J. D. Greear

J. D. Greear
ChurchThe Summit Church
Installed2002
Orders
Ordination1999
Personal details
Born
James David Greear

(1973-05-01) May 1, 1973 (age 51)
DenominationBaptist (Southern Baptist Convention)
SpouseVeronica Greear
OccupationPastor, President of the Southern Baptist Convention (June 13, 2018 – June 16, 2021)
EducationCampbell 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. Greear has authored several books, including 12 Truths & a Lie (2023), Essential Christianity (2023), Just Ask (2021), What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? (2020), Above All (2019), Not God Enough (2018), Gaining by Losing (2015), Gospel (2011), Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart (2013), and Jesus, Continued… (2014).[1] He also hosts Summit Life, a half-hour daily radio broadcast and weekly TV program.[2] He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Chick-fil-A,[3] serves as a Council member for The Gospel Coalition,[4] and served as the 62nd president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 2018 to 2021.

Early life and education

Greear grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[5] 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.[5] 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.[6]

Career

On July 18, 1999, Greear was ordained at Salem Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, the church he grew up in. In 2002, he became the pastor of what was then Homestead Heights Baptist Church in Durham.[7] 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.[7][5]

Under Greear's leadership, the Summit has grown from a plateaued membership of 300[8] to over 12,000.[9] Currently, the church has 13 campuses across The Triangle.[10]

In 2018, Greear became the president of the Southern Baptist Convention[11] and was re-elected by acclamation for a second one-year term in 2019 in an uncontested election.[12] 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.[13]

Greear has sought to minister to sex abuse victims and offenders in the church that he pastors.[14] According to him, the gospel message of Jesus, not national political purposes, should be the aim of Baptist churches.[15]

References

  1. ^ Greear, J. D. (2023-12-05). "Books". JD Greear Ministries. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  2. ^ Greear, J. D. (2024-01-07). "About The Ministry". JD Greear Ministries. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  3. ^ Greear, J. D. (2024-01-03). "About". JD Greear Ministries. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  4. ^ "Board Members, Council Members, and Emeritus Members of The Gospel Coalition". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  5. ^ a b c 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ a b Flo Johnston. "Church to sell its site." newsobserver.com Published 2005-03-04. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  8. ^ "Stories Detail | The Summit Church". summitchurch.com. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  9. ^ "I'm New | The Summit Church". summitchurch.com. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  10. ^ "Location Finder | The Summit Church". summitchurch.com. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  11. ^ Barbara Denman. "J.D Greear elected SBC president." Baptist Press. Published 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
  12. ^ Pittman, Joy (June 19, 2019). "Recap: 2019 SBC Annual Meeting Business Sessions". The Baptist New Mexican. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  13. ^ Schroeder, George (March 24, 2020). "2020 SBC Annual Meeting canceled". Baptist Press. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
Preceded by President of the Southern Baptist Convention
2018–21 		Succeeded by