Thinking of Pentecost Sunday and how God’s Holy Spirit isn’t working to secure our vision of comfort, but to secure God’s vision of what is good—for all of us and each of us. The peace we want comes by trusting the Spirit of God in the midst of the interruption, not from the absence of disorientation, tension, and even conflict the Spirit may create. All of this disorientation, tension and conflict arises from the Spirit’s inclusion of many, and often unexpected ethnicities, cultures, voices, and perspectives of those we’d rather not include. The interruptive Spirit of God is no respecter of comfort levels, schedules, or agendas. We are reminded that God’s Spirit may fit “inside of our hearts,” but not inside of our preferences.
When the Spirit was poured out on Pentecost God interrupted society’s organized world, including the institutions, social classes, and categories of control that organize it. Will the Church follow the way of the Spirit?
Fred came to serve greater Williamsburg and WCC as lead pastor in October of 2010 and is grateful to be a part of the family. He is a husband, father, certified trauma professional, S.T.A.R. (strategies for trauma awareness & resilience) practitioner, community organizer, TEDx alum, founder of 3e Restoration, Inc. and co-owner of Philoxenia Culture LLC. He received his B.S. in Ministry/Bible at Amridge University and his Master’s of Religious Education in Missional Leadership from Rochester University. Currently he is a candidate for a Doctorate of Ministry in Contextual Theology in at Northern Seminary in Chicago. Fred has also served as an adjunct professor for Rochester University and Regent University where taught courses in philosophy, ethics, leadership, pastoral care, intro to Christianity, and ethnography. He has also served as a guest lecturer on the subjects of racialized cultural systems, poverty, and missiology at various universities, such as William & Mary and Oklahoma Christian University. Fred has authored on book (Racialized Cultural Systems, Social Displacement and Christian Hospitality) and several curriculum offerings, including The FloorPlan: Living Toward Restoration & Resilience.
Fred enjoys hanging out with his family anytime, anywhere. He is deeply grateful for how God graciously works through the Church in all her various forms, despite our brokenness. He is passionate about seeing the last, least, and lonely of every neighborhood, city and nation experience God’s in-breaking kingdom, and come to know Jesus as King. Oh, and his favorite season is Advent and Christmas.
Fred serves on the advisory boards of Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center, Bacon Street Youth & Family Services, and FreeKind. He is also a founding member of the board of directors for Virginia Racial Healing Institute, a member of Greater Williamsburg Trauma-Informed Community Network's Racial Trauma Committee and Training Committee.
Through Orange Colored Glasses
My dearest mentor, friend, brother, pastor, activist and example. Read it. You won’t be sorry that you did.
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