Dr. T. D. Stubblefield is the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Chesterfield, MO (http://www.firstbcc.org — located in West St. Louis County, MO) and Bott Radio broadcaster. The congregation has a rich heritage from its beginnings: in 1847 an oppressed group of slaves refused to be overcome by their hard circumstances. Instead they obeyed the leading of God, did the “right thing,” and began (“planted”) a church committed to Jesus Christ in Chesterfield Valley, just east of the Missouri River in Missouri. Today its church family realizes that they “stand upon the shoulders” of their committed spiritual ancestors who refused to be overcome by the injustice of human bondage.
In this radio discussion with Pastor Stubblefield, we talk about …
· His longtime pastoral service there;
· The moving history of his church’s founding by Jesus-followers who were slaves!
· His radio ministry as a Bott Radio broadcaster;
· His leadership in the International Orality Network Annual Conference (www.orality.net) conducted near his church in west St. Louis County;
· The recognition of the black church’s long use of “storying” (Bible storytelling) to advance the Gospel of Jesus, a tradition most likely birthed out of many slave owners attempt to not allow slaves to receive education through reading. Thus they developed a tradition of “storying.”
· Noting that for years descendants of history’s Dred and Harriet Scott (www.thedredscottfoundation.org) have been a part of the Chesterfield church family.
· You can now hear Pastor T.D. Stubblefield…in his own words.
As an aside … this moving story brings to mind the absolutely remarkable life of another native Missourian born in slavery, the great George Washington Carver. Born in Missouri in the final years of slavery, he and his mother were kidnapped when he was an infant (he was left to die with “whooping cough” and never saw her again), he faced the obstacles of a frail body and the racial oppression of the times. His greatness, productivity, and international impact are exceeded only by his absolute reliance on Jesus Christ and his personal humility.
The short book, “George Washington Carver-His Life & Faith in His Own Words ,” (W.J. Federer) tells the “…amazing story of George Washington Carver, slave birth, Iowa State graduate and Tuskegee Professor who revolutionized the economy of the south by discovering hundreds of uses for the peanut.” (Every mother and child should be thankful that George Washington Carver gave us “Peanut Butter!”)
In his own words, Carver wrote "Only alone can I draw close enough to God to discover His Secrets."
To learn more, click on … http://www.americanminute.com/store/product.php?productid=21&cat=1&page=2
To read about and see pictures of the George Washington Carver National Monument in southwest Missouri (which Joan Hendrick and I thoroughly enjoyed), click on http://www.nps.gov/gwca/index.htm.
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