Longtime Greenleaf Christian Church pastor William Barber II retires from the ministry on Sunday, June 19, 2023
Prominent Christian Leader Rev. William J. Barber II of Greenleaf Christian Church of Goldsboro, North Carolina retired from ministry on Sunday after 30 years of service.
Barber delivered his last sermon as a pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church at the church’s Sunday service.
Rev. Barber who has been suffering from ankylosing spondylitis arthritis for a long time referred to his health challenge in his sermon declaring that he has “no reason to be standing here but by the grace of God.” He contends that “God does his best work with the cripples.”
“Every main character that you heard, read from 2 Corinthians to Isaiah to Matthew to Samuel, is crippled, broken, handicapped,” said Barber.
“Somewhere in this room, there’s not a person in here that does not have some crippling reality, some brokenness, some handicap. And yet, when you read the texts, in some ways, their stories testify to the glory of God,” he added.
Barber retired from ministry at 59 years old. Greenleaf Christian Church however disclosed in a news release Barber’s intention to continue to engage in civil rights work.
“He is dedicating his next season to continuing to build a moral movement that can redeem the heart and soul of this nation, usher in a third reconstruction, and, through his role as founding director of the recently established Yale Center for Public Theology and Public Policy, train a new generation of moral leaders to be active participants in creating a just society,” the news release said, reports CNN.
Barber joined Greenleaf Christian Church in June 1993. He gained notoriety for his effort to combat racism. inequality and poverty. He is a former president of the North Carolina NAACP, where he served from 2005 to 2017.
