Pastor, communicator hosted Dialogue segment for Adventist NewsLine
Garrett Caldwell has interviewed Seventh-day Adventist world church leaders, outspoken theologians and engaging church members for television.
Now the church is selecting Caldwell, who combined a communication degree with his pastoral studies in college, to serve as its chief public relations officer.
The church’s Executive Committee earlier this month approved his nomination as associate director for public relations in the Communication department at the world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.
Caldwell, 44, who holds a doctorate of ministry from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., will make the transition this fall from his current position as Communication assistant to the president of the church’s Upper Columbia conference in Washington State.
“Though I’ll help paint a picture for people about what this church is doing, I’m really excited about sharing God,” Caldwell said in an interview. “We all have the job of implementing the calling of the church to portray the image of God in the world.”
Communication department director Rajmund Dabrowski described Caldwell as an “innovative thinker” with “wide professional credentials.”
“There are many skilled individuals who can fill church roles. Garrett brings a combination of broad experience and understanding of today’s communication needs for the church,” Dabrowski said.
Caldwell has previously served as a Communication director for the church in the Washington, D.C. area, and as a local church pastor in that region and in the state of Oregon. He also has graduate-level training in communication from American University in Washington, D.C.
In 2002, Caldwell was selected to host Dialogue, an interview segment of the now discontinued news show, Adventist NewsLine. Prominent interviews, he said, included a panel of the three presidents of church regions in Africa regarding explosive growth figures, as well an interview with the ever enthusiastic Clifford Goldstein, editor of the church’s Adult Bible Study Guide.
“Overall, I remember that was my first glimpse into what God was really doing in this church around the world,” he recalled of his various interviews with church figures.
Caldwell graduated from the church’s Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama, and earned a master’s of divinity from Andrew’s University in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
Though doing things in new ways can be challenging, he said, the church must embrace new methods and visions.
“I think technology has shown us new ways to form communities, new ways to communicate and new ways to influence people,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell has served in communication roles for several years, but says he still feels he’s a pastor.
“It’s with a pastor’s passion and a pastor’s heart and zeal that I do everything every day,” he said.
Caldwell fills the position left vacant by Reger C. Smith Jr., who passed away in May.