Many of you have most likely heard of Dr. James Earl Massey.  In case you haven’t, let me tell you about this great man.

From 1954 to 1976, he served as Senior Minister of the Metropolitan Church of God in Detroit and then as speaker on the Christian Brotherhood Hour radio broadcast from 1977 to 1982. He was the Dean of the Tuskegee University Chapel from 1984 to 1989 and Dean of the Anderson School of Theology from 1989-1995.  He is the author of over twenty books. He has walked alongside such great leaders as Martin Luther King Jr. and Howard Thurman.

Dr. Massey has preached and lectured at more than a hundred colleges, universities, and seminaries in the United States and on four continents.

What made Billy Graham the world’s pastor?  How did this happen? Why did he have the privilege to speak to over 200 million people?  Why was he chosen as the fourth citizen in history to lie in repose in the United States Capital?  Why was he the first citizen since Rosa Parks to get such an invitation?  Why has his death been the focus of every newspaper and media outlet in the world?

What is “it” that he had?

It was early November of 1985 and I was moving what few books I had from my associate pastor’s office to the senior pastor’s office. This small church with a big heart had chosen to take a risk on a young associate pastor who had never been a senior pastor, and didn’t have one sentence on a resume that remotely indicated being qualified for the job.

I was 26 years old.

Recently, Gloria Gaither shared a blog post which dealt with things her mother and grandmother collected. I encourage you to read the post here. She told us those ladies in her life really didn’t collect or cling to much. But when she mentioned her own interest in collecting something special to her--specifically, art glass--it reminded me of something I have on display in our living room.

I’ve never been a serious collector of much--certainly not art--but that all changed when I met Chris McGahan.  

So, now that I have your undivided attention, let’s talk a moment about who we are. The reason I know I have your undivided attention? You’re probably one of the millions who are watching the hit series called This Is Us.

I am, too.

To be honest, I wasn’t that interested when it first started. I would be in the study working on something--paying bills, filing, working on a weekend message, or trying to put on paper some thoughts for this blog-- and Kim would be in the family room sitting by the fire, TV on, preparing her speech therapy sessions with children for the coming week. 

As you know from previous blog posts, I’ve spent a lot of time in the book of Nehemiah this first month of 2018.  There’s no way I can claim to be anything like Nehemiah, but I see some similarities in our stories.  

Let me explain.

I grew up in a home with a father who could lead anybody anywhere. For Dad, his leadership was a degree of skill and a significant amount of sheer inspiration. Dad was not afraid of anything. He had a passion for the local church and he inspired people to follow him to places they had never been.