a mere 87 in 1972. He established over 80 ministries to meet community needs. And he picked a successor and retired voluntarily before 2007, before his friend Barack Obama announced his candidacy for President.
From
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/religion/chi-070121-relig_wright,1,294740,print.story :
"REV. JEREMIAH A. WRIGHT, JR.: Pastor inspires Obama's 'audacity'
By Manya A. Brachear, Tribune religion reporter; January 21, 2007
Wright, 65, is a straight-talking pragmatist who arrived in Chicago as an outsider and became an institution. He has built a congregation of 8,500, including the likes of Oprah Winfrey and hip-hop artist Common, by offering an alternative to socially conservative black churches that are, Wright believes, too closely tied to Chicago's political dynasties. ...
Wright was hired by Trinity United {in 1972) when he could find no Baptist church to take him. The congregation on 95th Street, then numbering just 87, had recently adopted the motto "Unashamedly black and unapologetically Christian." They did not mind his fiery red Afro and black power agenda. Wright has continued on an independent path ever since, often questioning the common sense of Scripture, objecting to mandatory prayer in schools and clashing with clergy who preach prosperity theology, a popular notion among black pastors that God will bestow wealth and success on believers. In the process, he built a spiritual empire. The modest brown brick building that housed the church in the 1970s was converted into a day-care center when Trinity opened its new sanctuary in 1995 ... Members run more than 80 ministries....
Obama has said he is particularly inspired by Wright's ability to draw followers from all walks of life--celebrities and welfare recipients, PhDs and GEDs. It is a gift the senator aspires to emulate. Wright again bucked convention by announcing plans to retire in May 2008 and tapping Rev. Otis Moss III as his successor. Many black pastors do not surrender their pulpit even when they become too feeble to serve, said Rev. Dwight Hopkins, a professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School who met Wright in the 1980s. Wright's willingness to "surrender leadership" demonstrates a humility that sets him apart, Hopkins said. "The black church is probably the only space in America where black men can have unquestioned authority," he said. "It's hard to give that up for a lot of black male pastors.""