James David (J.D.) Greear (born May 1, 1973) is the Pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina (a position he has held since January 2002) and the 62nd President of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Before coming to work at The Summit he worked with the International Mission Board.
He entered the Ph.D.
program at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1999, graduating in 2003 with a doctorate in Philosophy, concentrating primarily on Christian and Islamic theology.
He preceeded this degree by graduating from Word of Life Bible Institute and then receiving his Bachelor of Arts from Campbell University.
Greear comes from Winston-Salem, North Carolina.Greear wants to establish churches both within the United States and abroad.