Paul S. Morton

The Right Reverend

Paul S. Morton
Founder and Presiding Bishop-Emeritus of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship
ChurchFull Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship
Orders
ConsecrationMarch 1993
by George Augustus Stallings
Personal details
Born
Paul Sylvester Morton

(1950-07-30) July 30, 1950 (age 74)
ResidenceMetro Atlanta, U.S.
Children3, including PJ Morton
OccupationPastor, author, Gospel singer, musician, speaker

Paul Sylvester Morton (born July 30, 1950) is an American Baptist pastor, Gospel singer and author. He is also a founder of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship.[1]

Biography

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Born into a Christian family, his father pastored two congregations, one in Windsor, Ontario and the other in Detroit, Michigan.[2]

In 1972, Morton moved to New Orleans, Louisiana and to the Greater St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church (now known as Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church) under the pastorate of Reverend Percy Simpson, where he became an associate pastor. Upon his ascension to the senior pastorate, Morton introduced Pentecostal and Charismatic elements to the church.[3]

Shortly after his appointment as senior pastor of Greater St. Stephen, Morton married the former Debra Brown. Together they have three children: Jasmine, Paul Jr., and Christian. His son Paul Jr. later became a Grammy Award-winning musician under the name PJ Morton.[4][5]

During his pastorate at Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church, Morton established the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship which initially began as a Charismatic Baptist movement within the National Baptist Convention, USA.[6] The movement became its own separate denomination in 1994 after Morton and those affiliated with the fellowship "were lovingly advised to resign their posts with the NBCUSA before they were kicked out."[7] National Baptist leadership feared the movement would develop into a separate denomination, urging members to either remain within the convention or leave.[8]

Morton was consecrated into the episcopacy in March 1993 by George Augustus Stallings in New Orleans,[9][10] and by 1997, Greater St. Stephen grew to 18,000 members in 3 locations under his pastorate.[11] In November 1993, he—along with J. Delano Ellis, Wilbert Sterling McKinley and Roy E. Brown—established the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops.[12]

In 2005, Morton founded Changing A Generation Full Gospel Baptist Church in Metro Atlanta.[13]

In 2013, he announced his intent to retire as Presiding Bishop of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship.[14] Two years later, in 2015, he retired from his office as leader of Full Gospel.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Leadership". Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  2. ^ "Bishop Paul S. Morton". CBN. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  3. ^ "300 unique New Orleans moments: Greater St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church organized in 1937". NOLA.com. December 28, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  4. ^ "Bishop Paul S. Morton, Sr. Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  5. ^ "PJ Morton | Artist". Grammy. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  6. ^ DuPree, Sherry S. (September 13, 2013). African-American Holiness Pentecostal Movement: An Annotated Bibliography. Routledge. p. 347. ISBN 978-1-135-73717-7.
  7. ^ "The Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship: Giving Baptists A Choice". Black and Christian. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  8. ^ "Pentecostal Baptist fellowship conference at Convention Center". Baltimore Sun. July 10, 2002. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  9. ^ "Bishop Paul Morton enlightens people on finding great success". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
  10. ^ Greater St Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church (March 19, 2023). Bishop Paul S. Morton 30th Episcopal Anniversary:The Making Of A Bishop @ GSS East | March 19, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2024 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ "Soaring Souls, Soaring Sights -- Baptist Church Thinks Big, And Far Beyond Walls Of Worship | The Seattle Times". archive.seattletimes.com. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  12. ^ "About the Joint College of Bishops". Joint College of Bishops. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  13. ^ Joe Maxwell, The Calm After the Storm, mycharisma.com, USA, July 31, 2008
  14. ^ "Full Gospel chooses Bishop Paul Morton's successor". Louisiana Weekly. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  15. ^ "Bishop Paul Morton retires", WDSU New Orleans, July 16, 2015, retrieved October 16, 2023
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