On Will Campbell

The Town Talk published an article on Will Campbell in today's paper written by Robin Miller. As a history minor in college with mostly Southern history under my belt, the name Will Campbell rang a bell. As I kept reading, I was awestruck. I love the gritty side of the South and have no greater fondness in my heart than I do for rebels, outlaws, and mystics. I share just a few lines from the article that described my experience in the church and my departure from pastoral ministry and hope they'll entice you to read the article yourself.

Will, who after having pastored one Southern Baptist Church, gave it up forever -- pastoring, not ministering.
"I resolved to be a Baptist minister of the South until the day I die, though never again a Southern Baptist preacher," he has said. "For the first time, I knew there
was a difference. And what it was."

Still, meeting Will isn't meeting a preacher at all. And he's not what you'd call a writer of religion or Christian literature, but simply a writer.

"Beliefs are what people are hung up on," he'll say, "not ethics or morals.If you don't believe a certain way, then the people in that religion will clean you out... A lot of those people will claim to be conservative. But they're not. They're just mean."

Amen. It's refreshing to find people to identify with and who share a common journey. I've already put a couple of his books on hold at the library and can't wait to read them. Here's to you, Will!