The man who has been chief spokesman of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) since 1984 was given the job again after the Texas minister who defeated him in an upset a day earlier abruptly resigned.
The Rev. W. Clark Chamberlain, who evoked comparisons to Ross Perot with his victory Tuesday, quit on Wednesday as "stated clerk" of the 2.8 million-member denomination for "reasons that are weighty and personal to me." He did not elaborate and quickly left for Houston.Delegates to the 204th General Assembly promptly elected the Rev. James Andrews to a new four-year term. He has served since 1984.
One minister said the church had learned a lesson.
"It's the Perot thing: Throw the bums out without asking who the new person is who presents himself as an alternative," said the Rev. Gordon Stewart of Cincinnati. "It's a lesson to the nation to be careful."
Church officials and persons close to Chamberlain said the 45-year-old part-time church official and philosophy professor was not prepared for the anti-incumbency sentiment that swept him into the job.
The stated clerk oversees the General Assembly and serves as the denomination's chief spokesman.