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Reverend France A. Davis has been the pastor at the Calvary Baptist Church in Salt Lake City, Utah, since 1974. He was born and raised in Georgia and attended school at Tuskegee University in Alabama, during which time he participated in marches with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He then served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War era and later came to Salt Lake City as a teaching fellow in the Communications Department at the University of Utah.
Highlights
08:00 His mentors all held the conviction that it is not enough to believe, but that you have to take action to make it a reality. They took the Bible as their guide and sought to change laws so that people were treated fairly and not mistreated due to skin color or place of origin. He has continued to do that in our community, working to make it better for everyone who might be treated unfairly. 11:15 Felt the call from God to become a leader at a young age, and was prepared when the time came and the actual call came to serve 15:30 Explanation of the process taking place now, looking for a new pastor to replace him 18:30 The process of becoming a part of the Calvary Baptist congregation 20:20 His early experience and some of the service programs the Calvary Baptist Church has worked on with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 24:15 All people need to realize that there are other people who are different, and to appreciate those differences in the religious setting. The leaders of whatever the dominant group is need to make efforts to include those people who are not part of that dominant group. 28:10 Some benefits and the more obvious negatives to having the Church so dominant in Utah 31:20 Reaching out means getting to know people and interacting with them, appreciating differences and working together, and does not mean having a hidden agenda of proselyting 35:35 The legislative process should also involve input from leaders from a diverse community and not from simply the dominant culture 37:45 Principles of leadership: Start with formal training and learning leadership
- Everyone has something to say and the leader needs to listen to them
- To be an effective leader, you must first be a good follower
- Be willing to sacrifice your selfish wishes for the benefit of the total community
- Have a vision for how to accomplish what you want to see in the community
39:30 Listen first before pronouncing your opinion 40:35 Every pastor needs a pastor, and in different settings you are a leader or a follower 42:00 Experience interviewing elderly church members who wanted a wheelchair ramp, but the congregation shot it down. He learned to talk to more people first so that everyone’s opinion is heard and they have a buy-in. 44:25 Vision is constantly changing, pointing the people forward to what they want to see happen in the future 46:40 How confession is handled between individuals and God 48:00 Spiritual counseling and financial or secular counseling handled separately 50:45 Being a full-time pastor means dealing with the people full-time 51:40 Worship services at the Calvary Baptist Church for those who wish to visit and worship 52:35 Leading a congregation for 45 years has helped him understand that he cannot do it alone
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