Guide to the Jack Haberer Papers

Jack Haberer (officially John H. Haberer Jr.) was born in Queens, New York on February 16, 1955, and raised in Ramsey, New Jersey.  Haberer was baptized and confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church, but became strongly influenced by the Jesus Movement as a teenager. He worked with two friends to organize the Mustard Seed Coffeehouse in a local Episcopal Church and, during his time there, felt a strong call to pastoral ministry.

Haberer attended the Elim Bible Institute in Lima, New York for eighteen months before transferring to Roberts Wesleyan College. There, he received a Bachelor of Arts in religion and philosophy in 1976. Haberer went on to study at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary where he became more familiar with the Presbyterian Church. He received a Master of Divinity in 1982 and was hired to the staff of the New Covenant Presbyterian Church (Pompano Beach, Florida). Two years later he was ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and became the lead pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church, a large congregation in Satellite Beach, Florida. Haberer worked as pastor there from 1984 to 1994 while he completed his Doctor of Ministry degree at Columbia Theological Seminary. In January 1994, Haberer was called to serve as lead pastor of another large congregation, Clear Lake Presbyterian Church (Houston, Texas).

During his time at Clear Lake Presbyterian Church, Haberer took on a greater role in the PC(USA) by chairing two national organizations: the Presbyterian Coalition and Presbyterians for Renewal. From 1994 to 1997, he acted as the organizer and the first board chair for the Presbyterian Coalition. The Coalition marshaled opposition to the ordination of gay and lesbian Presbyterians, most notably campaigning for the successful passage of Amendment B in 1996. The Amendment, known as the “fidelity-chastity” amendment and G-6.0106b in the Book of Order, explicitly named fidelity in marriage or chastity in singleness as requirements for ordination. Haberer stepped down from his role as chair of the Coalition in 1997. From 1999 to 2005, he served as president of the Board of Directors for Presbyterians for Renewal, another organization devoted to renewal in the PC(USA).

Haberer also served on three denominational committees, including the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church. The Theological Task Force met from 2001 through 2006, and was charged with leading the church in a process of discernment that covered issues of Christology, biblical authority, ordination, and power. In the years following the task force, Haberer's stance on ordination rights shifted and he came to support the ordination of LGBTQIA+ Presbyterians. (Haberer shares this story in an oral history interview, available in Pearl.) Haberer also served as a member of the Task Force on Unity and Diversity of the Church from 1997 to 1998, and the Study Committee on the PC(USA) Washington Office in 2009. 

Starting in January 2006, Haberer worked as the editor of The Presbyterian Outlook for nine years. He wrote over 500 editorials and news articles in this position. Haberer also spoke at churches, conferences, and presbytery meetings throughout the denomination. In addition to writing for The Presbyterian Outlook, Haberer wrote articles in Presbyterians Today, contributed to several academic journals, and published three books:  It’s Complicated: A Guide to Faithful Decision Making; GodViews: The Convictions that Drive Us and Divide Us; and Living the Presence of the Spirit.

In 2014, Haberer resigned from his editorial role and returned to pastoral ministry at Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church (Naples, Florida). He served Vanderbilt Presbyterian for two years before accepting a call to become the lead pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania.