Pastor moved from business career to pulpit

Second Baptist pastor, the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Edmond, spent most of his life in a successful business career before turning to the ministry in his 40s.

Growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, during the heyday of legal Southern segregation, he attended Catholic schools and became a sales executive with Reynolds and Alcoa aluminum companies, living in Richmond, Virginia, Ithaca, New York, and Florida.

He says he reached the turning point in his life after he ran for the Florida state legislature but lost the election and also was passed over for a promotion from regional sales manager to national sales manager at his company.

"While I was running for office, my campaign manager told me, 'When you're making a campaign speech, you can't be preaching at folks so much,'" Edmond recalls. Sensing that God was calling him to use his gifts in a more sacred arena, he studied to become a minister.

Already in his 40s, he moved to Illinois and in 1993 became a part-time associate pastor at Second Baptist while still working as vice president of sales and marketing at Alcoa. After longtime Pastor T.E. Bradford retired, Edmond became SBC's top pastor on Feb. 20, 2000.

Edmond is very active in community activities, serving on the boards of Advocate Healthcare System, Advocate Sherman Hospital, Judson University and the United Way of Elgin.

Despite SBC's burgeoning size, Edmond remains the church's only full-time employee. He said that's possible because the church has 15 part-time "associate ministers" who support their families by doing other work in the community while helping with such ministries as 'Children's Church," visiting the sick and working with those in prison.

"Last year two of our associate ministers were picked to become pastors of other churches," he said.

"Some day we're going to hire an executive pastor," to take over some of the office work, Edmond said. But despite recently turning 65, he said he has no plans to retire. When he does, he said, he will not try to groom any particular person to replace him, leaving that up to a search committee set up by the 1,900 members.

- Dave Gathman