Meet the Moderator: Rev. David Beary, PhD

At our February gathering the Presbytery of Los Ranchos installed our 2024 Moderator, the Rev. David Beary, PhD. David is a native of Missouri, where his mother, sister, and two brothers and their families still reside. David, after living in Texas and New Jersey, came to California without a plan, because his wife, Alina, had accepted a position as a Professor of Philosophy at Biola University. With her gone, sometimes it feels like he should go home, but David is convinced that God has “called [him] to this place.”

David holds a PhD in biblical studies from Baylor University with an emphasis on the New Testament, Barth, and Romans. His MDiv is from Princeton Theological Seminary. He completed his undergraduate studies at Cedarville College, where he graduated a year early thanks to a term at Oxford.

After college, David served as a Youth Director for two years at his home church. Immediately after that time he began work on a ThM at Dallas Theological Seminary. While there he “migrated” as he dug deep into biblical languages and began reading Calvin. He came to the conclusion that the dispensationalism of his youth was not a good way to interpret scripture and that inerrancy could not be maintained, for among other reasons, because it was an attempt to control God. He had also found and was influenced by Karl Barth. Having satisfied all the requirements for graduation, he decided that he could not sign the doctrinal statement required to receive his diploma. So he left without a degree.

Returning home to Missouri, he applied to Princeton. He was accepted, but he had to start all over again. The only classes the seminary would accept were biblical languages –  Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. While at Dallas Theological Seminary he had met Alina. When Princeton asked him if he would be coming as a single person or would require married housing, he bought a ring, drove to Texas and proposed. And she said, “YES!” Married in June, they headed to New Jersey in August.

After graduating from Princeton, the couple moved back to Texas, where David began work on his doctorate and Alina was encouraged to apply to the PhD program in Philosophy. David says, that God “even through a place such as Texas” was very good to them. They completed their studies, bought a home, and became parents of twin daughters. The girls, soon to turn eleven, are finishing 5th Grade at Gardenhill Elementary School in La Mirada. They hope to attend middle school in Downey, closer to First Presbyterian Church in Downey, where their dad is the pastor.

David says that being the father of twins is beautiful. He “knows no other way to dad.” He loves to go on dad daughter dates. Like their dad, the twins love to read. They also speak some Russian (their mom was a native of Russia). They love the beach, to swim, drawing, painting and pottery, and to cook with their Babushka. They also join their Babushka in the garden, where she has cultivated a large rose garden.

David enjoys hiking and camping. He used to solo camp, finding it a refuge. His favorite spot has been Colorado Bend State Park in San Saba County, Texas. When he moved to California, he was given a book of one hundred trails in the San Bernardino Mountains; he admits he hasn’t yet tackled them all. Chess and running are other favorite activities. He has read all the Cormac McCarthy novels and continues to read and be influenced by Jüurgen Moltmann’s The Crucified God: The Cross of Christ as the Foundation and Criticism of Christian Theology.

Before becoming the pastor at Downey, he served first as pulpit supply, then stated supply at Norwalk Presbyterian Church. When he arrived, the church had already deeded the property to Shin Il Presbyterian Church, who graciously shared the facility with the Norwalk church until it closed in mid 2023. While there, David was employed part time by Shin Il and worked closely with pastor Beong Un Son of Shil Il. He also developed a good relationship with pastor Eliseo Morales, Sr. of Esperanza Viva, which also shares the property.

David’s identity is rooted in his Christian faith. He shares that he does what he does because in the words of the Heidelberg Catechism “[he] does not belong to [himself], but to his faithful Savior Jesus Christ,” declaring “there is comfort in that.” Downey’s mission study statement, “to know Christ and make Christ known,” expresses David’s hope for the church and the presbytery. He is “pleased to be with Christians with that vision.” He and we “must know Christ and make Christ known or we will lose our identity.” While supporting the church’s focus on vitality, he asserts that vitality cannot be abstracted from Christ. The church should worry about Christ; our hope is in resurrection and we need to share that hope. He says that vitality may look smaller, but it will be grounded in faithfulness to the gospel. “Vitality is enjoying God. Vitality is glorifying God.” Faithfulness means to follow Christ as the Confession of 1967 says, “even unto death.”

David maintains that he still has no plan. Plan or no plan, the Presbytery of Los Ranchos is blessed that David has answered the call to this place and that he will be leading us now and well into God’s future.

David was the leader of the recent Pastors’ Retreat; its theme was Confessing Christ Together: