FPC Sanford Dr. Stuart T. Wilson profile

Dr. Wilson has been the Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian since January 1, 2009. The Wilson clan includes his wife, Babbs, Nathan (age 25, from a previous marriage), & their four children: Adam (24), Caleb (19), Hannah (17), & Ethan (14).

Dr. Wilson was born on January 11, 1952 in Norfolk, Virginia, where he lived for the next twenty-two years. Raised in a Presbyterian congregational family of faith, his childhood was graced with worship, Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and Children’s Choir. Psalms, the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes were memorized encouragingly. Biblical stories were creatively proclaimed in word, print, and picture through weekly lessons that were kept in a special notebook. Those richly colored messages, along with the empathetic images of his Sunday School teachers, still effectively linger.

He has received the following degrees: Bachelor of Arts (’74), Master of Divinity (’78), and Doctor of Ministry (’94). He wrote a book, Sketching a Scheme: A Friendship Model of Ministry as a Mediating Structure, published in 2005 by University Press of America. During thirty years in the parish ministry, he has served churches in Virginia, North & South Carolina, and Alabama.

Some of his previous Continuing Education experiences include the Alban Institute’s “Senior Pastors: Leading Multiple Staff Teams,” “Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual Leadership,” and “Moving Through Conflict Resolution to Conflict Transformation: The Challenge of Managing Conflict as Peacemakers.”

Dr. Wilson wrote the following two personal pieces to share with you:

Two core principles reinforce my panoramic view and adventure. First of all, as I perceive it, the heart of Christianity is a personal relationship with the living God through the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Secondly, my perspective is also colored by the conviction that the active Christian life is one that is comprehensive, balanced, and deliberate---integrating vital thinking, feeling, and action.

The next piece is a personal guiding practice. Internally, the church strives to preserve unity in Christ amid plurality of opinion. Externally, the church strives to remain relevant to a secular society without losing its Christian identity.