While attending Furman, Paulk served as an associate pastor at his father's church in Greenville. While at Candler, he was called to his first pulpit, a Church of God in Buford, Georgia, north of Atlanta. It was during this time that he began preaching against racism. Years later, Paulk said that he was influenced by seeing his uncle shoot a black friend in the back for cutting corners while plowing cotton. His stance was not typical for his time; it had long been common for white Southern preachers to use the Bible to justify support for racial discrimination.