Committee nominates new director for Congregational Ministries Division
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, May 25, 1999
LOUISVILLE, KY – A presbytery executive from Pennsylvania will become the new director of the Congregational Ministries Division of the Presbyterian Church (USA) if the General Assembly ratifies his nomination at its meeting in Ft. Worth June 19-26.
The commissioners’ ratification of the Rev. Donald G. Campbell of the Donegal Presbytery in Lancaster, Pa., would fill the seat left vacant in 1998 when the previous CMD director, Eunice Poethig, was not nominated for a second full term.
Previous director’s departure
Poethig’s departure from PCUSA leadership was one of several that followed the 1993 ReImagining conference. She was a supporter of the conference and strongly defended the involvement of the General Assembly Council staff in the denomination’s participation in and financial support for the ReImagining God movement.
In 1994, commissioners to the General Assembly overwhelmingly rejected the ReImagining theology and mailed a letter to every congregation declaring that “theology matters.”
Campbell unanimous choice
Campbell, the unanimous choice the the selection committee, “is a person with a deep faith in Jesus Christ whose professional ethics are impeccable,” said the Rev. Joanne R. Hull of Charlotte, N.C., chair of the search committee. “He is a good manager who expects quality work of those around him.” At the same time, she said, “he is a nurturing person for clergy and lay leaders alike, with a management style that allows subordinates to do the best they can and to be the best they can.”
Campbell said he has “a commitment to education as a developmental approach to strengthen all areas of the church’s ministry.
“From day one I have practiced ministry as a Christian educator,” he said. “Preaching and teaching, planning and coordinating have been my tools for ministry. Inspiring and equipping people to live and serve as members of the Body of Christ is what I continually seek to accomplish.”
Campbell has held his current position with Donegal Presbytery since 1991. Before that he was associate executive presbyter of New Brunswick Presbytery in Trenton, N.J. A graduate of Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa., he holds Bachelor of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and a Master of Education degree from Princeton Theological Seminary.
Beginning in 1967, he served as assistant pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Easton, Pa., associate pastor and assistant pastor of Doylestown Presbyterian Church in Doylestown, Pa., and pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Butler, Pa.
Goal: empower and inspire
Campbell said his goal is to empower and inspire the staff of the Congregational Ministries Division. “What humbles me is that this ministry of administration has the responsibility to enrich and strengthen the work and witness of all of our congregations and those who serve in them,” he said. “This responsibility can be met as the leader enables a division of competent and committed people to become the best God created them to be.”
Hull said the search committee made more than 100 contacts with potential candidates. The group included 54 males, 47 females and 16 racial ethnic persons.
“From the beginning,” Hull said, “the search committee sought the guidance of God through the Holy Spirit to help it identify the best person for the position regardless of gender, age, or race.”
The Congregational Ministries Division, one of three ministries divisions of the General Assembly Council, coordinates work in the areas of Christian Education, Christian Faith and Life, Stewardship, and Curriculum Publishing. Its responsibilities include pastor, educator and lay leader support; youth and young adult ministries; conference ministries; spiritual formation; theology and worship; theological education; mission interpretation and promotion; stewardship education; and the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program.
Gary Luhr, associate director for Communication of the Presbyterian Church (USA), also contributed to this article.