By Fisher Humphreys
The articles in this issue of Christian Ethics Today were written by members of The Trinity Group, an informal discussion group founded in 1990. Across almost a third of a century it has had a total of 13 members; today there are ten. Until 2020 we usually met in person twice a year, and each meeting lasted about two days. During the Covid pandemic we have been meeting online for two hours about once a month.
We are Baptist pastors, missionaries, theologians, historians, educators, and academic administrators. Our original objective was to engage in theological discussions among ourselves, but after a few years we decided that we might as a group attempt to communicate some of our theological understandings to others. In 1998 we contributed articles on the theme of “Theology for a Healthy Church” to The Theological Educator, a journal published by the faculty of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. In 2010 we wrote a book entitled For Faith and Friendship. In 2014 we wrote a book entitled Encountering God in the Prayers of Others.
We appreciate the editor Dr. Pat Anderson allowing us to contribute articles to this issue of Christian Ethics Today. We believe in the journal and think that it is making an important contribution to the life of thousands of Christians today. We hope that the articles we have written will be helpful to the journal’s readers.
The Authors…Members of the Trinity Group
Paul Basden serves as founding co-pastor of Preston Trail Community Church in Frisco, Texas. He and his wife of 44 years, Denise O’Brien, have two daughters and four grandsons. His email address is PBasden@PrestonTrail.org.
LaMon Brown is a retired American Baptist missionary and CBF pastor. He is married with four children, five grandchildren, and one great granddaughter. He teaches seminars on the spiritual value of haiku in churches and retreats. You can write him at rlamonb@gmail.com.
Gary Furr is a speaker, writer and performing musician living in Birmingham, Alabama. He retired in 2021 after a forty-one year career as a pastor. An earlier version of this article appeared in his latest book, Shadow Prayers: Reflections From a Pandemic Year (Parson’s Porch Books). He and his wife Vickie have three children and four grandchildren. His email address is bhmpicker@gmail.com.
Fisher Humphreys is Professor of Divinity, Emeritus, of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He and his wife Caroline are parents of two children and have three granddaughters. You can write him at fisherhumphreys@gmail.com.
J. (Ted) Mashburn has been teaching philosophy and religion at the University of Mobile for 38 years. In addition, he has pastored ten churches during the past 35 years. Currently he serves Josephine Baptist Church, Josephine, Alabama (going on 23 years). He and his wife Rene reside in Fairhope, Alabama. They have two daughters, two sons-in-law, and six grandchildren. His email address is tedmashburn@gmail.com.
Dwight A Moody is pastor of Providence Baptist Church in Hendersonville, North Carolina, and host of TheMeetingHouse. He has served as pastor of churches in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky, as Dean of the Chapel at Georgetown College, and as founder and first president of the Academy of Preachers. His email address is Dwightamoody@gmail.com.
Paul E. Robertson is a retired hospital chaplain and educator who currently lives in Sugar Land, Texas. He is a former professor of theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and later became director of Clinical Pastoral Education and chaplaincy services at Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston. His email address is probertson1022@gmail.com.
Roger Sullivan was a pharmacist who, when he felt called to become a minister, earned a doctorate in New Testament and became a pastor. Forced by the accident described in this article to leave the pastorate in order to care for his beloved wife Shirley, he became a financial advisor and is now Senior Vice President, Investments, at Raymond James in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. You can write him at rwsullivan1@hotmail.com.
Richard F. Wilson is Professor Emeritus of Religion of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, where he taught from 1988 until 2021. He is a deacon and Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church of Christ in Macon. In retirement he and his wife Sally live in Macon. His email address is richard.f.wilson@gmail.com.
Gerald Wright is Professor Emeritus of Intercultural Studies at Palm Beach Atlantic University. He and his wife Kathy reside in Commerce, Georgia. Dr. Wright’s service includes seminary and university professorships in the U.S. and internationally, as well as pastorates in Louisiana, Florida, and abroad. His email address is Gerald_Wright@pba.edu. His co-author Grayson Beemus is a Palm Beach Atlantic University alumna and worked as a resettlement case manager after the recent U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. She currently resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is looking to continue her career in social work. You can write her at Beemusg@gmail.com.
