Links to previous stories

First Baptist Church Pastor Resigns
https://spiritofabilene.com/2024/04/07/first-baptist-church-pastor-resigns/
FBC Welcomes New Pastor
https://spiritofabilene.com/2023/01/26/fbc-welcomes-new-pastor
First Baptist Names New Pastor
https://spiritofabilene.com/2022/12/19/first-baptist-names-new-pastor

By Loretta Fulton
Pastors are lined up for Sunday mornings through May 12 at First Baptist Church, but the process for selecting a full-time senior pastor has just begun. 

Brandon Hudson, who was senior pastor for just over a year, resigned following a DUI arrest on March 23 while driving from Lubbock to Abilene on U.S. Highway 84. A resignation letter was read to the congregation on Sunday, April 7. 

The congregation was invited to a “time of prayer and information” on Tuesday, April 9, with about 300 attending. Nancy Patrick, a member of First Baptist and contributor to Spirit of Abilene, attended the meeting and had the following observations.

“We participated in a guided prayer time, praying for each member of the Hudson family, the entirety of the church staff, and the membership as a whole. I was extremely moved by the tears of many men and women as they struggled for composure as they addressed their deep grief for the Hudsons’ pain but also their deep desire to ‘do what is right.’ I felt that the church wants to forgive Brandon as we forgive each other in our individual lapses.”

First Baptist Church will continue to provide both salary and insurance coverage for the Hudson family for the next six months. Hudson voluntarily resigned, said Mike Greenfield, pastor for administration & spiritual development.

“He was not forced to resign,” Greenfield said.

A lot of members of the church have reached out to the Hudson family to provide comfort and care, Greenfield said. The family consists of Hudson, his wife, Jill, and two children who are in high school. 

Mike Greenfield

Preachers scheduled through May 12 will be:

April 21–Jerry Hendrix, who retired from ministry in 2023. His last pastorate was at First Baptist Church in Sweetwater. 
April 28–Ken Lyle Jr.–former Logsdon Seminary professor at Hardin-Simmons University and current hospice chaplain
May 5–Larry McGraw, associate dean of the School of Theology at Hardin-Simmons and professor of Bible
May 12–Hunter Brown, pastor for youth at First Baptist Church. May 12 is high school senior recognition day and Mother’s Day.

Greenfield said church by-laws spell out the process that the church must follow when replacing the senior pastor, whether the vacancy was due to resignation, termination, or death.

“It’s a catch-all process,” he said.

It’s the same process that the church followed when choosing Hudson. He was named pastor on Dec. 18, 2022, and his first Sunday at First Baptist was Feb. 5, 2023. A search committee that eventually recommended Hudson was formed following the retirement of Phil Christopher, which was effective Sept. 26, 2021. Christopher had served as senior pastor since 1995. A search committee has not been named to find a replacement for Hudson. 

In the process to replace Christopher, First Baptist used the services of the Center for Healthy Churches, which assists with transitions, pastor searches, consulting, and other congregational needs. The Center’s Matt Cook served as interim pastor at First Baptist Church while the search for a permanent pastor was ongoing. It will be up to a new search committee to decide whether the Center for Healthy Churches or any other agency will be used to find the next pastor. 

“That is an option,” Greenfield said.

Since his retirement, Christopher has joined the team at the Center for Healthy Churches but said it is not likely he will be called to serve as the interim pastor at First Baptist. 

He added that he would be happy to preach on occasion as well as be a pastoral presence to provide hope and stability as the congregation moves forward. 

First Baptist Church, located in the heart of downtown Abilene, is one of the city’s oldest churches. It was founded on Dec. 17, 1881, just nine months after the city’s founding on March 15, 1881.

“Today the church is still as strong and vital to the downtown area as it was in 1881,” its website states. 

First Baptist is well known for its extensive outreach ministries to the city, including GLO (God’s Little Ones) childcare center, City Light Community Ministries, and a counseling center.

Hudson was the 20th pastor to serve First Baptist. The Hudson family moved to Abilene from Pelham, Alabama, where Hudson had been pastor of Crosscreek Baptist Church since 2013. 

A native of Lubbock, Hudson earned degrees from Texas Tech University and Truett Seminary at Baylor University. Before coming to FBC, his ministry involved five years of service as a youth pastor in Texas churches and fifteen years as a senior pastor in two churches in North Carolina and Alabama.

Loretta Fulton is creator and editor of Spirt of Abilene