Faith in Memphis Panel: My favorite preacher

La Simba Gray, New Sardis MB Church

My favorite preacher is my father, the late Rev. Leo M. Gray Sr. He lived the Word as he preached the Word. I grew up with seven siblings, and we never needed anything. We never ate a meal without his blessings, and we never went to bed without his presence in the house. No matter how late we stayed out at night, he waited until we got home. He was a hard worker but knew how to manage money and save money. He made God first in our family. When the streets were not passable on Sunday mornings, my father conducted church services in our living room. He taught me to hunt and fish, how to grow watermelons in a garden. He bought an old 1951 Ford sedan and had my two brothers and me help him rebuild the engine. He provided wise counsel during my troubled spots of adolescence. He was always there, and through him I learned the power of ministry through presence. When it came to announcing my calling to ministry, he led me to the altar and told me what to say: “Tell the church what God has called you to do, son.” As I made my announcement, he shouted for joy. I miss him greatly, but I still benefit from the nuggets of his wisdom: “Every tub has to sit on its own bottom”; “Watch your company; know where they are going before you join in”; and “Do right, son, and good will follow you.” Daddy, I am still trying to be just like you.

Shane Stanford, Christ United Methodist Church

I came to know the Lord under the teaching of Dr. Cliff Estes, now an evangelist in Shreveport, La. Unlike my more “teacher-centered model,” Dr. Estes had a fiery style but was also one of the best at exegesis. When I went to theology school, my adviser was a scholar in the sermons of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I had grown up in a community that had struggled greatly with race relations and my church was still segregated. I fell in love with the sermons of Dr. King. I realize there were so many other layers to Dr. King in his amazing work, but

Micah Greenstein, Temple Israel

The greatest preacher I have ever known was my father, Rabbi Howard Greenstein, the only rabbi to ever sing in the chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera. When a rabbi preaches or sings, the question is not, “How well does he play the role?” but rather, “Does he move my soul?” My father’s preaching voice stirred the conscience; his singing voice stirred the soul. He was even teaching through his preaching 20 days before he died. The title of his final sermon was “When Life Is Worthwhile.” My father didn’t know these would be his final words, but perhaps God did. “You don’t have to have a particular talent for religion to be a spiritually remarkable person; you only need to be fully human and willing to accept defeat and disappointment. You only need to find the courage to care. In that blessing alone, the courage to care, is the secret of immortality. Forever is the kind of future that can be for all of us. It all depends on what we do here and now.” On October 22, 2006, my dad died in my arms. Beside the bed was an ethical will that ended with these words. The clearest evidence for the presence of God is the light and radiance deep within you, son. Don’t ever let that light go out. I guess my favorite preacher’s voice isn’t silent in death after all. It still sings, teaches, and inspires me every day.