Rev. George Wright announced Friday that he is leaving Shades Mountain Baptist Church, telling members in a social media video that his final Sunday sermon is two days away.
Wright said the decision had become clear over the previous two weeks and called it heartbreaking for his family. He also asked people to “please pray like crazy,” and said nothing in his life disqualifies him from ministry or stands in the way of his continued pursuit of God’s calling.
The move affects a major congregation in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, where Shades Mountain Baptist Church counts roughly 7,800 members. Wright has served as senior pastor since Aug. 15, 2021, after leading Shandon Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina, from 2017 to 2021.
In a statement, church leaders said the leadership and staff are committed to walking through the season with care, unity and faith. They also said they trust the Lord is guiding them and that they will keep the church informed in the days ahead as they look for Wright’s successor.
Wright framed the departure not as a retreat from ministry but as a continuation of it. “I am more passionate and committed right now to live out this purpose than I’ve ever been,” he said, adding that his purpose is to love and worship King Jesus by faithfully serving and loving his family, preaching God’s Word and pursuing his mission all the days of his life. He said that mission will continue and prayed that revival would continue to break out.
The announcement also draws a line through a family name long known in Southern Baptist life. Wright was born in Houston and raised in Marietta, Georgia, and his father, the Rev. Bryant Wright, led Johnson Ferry Baptist Church and served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 2010 to 2012. For now, the church’s next chapter turns on a question already answered by Wright himself: his work there is ending, but he says his calling is not.
