In this episode, Dave talks to Dr. Stacy L. Spencer the Senior Pastor of New Direction Christian Church in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Spencer talks to Dave about opening New Direction Christian two days before 9/11/2001, and explains how the Lord is breathing a second wind into their ministry as they find new things to fight for today (2:45).
Dave asks Stacy about his upbringing in Western Kentucky, where he grew up helping his granddaddy and uncles cut tobacco. Stacy explains the uniqueness of New Direction being a suburban Church in an urban context and how the Church has served as a stabilizing force for their community (13:00). Dave asks Stacy about the personal things that have impacted his journey and Stacy shares about overcoming layers of hurt and how taking a sabbatical helped him to find what makes his heart sing again (23:00). Stacy shares his advice for young pastors and the ways New Direction is trying to creatively support their community’s needs during the COVID pandemic (28:00).
Finally, Dave asks Stacy what he is hopeful for (29:00) and Stacy lays out the major things he wants to see happen. He discusses his desire for equity for his city of Memphis and his hope that our country will finally live up to its ideals and show proof that black lives do matter. Thirdly, Stacy shares that he is looking forward to the day when black Christians and white Christians can come together and stand for justice and righteousness (32:00).
To learn more about Dr. Spencer you can visit http://stacyspencer.org/. You can find the book and podcast that he mentions in the links below.
3D Relationships: Identifying Three Relationship Dimensions Needed to Fulfill you
Find out more about Dave Travis at generis.com/dave-travis and subscribe to the newsletter at churchleaderinsider.substack.com
