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Article: Forbes leaves famed pulpit, not prophetic role.(News)(James A. Forbes Jr.)
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- May 29, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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MAKE NO MISTAKE: Take James A. Forbes Jr. away from a pulpit and he is not himself. Forbes's old friend the late African-American church historian James Melvin Washington used to kid the senior minister of Manhattan's Riverside Church by saying Forbes "would preach to clear his sinuses."
"He was fight: If I don't preach, I won't be well," Forbes mused one morning recently in an office overlooking the church where he has presided, implored and, yes, preached for the better part of two decades.
But as Forbes reflected on his 18 years in one of the country's most prestigious and visible pulpits, he hardly sounded wistful. In fact, Forbes, 71, who will ...