WACO, Texas (ABP) — After quite a circuitous journey, Joel Gregory is returning to his roots at Baylor University.
Gregory, who earned his bachelor's and doctoral degrees at Baylor long before embarking on a career that climaxed in his briefly being pastor of one of the largest and most prominent churches in the conservative wing of the Southern Baptist Convention, is returning to teach at the school's moderate seminary.
Gregory has been appointed a professor of homiletics at the school's George W. Truett Theological Seminary. The seminary was founded in the 1990s, partially in response to the conservative movement in which Gregory was at one time a leader and which took control of Southern Baptist Convention-related seminaries.
Gregory, 57, is a former president of the Baptist General Convention Texas. After a tenure as pastor of Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth, he was tapped to succeed the legendary W.A. Criswell as pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas.
However, Gregory soon resigned from his pulpit, succumbing to pressures he later described in a memoir about the experience, Too Great a Temptation. Playwright and David Rambo adapted the book into a play, “God's Man in Texas,” which has been performed across the United States.
Gregory has also written and edited other books, including “Growing Pains of the Soul,” “Homesick for God,” “James: Faith Works and Gregory's Sermon Synopses.” He co-authored “Southern Baptist Preaching Today,” “Southern Baptist Preaching Yesterday” and “The Preaching Pastor.”
Since leaving the pastorate, Gregory has held several positions, including as a magazine publisher and traveling preacher.
“At Truett Seminary, we intend to make preaching a priority,” said Paul Powell, the school's dean, according to a Baylor press release. “We sought Joel Gregory because I believe he is the finest preaching professor we can put before our students.”
“It is an honor that Dean Paul Powell and the faculty of Truett have requested me to join with them in their vision,” Gregory said. “I hope to help that excellent faculty in their quest to make Truett a center for contemporary biblical preaching in the historic, mainstream Baptist tradition.”
Gregory is a member of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth. He has two grown sons.
— Robert Marus contributed to this story.