David Bumgardner of Fort Worth, Texas, has been named a Clemons Fellow with Baptist News Global for the spring semester 2022.
He already is well-known to regular BNG readers as an opinion writer, having authored one of the most-read opinion pieces of 2021, “It’s Time to Pay the Piper.” He also gained national notoriety in September 2020 when the Texas church that had licensed him to ministry revoked that imprimatur after Bumgardner — a self-identified Republican — denounced Donald Trump as morally unfit to continue as president.
David Bumgardner
Bumgardner is in his final semester at Texas Baptist College, the undergraduate school of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. A native of Fort Worth, he is an active member of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, a predominantly Black church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, where Pastor Dwight McKissic has been a mentor to him. A licensed Baptist minister, Bumgardner currently is working toward ordination as a deacon in the Anglican tradition.
“One of the primary goals of our Clemons Fellowship is to nurture young writers who will carry on our tradition of interpreting religion and culture in the next generation. David is a gifted writer and a bright theological mind,” said BNG Executive Director Mark Wingfield. “Combined with a sharp wit and infectious personality, he’s a perfect candidate for our fellowship.”
Recent Clemons Fellows have included Laura Ellis of Boston University School of Theology, Rick Pidcock of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Amy Hayes of McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University.
BNG’s Clemons Fellowship is funded by earnings from the Ardelle and Hardy Clemons Endowment Fund held with HighGround Advisors and the Gene Puckett Endowment Fund held with the Virginia Baptist Foundation. Learn more here about supporting these endowments.