization of Islamic Peoples.[2]
Career
On July 18, 1999, Greear was ordained at Salem Baptist Church, the church he grew up in. In 2002, he became the pastor of what was then Homestead Heights Baptist Church in Durham.[3] Soon afterward, Greear relaunched the church as The Summit Church. Within three years, the church had grown to the point that it had to sell its old facility and move services to Riverside High School in Durham.[3][1]
In 2018, he became the president of the Southern Baptist Convention[4] and was re-elected by acclamation for a second one-year term in 2019 in an uncontested election.[5] His term in office was extended to a third year when the 2020 annual meeting of the SBC was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a successor could not be elected.[6]
Greear has sought to minister to sex abuse victims and offenders in the local church that he pastors.[7] According to him, the gospel message of Jesus, not national political purposes, should be the aim of Baptist churches.[8]
References
- 1 2 3 Yonat Shimron. "Durham church spreads Gospel with DVDs." Archived 2008-10-19 at the Wayback Machine newsobserver.com. Published 2008-10-16. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
- ↑ Greear, James D. (May 2003). Theosis and Muslim Evangelism: How the Recovery of a Patristic Understanding of Salvation Can Aid Evangelical Missionaries in the Evangelization of Islamic Peoples (PhD thesis). Wake Forest, N.C.: Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. ProQuest 305225959.
- 1 2 Flo Johnston. "Church to sell its site." newsobserver.com Published 2005-03-04. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
- ↑ Barbara Denman. "J.D Greear elected SBC president." Baptist Press. Published 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
- ↑ Pittman, Joy (June 19, 2019). "Recap: 2019 SBC Annual Meeting Business Sessions". The Baptist New Mexican. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
- ↑ Schroeder, George (March 24, 2020). "2020 SBC Annual Meeting canceled". Baptist Press. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
- ↑ Religion News Service. (22 January 2021). "J.D. Greear and the Summit Church’s policies come under question due to Bryan Loritts’ alleged covering up of sex abuse". Black Christian News website Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ↑ Smietana, Bob. (22 February 2021). "SBC President J.D. Greear: ‘God did not call Southern Baptists to save America’". Religion News Service website Retrieved 9 April 2021.