James David "J.D." Greear (born May 1, 1973) is an evangelical American religious leader who is the pastor of The Summit Church in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

, North Carolina. He served as the 62nd

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

from 2018 to 2021.

Early life and education

Greear was born in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

. He graduated from Word of Life Bible Institute and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Campbell University Campbell University is a private Baptist university in Buies Creek, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (Southern Baptist Convention). Southern Baptist ConventionColleges and Universities sbc.net ...

. He entered the PhD program at

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Wake Forest, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. in Wake Forest, North Carolina. It was created in 1950 to meet a need in ...

in 1999, graduating in 2003 with a doctorate in philosophy, concentrating primarily on Christian and Islamic theology.Yonat Shimron
"Durham church spreads Gospel with DVDs."
newsobserver.com. Published 2008-10-16. Retrieved 2009-06-10. 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''.

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. 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.Flo Johnston
"Church to sell its site."
newsobserver.com Published 2005-03-04. Retrieved 2009-06-12. He worked with the

International Mission Board The International Mission Board (or IMB, formerly the Foreign Mission Board) is a Christian missionary society affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The headquarters is in Richmond, Virginia, United States. History Thousands ...

. In 2018, he became the 62nd President of the Southern Baptist ConventionBarbara Denman
"J.D Greear elected SBC president."
Baptist Press. Published 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-09-14. and was re-elected by acclamation for a second one-year term in 2019 in an uncontested election. 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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and a successor could not be elected. Greear has sought to minister to sex abuse victims and offenders in the local church that he pastors. According to him, the gospel message of Jesus, not national political purposes, should be the aim of Baptist churches.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.

References

External links

Official websiteThe Summit Church website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greear, J.D. 1973 births 21st-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians Baptists from North Carolina Campbell University alumni Living people People from Winston-Salem, North Carolina Southern Baptist Convention presidents Southern Baptist ministers 21st-century American theologians 21st-century American clergy