About Me

Thanks for stopping by my Substack!

I’m Brad, a pastor for over thirty years, currently serving a wonderful church near Nashville, Tennessee. I've been married for the same length of time, and we have three beautiful grown daughters. Perhaps my greatest privilege is being "Papa" to my sweet, blue-eyed granddaughter, Wren, who, along with her mom, lives with us!

Beyond Jesus and the Bible, my biggest influences are C.S. Lewis, Tim Keller, and N.T. Wright. It won't take long reading my work to figure that out. You'll also quickly discover I'm a lifelong nerd, loving all things Marvel, Tolkien, Narnia, Star Wars, Star Trek—ad infinitum.

My life is pretty uninteresting, except maybe for one thing: I grew up knowing Pauley Perrette of NCIS fame (we went to the same church). Oh, and there's a bullet in my leg from a gunshot wound I suffered at nineteen (the two are unrelated, thankfully). And no, the TSA security scan doesn't go off when I walk through!

My Writing Journey

It was my junior or senior year of high school when I faced the rite of passage for every Coosa County High School graduate: Mrs. John’s English class. She was legendary for her eccentric ways, brutal teaching style, and high fail rate. But as it often goes, things weren't as hyped. She was tough but fair, and her teaching truly prepared me for college.

One day, she assigned an essay on any famous writer. Why, I can’t recall, but I picked William Faulkner. The paper itself is long gone, but I’ll never forget what she wrote on the cover page in perfect red cursive: "You should be a writer." Ever since, I’ve had the bug.

People who want to be writers are a dime a dozen. Pastors like me who want to be writers? Maybe a nickel, if that. Yet, over the years, I’ve slowly invested in this secret passion. The biggest step was completing an apprenticeship with the now-defunct Christian Writers Guild, writing under a mentor's tutelage for two impactful years. Not long ago, I finished a writer’s cohort with the good folks at Gospel Centered Discipleship.

More than once, I've tried—without success—to launch a writing outlet beyond Sunday messages. I'm embarrassed to think of how many failed blogs I started: A View from the Loft, The Phantom Baptist, and at least a half-dozen more. All cringe-worthy. They started well but ended the same way: abandoned to drift in cyberspace. Not to mention the hours I'd spend perfecting every post, only for them to go nowhere. Writing is hard.

But then, an author’s blog post about pancakes gave me the courage to give it another go with this Substack. It’s been a pleasure and, in many ways, cathartic.

Mark Twain famously said, “My books are like water; those of the great geniuses are wine. (Fortunately) everybody drinks water.” I know my writing isn’t anywhere close to wine—at best, it’s less like water and more like Diet Coke. But one day, perhaps, the griddle will get hot, and my craft along with it. Until then, I’m happy knowing somebody might be encouraged or blessed by my imperfect, unpolished little newsletter.

My Writing Mission (and a bit more about me)

To make a long, sad story short, fourteen years ago, I lost almost everything. It started with my bride confessing she no longer wanted to be a pastor’s wife. That led to an ugly exit from ministry, bankruptcy, foreclosure, the loss of our retirement, our family of five living on food stamps, and me shaking my fist at God, swearing I’d never have anything to do with him again.

To make my comeback story even shorter: my wife and I are still together, and I’m pastoring again. This isn't a fairy tale, though. There are lasting wounds and lingering consequences. And yet, I have learned—and am still learning daily—more about our good God than I could have any other way.

I was especially surprised to discover Jesus has a heart for broken things. The prophet Isaiah foretold of a Servant, a Chosen One who would bring justice and blessing to the world. And this is what he’s like: “a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice,” Isaiah 42:3 (ESV). Many hundreds of years later, Matthew watched Jesus feed the poor, show kindness to outcasts, heal the sick, give sight to the blind, and restore the lame (all bruised reeds and smoldering wicks). Matthew looked at Isaiah's prophecy, looked at Jesus, and made the connection (Matthew 12:17-21). Jesus is the Servant who brings hope to the broken, the suffering, the lost. And that’s every one of us, if we’re honest enough to admit it.

That’s my motivation for writing. I hope God might somehow use my life’s tragic twists and turns to encourage the bruised reeds and smoldering wicks out there.

My Substack Breakdown

• Bruised Reeds & Smoldering Wicks: Occasionally, I send out a devotional under this title.

• Yesterday: My Monday morning post, featuring adapted notes from Sunday morning's message.

• Read Along with Me: Now and then, my subscribers and I read an impactful book together.

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