Stanley O. Williford
Director of Publications
Dr. Raphael Gamaliel Warnock, who serves as senior pastor at the 134-year-old Ebenezer Baptist Church made famous by Martin Luther King Sr. and Martin Luther King Jr., is eyeing another career.
Warnock, 35, is the fifth and youngest pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, and like MLK Jr., Warnock is a graduate of Morehouse College. The church is a National Historic Site.
He is also the son of two Pentecostal parents.
After 15 years at the church, Warnock’s present challenge is running for the U.S. Senate, according to Christianity Today. The organization notes that Warnock “hopes to address in office are many of the same ones that troubled an Ebenezer college student named Lonnie King Jr. in 1960. With fellow black student activists, Lonnie King decried racial discrimination in ‘An Appeal for Human Rights,’ which ran in local papers as well as the New York Times and was a catalyst toward desegregation in Atlanta.”
Dr. Charles Stanley steps down
After 50 years as pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Charles Stanley, 88, is stepping down, according to a report in Christianity Today. He recently made a video announcement following an online service. He now becomes pastor emeritus at the church.However, Pastor Stanley explained that “he isn’t retiring, but will focus his energies on In Touch Ministries, which he founded in 1977.”
“As you know, I don’t believe in retirement,” he told Christianity Today. “I’ll continue to preach the gospel as long as God allows. My goal remains the same – to get the truth of the gospel to as many people as possible as quickly as possible in the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God.”
“Anthony George will transition from his position of associate pastor . . . to senior pastor,” the online newspaper noted. Pastor Stanley’s son, Andrew Stanley, heads North Point Community Church, a nondenominational Christian Church, which he founded along with several other churches.
