- Earl Gladstone Hunt, Jr.
Earl Gladstone Hunt, Jr. (1918-2005) was an American who distinguished himself as a
Methodist Pastor and Evangelist, as thePresident ofEmory and Henry College , as anauthor andtheologian , as aBishop of The Methodist Church and theUnited Methodist Church (elected in 1964), and as a leader inWorld Methodism .Birth and Family
Earl was born 14 September 1918 in
Johnson City, Tennessee , the son of Earl Gladstone and Tommie Mae DeVault Hunt.During his 46-year career, Hunt served at all levels of the United Methodist Church, and was active in the
World Methodist Council , as well. He was also widely respected as an evangelist, earning the top awards given for outstanding evangelism in his denomination.Education
Earl earned a
bachelor's degree fromEast Tennessee State University in 1941, and adivinity degree from theCandler School of Theology ofEmory University inAtlanta in 1946.Ordained Ministry
Earl was ordained a Deacon in the Methodist Church in 1944, and an Elder the following year. He began his pastoral ministry at the Sardis Methodist Church in Atlanta, Georgia as a Student Pastor while attending Candler. Returning to his home conference, the Holston
Annual Conference , Rev. Hunt served churches inKingsport ,Chattanooga , and Morristown, Tennessee. In 1956 he was elected President ofEmory and Henry College inEmory, Virginia , where he served for eight years.Episcopal Ministry
He was elected Bishop at the age of 46 by the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference of the
U.M. Church . He was assigned to lead the Charlotte Episcopal Area. During his twelve years there, among his many accomplishments was to appoint the first Black Pastor in the Southeastern Jurisdiction to serve as a District Superintendent. He also organized a Lay Advisory Council.In 1976 Bishop Hunt was assigned to the Church's Nashville Episcopal Area. There he began his writing ministry, authoring several books on theology and evangelism. He was, in fact, completing his last book, An Open Door, at the time of his death in 2005.
Four years later, Bishop Hunt was assigned to the
Florida Episcopal Area, where he served until 1988. While in Florida, he led the denomination's Committee on Our Theological Task. This committee spent nearly eight years perfecting a document addressing the Church's theological task in the world. In 1988 the General Conference adopted this document, which still appears in the denomination's "Book of Discipline".Bishop Hunt was the Keynote Speaker at the 1976
World Methodist Conference inDublin, Ireland . He served ten years on the World Methodist Council's Executive Committee, and was awarded theWorld Methodist Chair of Honor in 1988.Ministry in Retirement
Upon retiring in 1988, Bishop Hunt moved to
Lake Junaluska, North Carolina . There he served as President of theFoundation for Evangelism , an affiliate ministry of the U.M. General Board of Discipleship. In 2002 the Foundation honored him as a Lifetime Distinguished Evangelist of the U.M. Church, a rare honor indeed! Other honors received by Bishop Hunt include thePhilip Award , given by the National Association of U.M. Evangelists. "Bishop Hunt was larger than life in so many ways," said BishopRichard Looney , President of the Foundation for Evangelism.elected Writings
* A Bishop Speaks His Mind: A Candid View of United Methodism, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1987. (ISBN-10: 0687035651 ISBN-13: 978-0687035656)
* I Have Believed: A Bishop Talks About His Faith, Nashville: Abingdon, 1980. (ISBN-10: 0835804038 ISBN-13: 978-0835804035)
* Storms and Starlight (Bishops' Messages on the Holy Spirit), Earl G. Hunt, Jr. (Editor), Nashville: Tidings, 1974.
* Recovering the Sacred: Papers From the Sanctuary and the Academy, Jonathan Creek Press, 1992. (ISBN-10: 0963130803)
* Aspects of our Methodist heritage: With particular focus upon one of its distinguishged transmitters, BishopRoy Hunter Short , 1972.References
*The Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church [http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=5855]
*InfoServ, the official information service of The United Methodist Church. [http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=1244]ee also
*
List of Bishops of the United Methodist Church
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.