Pastor and Activist
Edward Gilbreath
July 1, 2000
Gerald Durley can tell you plenty of stories about the "movement": marching with Martin Luther King, Jr., leading sit-ins to protest Jim Crow, getting arrested multiple times in pursuit of equal rights for African Americans.
Today as senior pastor of Providence Missionary Baptist Church, a congregation of 1,000 in the heart of Atlanta, Durley seeks to bring to the church the same passion and conviction that inspired so many to march three decades ago.
"The church of Christ in the modern day is called to do the same thing that the saints of the early church were called to do," Durley says. "They were called to point people to Christ and save souls. I think that is the primary mission. And the apostles and first-century believers were doing that. But by the same token, we, as did they, have an obligation to meet the everyday needs of the people. Jesus was our great role model. When people were hungry, he did more than preach to them. He took five loaves and two fishes and opened up a restaurant on the side of the mountain to feed everybody there.
"When people were sick and crippled, rather than just praying from a distance, Jesus went to them and they came to him. So we also have an obligation to look at the sickness and the illness in people's lives."
Durley is an electric presence. At 58 he's cut like a retired pro athlete (at one time he played pro basketball in Switzerland) who could still mix it up with the young guys if necessary. You first notice his contagious smile, but when he speaks you feel the fire and compassion.
Equal parts evangelist and social activist, Durley recently made headlines when it was revealed that actress Jane Fonda had been attending his church. He met Fonda when the two served together on the board ...
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