Pastor Clemmie Livingston Jr. of New Zionfield Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, is set to make his return to the pulpit this Sunday for Easter, roughly one month after being shot in the mouth.
On Sunday, Feb. 25, Livingston, 71, was critically injured while witnessing a car theft happening outside his church. Shortly after the shooting, Livingston’s wife, Gwendoline, told FOX13 that Livingston heard car alarms and went to investigate. He was shot as he was walking out the door.
The assailants drove off in a stolen 2019 Chevrolet Corvette.
While initial reports suggested that Livingston had been attempting to stop the theft, Gwendoline said that he never had the opportunity.
“He never talked to anybody,” Gwendoline said. “He never went to anybody. He didn’t try to stop anything. He didn’t deserve that. He didn’t confront anybody.”
“When the bullet hit, it shattered his entire jaw,” Gwendoline said of Livingston’s injury. “So where that bone is supposed to be straight, it’s like a lot of little pieces of rocks, so that’s unrepairable.”
The investigation into the theft and shooting is ongoing.
Livingston’s family told ABC27 that the pastor is also battling bone cancer, which has made his recovery process more complicated. Livingston underwent a tracheotomy and his mouth needed to be nailed shut and held together with a brace.
Livingston has since regained his ability to speak. He is set to undergo reconstructive surgery for his jaw, as well as a subsequent plastic surgery.
While Livingston still faces a long road to recovery, he is set to preach four weeks to the day after the shooting.
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“I believe in the Scriptures, where Paul says, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” Livingston told FOX13.
