Pastor stays active by teaching

Clyde Davis has been pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Portales since 2001 and has lived in the area since 1997.

How long have you been a pastor? I was ordained in 1981 at the Pittsburg Presbyterian Seminary.

Why did you choose to be a pastor? While in college studying education, I became involved with youth work. I decided to go to seminary as an exploration. Seminary school was not as costly as it is today, and I was able to do that while always knowing that I could always fall back on teaching if it wasn’t for me.

Back then, I wasn’t engaged and I didn’t have a family, so I had the time. I was able to look into it to see if it was what I was supposed to be doing. In the end, I found out that it was.

Do you have any specialty training? The Army gave me a lot of good training, especially in counseling. I was a chaplain in the Army. I do have a clinical pastoral education, which means I have completed over a year in residency in a counseling situation.