In 1981, Barnes was ordained as a minister in the PC(USA), serving in PC(USA) congregations in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Madison, Wisconsin. In 1993, he became senior pastor of National Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC, serving until 2002, when he accepted a teaching position at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One year later, while serving as Robert Meneilly Professor of Pastoral Ministry, Barnes accepted a call to Shadyside Presbyterian Church as senior pastor. On October 8, 2012, Princeton Theological Seminary announced that Barnes was selected to succeed the retiring Iain Torrance as president.[4] Barnes took up his duties as president on January 1, 2013, and was formally installed as president on October 23, 2013.[5] He serves as president until January 2023, when he retired and received the title President Emeritus.[6] While at Princeton Seminary, he also served as professor of pastoral ministry.
On June 1, 2023, Barnes answered the call to serve as the Transitional Pastor and Head of Staff at the Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[6]
Barnes is married and has a daughter and two sons.[6]
Works
Thesis
Barnes, M. Craig (March 1992). John R. Mott: A Conversionist in a Pluralist World (PhD thesis). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, The Divinity School. OCLC40864303.
——— (2011). McKim, Donald K. (ed.). Temptation in the Desert. Being Reformed: faith seeking understanding. Louisville, Kentucky: Congregational Ministries Publishing. OCLC764432927.
——— (2008). The Pastor as Minor Poet. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Liturgical Studies Series. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN978-0-802-82962-7. OCLC244627974.
——— (2012). Body and Soul: Reclaiming the Heidelberg Catechism. Grand Rapids, Michigan; Louisville, Kentucky: Faith Alive Publishers; Congregational Ministries Publishing. ISBN978-1-592-55745-5. OCLC827784170.
Articles
——— (December 1995). "The Interruption of Christmas Plans". The Living Pulpit. IV (4).
——— (August 1996). "Losing the Life of Our Dreams: A Christian View of Suffering". Theology Matters. 2 (4).
——— (September 1999). "The Lamb and Wolf of Renewal". PFR ReNews Journal.
^"Dissertation Notices"(PDF). UMI. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)