Pastor Raymond Bailey, a fixture at Seventh and James Baptist Church and in the community for more than a decade, will give his final sermon Sunday in Waco.

Bailey announced his retirement earlier this month. He is moving to Kentucky on Sunday night, after his morning sermon and a reception in the afternoon.

Bailey and his wife, Patricia, are moving to Kentucky after 15 years in Waco to be closer to their children and grandchildren, Raymond Bailey said.

Raymond Bailey and his wife are moving to Kentucky on Sunday night, after his morning sermon and a reception in the afternoon.
Rod Aydelotte/Tribune-Herald

Patricia Bailey served as executive director of the Waco Advocacy Center until retiring in 2002.

Bailey said he and his wife made the decision to leave the church he has led since 1995 the week before Easter Sunday.

“It just seemed like the time is here,” Bailey said. “Things are going well at the church, and it just seemed like a good time to make the move.”

In moving closer to one family, though, Bailey said he is leaving another behind.

“It really is like a family, you know,” Bailey said. “You watch young people grow old, children grow up and go off to college, and it’s hard to leave people you genuinely care about.”

He insisted that the Baileys won’t be strangers to Waco.

“We’ll make trips back. We’ll come for some sports events, I’m sure,” Bailey said. “We’re going to be at the bowl game when Art Briles gets the Bears there this year.”

Eight congregation members will fill Bailey’s spot in the pulpit for the next two months. They will be men and women from Baylor University’s religion department and Truett Seminary.

A search committee will be appointed and will likely take as long as a year to find his permanent replacement, Bailey said.

Church staying put

The pastor’s departure will have “no impact whatsoever” on the church’s desire to remain on the property coveted by Baylor, Bailey said.

The university has been interested in the property, which abuts the school’s campus, but Bailey said the congregation has made clear their desire to remain at the location. In fact, Bailey said, there have been no serious talks about the property since early in former Baylor President John Lilley’s tenure.

The church and university have a good relationship, with the church sharing its parking lots during the week in exchange for the school maintaining them. Bailey also said Baylor will be at the top of the list if the church ever does decide to move.

Retiring from Seventh and James doesn’t mean Bailey will be sitting idle. He said he will be teaching a class this summer at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta.

Former Baylor Law School professor and Seventh and James congregation member Bill Underwood has been president at Mercer since 2006.

Underwood said Thursday he was unaware that Bailey would be teaching there until he was approached by the dean of the school of theology.

“I wish I had thought of it, but it was the dean of our school of theology who used to teach with Raymond at Southern (Baptist Theological) Seminary,” said Underwood, who said he considers Bailey a close friend.

“I tell people that before Raymond arrived at Seventh and James, where I was a member, I tended to sit in the back row and daydream,” Underwood said. “But when he arrived, his sermons really woke me up. He has something to say, doesn’t mind being controversial and he really preaches the gospel.”

Intelligent preaching

Underwood said he is confident the church will find a quality preacher to replace Bailey.

“One thing’s for sure, that’s a church that recognizes and appreciates great preaching,” he said, noting the high number of ordained ministers who are congregation members.

“It’s a very intellectual, well-educated congregation. So whoever comes in, I think, is going to have to be thoughtful and a great preacher and a very intelligent person to appeal to that congregation,” Underwood said.

twoods@wacotrib.com

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