A Partnership of Similar Hearts

About the Book

This applied ministerial project—A Partnership of Similar Hearts: A Collaborative Approach to Deacon/Pastor Ministry at St. James Baptist Church—examined the knowledge base of the current deacon ministry and its correlation to effective ministry in serving the needs of the St. James Baptist Church (SJBC) family in Greensboro, North Carolina. Coupled with this examination was the need for collaboration between the pastor and deacons in so doing. This project was designed to infuse the integration of the belief systems of the current deacon ministry with training that better serves the people and causes better collaboration with the pastor. This project did address the social problems that the overall deacon ministry of SJBC could face while serving. To add, this project also ensures all aspects of ministry were reflective of the paradigm shift that had taken place within the church, particularly in the area of leadership training. Demands placed by diverse parishioners on the urban pastor and the deacons seem to require the pastor less hands on while relegating many of the essential duties to servant leadership.

About the Author

Jerome Lee Jr. attended Hampton High School in Hampton Virginia. He received a diploma in Christian ministry from the James P. Boyce College of the Bible of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary while subsequently working as a crew leader for the City of Hampton Public Works for fifteen years. He received his master of divinity in Christian education in 2005 from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Virginia Union University. He served as the pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church, Painter, Virginia for twelve years. Rev. Lee served as the second vice moderator for the Eastern Shore of Virginia-Maryland Baptist Association and also served as the association’s director of Christian education. He currently serves as the pastor of St. James Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, since May 2011. In 2015, he graduated from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Virginia Union University with the doctor of ministry.