Remembering Jimmy Stevens

It has taken me some time to wrap my broken heart around this loss. I want to give my condolences to the Stevens family, the church he served, and the broader Lake Charles community. I pray that the "God of all comfort" (2 Cor 1) sits and walks with you through the dark night of grief. You will be in my thoughts and prayers. I want to say a brief word about this wonderful Pastor and student of the Word and World. Jimmy was one of my Black Church Studies students. He was pursuing the concentration. He took all my classes and attended almost every lecture I delivered in Louisiana for the LHFMBC meetings. Reading books by people who looked like him and cared about issues Black people faced revolutionized his thinking and ministry arc. The Holy Spirit was using these courses to inspire passions and insights for a new season of ministry. His emails "testifying" to the transformative nature of class sessions and books he read reminded me why I love teaching. He was planning to accompany me to Geneva Switzerland in April for the United Nation's Third Session of the Permanent Forum for People of African Descent. He was eager to learn about the racial justice work of the forum that I am honored to be a part of. Jimmy was so inspired by all he was learning at BSK that he wrote a book. I am going to do my best to share his passion and keen insights with sisters and brothers in the NBCA and beyond. Jimmy, your professor, will miss the lunches you graciously organized and paid for. I will miss your support of my work and the work of the Institute, And, I will miss your friendship. Rest well, my friend!