Joel Hunter

Joel Carl Hunter (born April 18, 1948, in Shelby, Ohio) is a pastor and author. He is the author of A New Kind of Conservative (Regal 2008), Church Distributed (Distributed Press 2008) and Inner State 80: Your Journey on the High Way (Higher Life 2009). Hunter accepted the presidency of the Christian Coalition in 2006, but resigned before taking the office. He delivered the closing benediction on the final day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Early life and education Hunter was born April 18, 1948, in Shelby, Ohio. His parents were Wilbur Hunter, a decorated World War II veteran, and Jean Hunter, a homemaker. When his father died in 1952, he spent much of his time with his maternal grandparents, Lena and Carl Bashore. He graduated from Shelby High School in 1966.

He then attended Ohio University. While there, he became involved in the civil rights movement. In April 1968, after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., he had a crisis of faith and felt called into ministry. He graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Science degree in education.

He then attended Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1970, and received his Master of Divinity in 1973. After starting towards his Doctor of Ministry degree, he took his first church appointment as a youth minister at Bradley United Methodist Church in Greenfield, Indiana. There he met his wife, Becky. He stayed at Bradley for one year, and then became a minister at Southport United Methodist and remained there until obtaining his Doctor of Ministry degree in 1974. He stepped down in October, 2017.

Hunter delivered the closing benediction on the final day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, prayed with Senator Obama on the day of the 2008 presidential election

On February 5, 2009, he was appointed to the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. In April 2011, he was named a member of the Commission on Accountability and Policy for Religious Organizations.

Hunter served in the inaugural year on the Advisory Council for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (2009–2010), which advised President Barack Obama on substantive policy issues including interfaith relations, strengthening the role of fathers in society, and reducing the number of abortions. In 2006 and 2008, Hunter was invited to symposiums on creation care at Windsor Castle. He has since been named by Grist Magazine as one of the Top 15 Religious Leaders in Creation Care, along with Pope Benedict XVI and the Dalai Lama.

Personal life Married to Becky Gaylene Beeson in 1972, the Hunters raised three sons, have seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren.