Many of the people that I admired over the years were local or nationally renowned ministers and pastoral who were also authors and scholars. Some of these individuals received both national and international recognition for their contribution to the church and the academy (e.g., Dr. Samuel DeWitt Proctor, Dr. Howard Thurman, Bishop Vashti McKenzie and Dr. Cheryl Townsend-Gilkes), while others received love, acclaim, gratitude from their congregants and constituents of their church and local community.

Many of the people that I admired over the years were local or nationally renowned ministers and pastoral who were also authors and scholars. Some of these individuals received both national and international recognition for their contribution to the church and the academy (e.g., Dr. Samuel DeWitt Proctor, Dr. Howard Thurman, Bishop Vashti McKenzie and Dr. Cheryl Townsend-Gilkes), while others received love, acclaim, gratitude from their congregants and constituents of their church and local community.