Bible-Belt Pastor To Atheist Leader – My Friend Jerry DeWitt!
Posted by Phil Ferguson on August 29th, 2012 – 1 Comment – Posted in UncategorizedLate one night in early May 2011, a preacher named Jerry DeWitt was lying in bed in DeRidder, La., when his phone rang. He picked it up and heard an anguished, familiar voice. It was Natosha Davis, a friend and parishioner in a church where DeWitt had preached for more than five years. Her brother had been in a bad motorcycle accident, she said, and he might not survive.
DeWitt knew what she wanted: for him to pray for her brother. It was the kind of call he had taken many times during his 25 years in the ministry. But now he found that the words would not come. He comforted her as best he could, but he couldn’t bring himself to invoke God’s help.Sensing her disappointment, he put the phone down and found himself sobbing. He was 41 and had spent almost his entire life in or near DeRidder, a small town in the heart of the Bible Belt. All he had ever wanted was to be a comfort and a support to the people he grew up with, but now a divide stood between him and them. He could no longer hide his disbelief. He walked into the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. “I remember thinking, Who on this planet has any idea what I’m going through?” DeWitt told me.
This is happening to people all over America – more than ever before. Easy access to information can make it hard on people that care about the truth. Jerry is one of these people. He cares about the truth and he cares about other people. He wanted to help but he did not want to live a lie.
As his wife slept, he fumbled through the darkness for his laptop. After a few quick searches with the terms “pastor” and “atheist,” he discovered that a cottage industry of atheist outreach groups had grown up in the past few years. Within days, he joined an online network called the Clergy Project, created for clerics who no longer believe in God and want to communicate anonymously through a secure Web site.
I think this is one of the best things that atheist movement has created. This is a valuable asset for people searching for the the truth. Jerry is doing a great job I can hardly wait to hear of his new adventures in the secular world.
The NYT had a nice long article on JDW. I had contacted him about an interview but he is getting so much press, it seemed like anything I wrote would be redundant. The NYT brilliantly sent a reporter down south to see him return to church. I also feared his family and finances were suffering as I see they are. Donate today!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/magazine/from-bible-belt-pastor-to-atheist-leader.html?pagewanted=all
**From Bible-Belt Pastor to Atheist Leader**
Julie Glassberg for The New York Times
*Unbeliever* Jerry DeWitt, converted atheist, in a church where he once
preached in DeRidder, La.
** By ROBERT F.
WORTH
**Published: August 22, 2012
Late one night in early May 2011, a preacher named Jerry DeWitt was lying
in bed in DeRidder, La., when his phone rang. He picked it up and heard an
anguished, familiar voice. It was Natosha Davis, a friend and parishioner
in a church where DeWitt had preached for more than five years. Her brother
had been in a bad motorcycle accident, she said, and he might not survive.
DeWitt knew what she wanted: for him to pray for her brother. It was the
kind of call he had taken many times during his 25 years in the ministry.
But now he found that the words would not come. He comforted her as best he
could, but he couldn‚t bring himself to invoke God‚s help. Sensing her
disappointment, he put the phone down and found himself sobbing. He was 41
and had spent almost his entire life in or near DeRidder, a small town in
the heart of the Bible Belt. All he had ever wanted was to be a comfort and
a support to the people he grew up with, but now a divide stood between him
and them. He could no longer hide his disbelief. He walked into the
bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. „I remember thinking, Who on
this planet has any idea what I‚m going through?‰ DeWitt told me.
As his wife slept, he fumbled through the darkness for his laptop. After a
few quick searches with the terms „pastor‰ and „atheist,‰ he discovered
that a cottage industry of atheist outreach groups had grown up in the past
few years. Within days, he joined an online network called the Clergy
Project , created for clerics who no longer
believe in God and want to communicate anonymously through a secure Web
site.