May 21, 2025 • 29 mins
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Dr. Stephen Cook shares powerful wisdom from his journey growing up in rural Mississippi, serving in the military, and leading in ministry. Drawing from his parents' example and life experiences, he outlines his practical framework for unity—Three V’s (Voice, Vision, Victory) and Four M’s (Meeting, Making time, Meeting needs, Manifestation)—that turns reconciliation into daily practice. With stories of choosing love over hate and building bridges across racial lines, Dr. Cook reminds us that authentic reconciliation begins with presence, listening, and meeting people where they are. Learn how faith, discipline, and compassion can transform communities.
Special thanks to our sponsors:
Nissan, St. Dominic's Hospital, Atmos Energy, Regions Foundation, Mississippi College, Anderson United Methodist Church, Grace Temple Church, Mississippi State University, Real Christian Foundation, Brown Missionary Baptist Church, Christian Life Church, Ms. Doris Powell, Mr. Robert Ward, and Ms. Ann Winters.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
This is Living Reconciled, a podcast dedicated
to giving our communitiespractical evidence of the gospel
message by helping Christianslearn how to live in the
reconciliation that Jesus hasalready secured for us by living
with grace across racial lines.
Hey, thanks so much for joiningus on this episode of Living
Reconciled.
I'm your host, brian Crawford,with my incredible friends and
(00:33):
co-hosts Austin Hoyle, nettieWinters.
Gentlemen, how are you doing?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Oh, I'm doing real well.
I'm just glad I'm an incrediblefriend again.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Yeah, man, I'm glad to have you as an incredible
friend.
Nettie, you doing good as well.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Man, I'm doing great man.
I'm like Austin man.
I never know what kind offriend I'm going to be until I
get over here, but I'm excitedto be an incredible friend, I'm
glad to encourage you guys.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Even when we're less than incredible, I still feel
counted to at least be known insome measure by Brian Crawford.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Amen.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Well, I feel fortunate to be in that number
as well as a friend of AustinHoyle and Nettie Winters, and we
got another friend we're goingto introduce in just a moment.
But first of all, a quick shoutout to our friends and sponsors
that are listening online Folkslike Brown Baptist Church,
people like Nissan, people likeSt Dominic's Hospital, folks
(01:27):
like Mississippi College,mississippi State.
Thank you, guys, so much forall the encouragement that you
have given us and all thesupport that you have given us,
good friends like Ann Winters,bob Ward.
Again, thank you, guys for yoursupport of this podcast.
It's because of what you dothat we're able to do what we do
of this podcast is because ofwhat you do that we're able to
do what we do.
And if you would like to jointhose and others who support the
(01:48):
work of Living Reconciled andMission Mississippi, it's easy
to do.
You can go tomissionmississippiorg, click on
the Invest Today button that'snormally at the top right of
that website and you too canjoin in investing in the work of
reconciliation and investing inthe work of this podcast,
living Reconciled, where we pullin guests from all over the
(02:09):
state and all over the countryand have them talk about
reconciliation from theirparticular lane, their
particular perspective andvantage point.
In fact, we have anotherindividual, an incredible
dynamic man, that we're excitedto interview here today,
reverend Dr Stephen Cook.
Dr Cook is the lead pastor atAnderson United Methodist Church
(02:36):
.
He is a longtime supporter ofMission Mississippi.
He is a longtime committedinvestor in the work of
reconciliation.
He is a bridge builder, he is adynamic preacher and we are
incredibly excited to have DrCook on our podcast.
Dr Cook, how are you doing, sir?
Speaker 4 (02:57):
I am doing outstanding.
It's good to see each of you.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Good deal, good deal.
Welcome to Living Reconciled.
And we'll start by just askingyou if you don't mind share a
little bit about your story.
How did you come to faith inChrist and how did you become
passionate about the work ofreconciliation?
Speaker 4 (03:26):
to join you on this day and I want to give a
significant background about myupbringing, as an impact which
you've already lifted up.
I was born in Lexington,mississippi, to wonderful, dear,
precious parents.
My mother's name is Juanita andmy father's name is Fernando,
and in that upbringing I wasraised in a place called
Carrollton, mississippi.
I don't know how many of youare familiar with that place,
but that's the place I wasraised, which was Carrollton,
(03:49):
mississippi, and we went toworship service on a regular
basis.
I went to Baptist church everyfourth Sunday.
Every third Sunday we would goto the United Methodist Church,
had Sunday school every Sundayand we would go to Bible study,
and sometimes those Biblestudies they would just seem so
long, but, like many people, Ifaced a season of searching, a
(04:10):
season where I was trying tofind my identity in life, in
this world, throughaccomplishments and approval of
others.
Along this journey, but throughit all, there was a gentle,
persistent pull, and we come toknow that pull as the Holy
Spirit drawing me to the truth,the way and the life.
And one of the most definingmoments in my life came not
(04:31):
doing a mountaintop experience,but it came doing a valley
experience.
I was wrestling withuncertainty.
I was burdened with heavyresponsibility, being
success-driven and questioningif I was enough.
But then Jeremiah Jeremiah,chapter one, verse five.
This says before I formed you,I knew you.
(04:53):
Before you were born, I set youapart.
This verse stopped me in mytrack.
It reminded me that my story isjust not a random story, but
it's a story that's written byGod Almighty.
God knew me, he formed me andhe called me, not because I was
perfect or polished, but hecalled me because of who he is
(05:16):
and what he was calling me to bein life.
Since then, my journey has beenabout surrendering, letting go
and letting God just have hisway in my life, whether through
pastoring, teaching, counseling,community outreach, simply
sharing coffee and conversationwith others to help them through
encouraging words.
I've learned that ministryisn't just about the platform,
(05:37):
but ministry is about beingthere for others, just being
present.
And one of my favoritescriptures is Proverbs, chapter
three, verses five through six.
This is trusting the Lord, thatGod lean not on our own
understanding, but in all ourways, acknowledge him and he
will direct our path.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Hey, pastor man, thank you for sharing a little
bit about your passion forreconciliation.
And how did you, how did howdid your life really move from
the space of ministry that you,that you, that obviously the
Lord has called you into?
You talked about that Jeremiahtype of call.
How did your, how did your lifemove from just that embracing
(06:21):
that Jeremiah level call tomoving specifically into seeing
racial healing in the course ofyour ministry?
Speaker 4 (06:30):
As I mentioned earlier, I grew up in the
Carrollton Mississippi area,which is a rural area, part of
Mississippi, and my life it wassimple but not easy, and let me
just emphasize again it was asimple life but it was a life
that I embraced because of theupbringing of my parents.
We didn't have a lot ofdistraction but we had what
(06:52):
mattered, we had family, we hadfaith and it worked for us and
it continued to work for me andmy family, but through the quiet
, grounded environment that Igrew up in.
My Christian faith it took rootNot just through church but
through the daily example of myparents, and I emphasize heavily
my parents, my mother and myfather.
(07:12):
My father was a dedicatedworker.
He worked for a company calledIllinois Central Gulf Railroad,
which eventually became CanadianNational Railroad.
He worked for the railroadcompany for over 35 years and
then he retired.
My father showed me what itmeant to be committed, to work
(07:33):
hard, to show up on time andgive your best, even when no one
was watching.
He taught me that faith isn'tjust what you say on Sunday
morning, but it's how you carryyourself Monday through Saturday
.
What you say on Sunday morning,but it's how you carry yourself
, monday through Saturday.
Watching him reminded me ofColossians 3 and verse 23, which
says whatever you do, whateveryou do, work at it with all your
(07:53):
heart, working for the Lord,not for human.
And my mother, god bless hersoul.
She's the heart of our home,the heart of our family.
She's a faithful homemaker.
Her ministry was in the daily,preparing meals, praying over us
, filling our home withscripture.
She lives that type oflifestyle that we call the
(08:14):
Proverbs 31 type of woman withgrace and consistency.
From her I learned that faithdoesn't need a stage to be
powerful.
You just need love anddiscipline and humility.
Powerful, you just need loveand discipline and humility.
She often reminded us, as herchildren, about Deuteronomy,
chapter six, and she told otherchildren about this.
These commandments that I giveyou today, let it be on your
(08:35):
heart, impress them on yourchildren, talk about them when
you sit at home and when youwalk along the road.
So she passed it along to us asher son, and to her daughters,
and we thank God for her eachand every day Together.
My parents just didn't teach theWord of God.
They modeled it, and thatformed a foundation for the
(08:55):
things that I'm serious about,even to this day.
They gave me the root.
They gave me the solidfoundation, even though I had
questions along the way about mypath.
Gave me the solid foundationEven though I had questions
along the way about my path,which I have chosen, and have
had mistakes along the way.
But thank God for his mercy,thank God for his grace and
thank God for his lovingkindness.
And when I felt a call toministry, it wasn't a dramatic
(09:23):
lightning bolt experience.
It was a quiet clarity that hasbeen forming for years.
I saw that the same work ethicthat my father had been living
out and my mother had trulyembraced by living out as well,
that caused me to live the typeof lifestyle I live now, being
respected and loving everybody.
I never heard my mother orfather say anything in a
disdaining manner against anyone, of any hue color.
All they demand is respect fromothers, no matter who they are
(09:47):
and where they come from.
So that has impacted my life insuch an influential way that I
choose to live a life ofintegrity based upon what I saw
from my parental upbringing.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Yeah, yeah, your mother and your father seem to
have incredibly influenced andshaped the man that you are
today, and whether it's whetherit's ministry, whether it's just
her hard work, work, ethic,discipline, whether it's
reconciliation and healingacross divides, it seems like
(10:22):
your mother and father justplayed this prominent role in
the man that God has shaped youto be.
So praise God for that.
Dr Cook, let me turn yourattention a little bit to your
story about Mission Mississippi.
You've been involved in thework of Mission Mississippi for
a number of years now.
Tell us a little bit about howyou got started there.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
Well, I got started through Mission Mississippi,
through one of the persons onthis podcast this morning,
nettie Winters and Dolphus,where they came to Greenville,
mississippi, I read somethingabout grace greater than race,
and so I went to a church Ithink the name of it is Pilgrim
Rest.
I don't remember the pastor whowas pastoring at that time, but
(11:05):
I received the invitation and Isaid to some of our church
members let's go over here tothis rally that they're having.
And because of that rally andwhat I heard at that rally, I
said to myself I want to be apart of that.
I wanted the church that I waspastoring at that time, rebels
Memorial United Methodist Church, and I used to say at Rebels,
the church where everybody issomebody.
I said, well, let us be a partof what Mississippi has started,
(11:29):
let us embrace it, let's hostprayer breakfast, let's go to
other things that are going tohost throughout the state of
Mississippi, and so I've been apart of it ever since.
I love it.
I love what we're doing.
It's a continued work that isnecessary for such a time as
this.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
And amen, amen, nettie, awesome.
I know you guys probably gotsome questions.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Feel free to jump in with anything you might have,
yeah well, well, steve, I'veknown you for a couple of years
and I actually you're.
You are who I got involved inmy my work through Mission
Mississippi, and so I'm excitedto be talking with you.
All the connective tissue isthere.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
It's all right here.
The doctor cooked the Austin.
That's amazing.
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
One of the things I alwaysadmired about you was the
significant amount of order andorganization you're able to
offer, and a lot of that comesfrom, I think, a lot from your
military background, and nowthat I'm hearing more about your
parents, I see your dad's workethic in this as well, ad's work
(12:40):
ethic in this as well, and soyou've moved from military to
pastoral leadership, and I thinkyou've also had a couple of
other industries here and therethat you've been able to engage
in, and you've also emphasizedthe ministry, referencing
Proverbs 3, trust the Lord withall your heart and lean not on
your own understanding.
I think this presence isabsolutely vital for the
ministry of reconciliation,where bringing divides requires
(13:03):
trust, humility and activeengagement.
And I guess I'm just I'mwondering.
So what are some of these otherexperiences you've had
throughout your life, military,other sectors?
Obviously, the ministry issignificantly important for the
reconciling work that you'redoing with Mission Mississippi,
but in what ways have some ofthe other experiences you've had
(13:24):
, these practices, be able tojust present within your
ministry, within thisreconciliation that you're
talking about, having such apassion with the prayer,
breakfast, all of that and howdoes those experiences help to
facilitate that work ofreconciliation you're currently
(13:45):
doing, because it must have beensignificant as well.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Well, thank you for posing that, austin, it is good
to see you as well.
Well, thank you for posing that, austin, it is good to see you
as well.
Drawing from my militaryexperience, of course, some of
you already know this Igraduated from Mississippi State
University, and I graduatedfrom Mississippi State
University in 1983.
And upon graduation fromMississippi State University, I
(14:15):
was commissioned as a secondlieutenant in the United States
Army, and so I did a lot oftraveling.
Within my four years as acommissioned officer, I went
from Petersburg, virginia, toColorado Springs, colorado, fort
Carson, Colorado, to goingoverseas to a place called Pusan
, korea, the Camp Haleah inPusan, to my last duty station,
which was at Fort Hood, texas,and throughout my time in the
(14:37):
military, I saw a team of people, various teams, that I worked
with throughout the militarythat we came together and we
were stronger together becausewe depended on one another to
accomplish the mission.
As part of the military and theunits that I were a part of in
the military, we didn't playaround when it came to whether
(15:00):
you were Black or white.
We focused on being together,whether we were playing
basketball in the gym, whetherwe were playing flag football,
whether we were playing softballfor a particular unit or a
company in the military, wefocused on what we could do
together to achieve a win.
(15:20):
And even when we didn't achievethe win, we still remained
together because we knew thatthat was vital and important.
So how does that play a role inwhat I do today and live in a
reconciled life?
I'm intentional, just as I waswhen I was in the military.
I am serious about the teamtruly being a team.
(15:45):
I am a person who truly embracethese words and if we say that
we are Christian, then let us beabout love of God and love of
neighbor as thyself.
And when I see people not goingin that direction, I don't
throw them under the bus, but Ihave a serious conversation with
(16:06):
them about how can we do betterto model what we need to see in
this life, and that is lettingour light so shine that others
may see our good work andglorify the Father, which is in
heaven.
So, in a nutshell, what I sawin the military, what I saw
through my parental upbringingI'm living that out today we're
(16:26):
stronger together when we liveaccording to teamwork and
breaking down these isms such asracism, sexism and all these
other isms that so easily divideus, and being more intentional
and impactful in a way to helpthis world be a better place.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Amen, hey, Nettie, jump in on us.
I think you're on mute brother.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Yeah, your integrity, your straightforwardness and
your honesty and yourintentionality has become really
intense in many instances as Iwatch you.
You know, being born inLexington, holmes County, being
raised in Carroll County,carrollton Mississippi, being in
(17:13):
Washington County, carrolltonMississippi, being in Washington
County, you know a lot of thoseplaces are known for their
segregationist, their racism,their divisiveness.
All of those things would beconfronting you as you work
there, as you live there.
Tell me how comparison to thenand now and how that's working
(17:35):
out for you as you travel acrossthe state.
You know you were districtsuperintendent for the United
Methodist folks.
You did a lot of travelingthings.
So tell me how, thisintentionality that you have,
how do you help others get towhere you are?
I guess that's the bottom line.
How do you get them to get towhere you are in terms of?
I know that you walk up right,you do the right thing, you live
(17:56):
out the reconciliation, so, butyou know a lot of your um
people that you got to work withboth in the church and outside
of the church.
They'll always get there, so,so, so help.
You know Mr Mississippi istrying to encourage the body of
Christ to walk that out.
So tell us in a way that thebody can be that team that
(18:18):
you're talking about.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
Well, I'm going to mention several things here.
I'm going to use the three V's,I'm going to use the three M's,
and we'll actually the four M's, and then I'm going to talk
about three other M's.
I can't wait to hear them,brother, to help me unpack what
you have lifted up from aquestion perspective how to live
(18:41):
that out in the here and now.
I hearken to the voice of God,following the direction that God
has called me to be intentionalabout.
Number two, the vision of God.
I believe God has a preferredfuture for the church and that
(19:01):
is definitely what MissionMississippi is about, day in and
day out, and I love what we'redoing and what we will continue
to do.
So voice vision and I choose towalk in victory, even though
there are some things happeningon the news even right now that
some of us have already seentoday and last night and will
(19:21):
happen even later on today andtomorrow.
I choose to walk in victory,even though we see some sad
looking situation.
I know that greater days arecoming.
So voice vision and victory.
And then the 4M I choose tomeet people where they are in
life and after.
(19:43):
Meeting people where they aremay not necessarily like all
what they say at time, andsometimes they may not like
exactly what I'm saying, and sowe have to be careful with our
tone and our tenor when we aretalking to people.
But I choose to meet peoplewhere they are, I make time to
listen to their story.
Sometimes we choose to saywe're listening, but we want to
(20:07):
get our words in and we have ourthought process already at work
even as somebody else istalking, because we're just
waiting for them to finish so wecan say what we need to say.
So I make time to listen towhat they have to say because
their story is important just aswell as my story.
So I meet people where they are, I make time to listen to their
(20:28):
story and then meet felt needs.
We need to be a people thatmeet felt needs along the way as
it relates to this journey andthen, if we do all those three,
then we'll see the manifestationof the kingdom of God here on
this earth, if all of us chooseto live that out more in an
(20:49):
impactful, intentional and a wayof integrity.
And then three other M's I knowyou may be getting tired of all
these.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
V's.
I'm loving it, man.
I'm taking notes, man, so I canremember the V's and the M's
man, You'll hear them again.
Speaker 4 (21:08):
So, in addition to the four M's, I want to lift up
three M's Memory, to recallwhere I've come from, to not
forget the journey, to notforget that there was a time
when I was in a store as a16-year-old, on my way to being
17.
I was working in a store, agrocery store, and I heard a
(21:30):
little boy call me the N-word,and this little boy was a son of
the store manager.
I never heard that storemanager say anything ill towards
me, but his son came in thestore one day and I was in the
back room getting ready to takesome grocery items to put them
out on the shelf and thismanager's son said the N-word to
(21:54):
me.
So I remember that's memory,but I didn't let that impact me
in such a way that I live inthis here and now, or even
during my college days, when Imatriculated over to Mississippi
State University, or even inthe Army that caused me to have
so much hatred in my heartbecause one little boy said some
(22:17):
words, said one word called theN word, because he was taught
that at home.
But I chose to live a differentway, a way of love, and I choose
to live that way with my wife,my beautiful wife, and our two
daughters.
With my wife, my beautiful wifeand our two daughters, we have
instilled that within them tolove everybody.
We may not like their ways, maynot like what they say all the
(22:38):
time, but choose to love.
So, memory, but also movement,and what I mean by movement.
When I move from place to place, when I'm called to go from
place to place, when I'm calledto speak at various places, I do
it in such a way that I moveaccording to the spirit of the
living God.
I choose to be obedient,without hesitation.
(23:00):
I choose to go to places with amindset that says, even though
we see some things that aregoing on that is just not right.
We believe that change iscoming and change is coming for
the better.
And then one last M the message.
We have a message to carry, andthat message is a message of
(23:21):
salvation, not only for thosewho are African-American, not
only for those who are Caucasian, but we have a message for
African-American, latino,hispanic, black, white.
Doesn't matter what color youare, whatever hue you have.
It's a message for the entireworld.
It's a message that says Godhas spiritually gifted all of us
, but we need to tap into it andwe need to have some attitude
(23:44):
adjustment and realize that Godhas been so generous, not only
to all of us that on thispodcast but to others as well.
So let us carry that to all thenations.
Let us go beyond the state lineof Mississippi, because we have
a message to tell to the entireworld.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
Man.
You came out putting a bow onit there.
Brother Crawford, I thought youdid it, didn't you?
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Amen, amen.
I heard every singlealliteration man.
I heard every singlealliteration Voice vision,
victory, amen, amen.
That was incredible, that wasincredible.
And those M's, those four M's,in particular Dr Cook, really
resonated with me in terms ofthe idea of making time but also
(24:36):
creating opportunities to meet,felt need, meeting people where
they are and then watching themanifestation of the Lord if we
adopt those M's.
And so that was incredible.
You know Nettie talked aboutmentioning those things
somewhere down the road.
You know there'sie talked aboutmentioning, mentioning those
things somewhere down the road.
You know there's.
You know there's three levels,there's three levels to
attribution.
You know, the first time, thefirst time that he mentions it,
(24:59):
he'll say you know, dr Cook usedto say these three M's.
The next time he'll say I heard, I heard, want somebody say
these, these three M's.
And then the last time he'llsay you know, like I always say,
you know these three M's.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Well, I want you to know, man, I've already
developed the V's from visionand those things that he talked
about.
You know, in terms of that,I've added vessel to that.
So you know, I'm going to bethe willing vessel for the other
V's to work through right, I'mworking on the fifth M and the
fourth M.
So you know, I'm not going totake it completely away from you
(25:38):
, I'm going to add a little bitto it.
You know, yeah, the Bible talksabout since you're on that
subject, mr President, listen,the Bible talks about taking
what your mentor gives you andthen add what God has given you
and you'll be better than yourmentor, right, and so that's
classic.
Now listen, you laugh, but it'sclassic with Paul and Barnabas.
(26:02):
You know, for a long time, withBarnabas and Saul, barnabas,
and all of a sudden, man, youget to the 15th chapter.
Between the 14th and 15thchapter it's Paul and Barnabas
becomes the father at that point.
So you know, keep up the goodwork.
Dr Cook, I love the way you setthat up.
I love the way you describedthat.
(26:23):
For us at the Body of Christ,you know, we capture it in a
nutshell God's grace is greaterthan race and isms and all those
other things that you have, andso I think that's a way to
recap that.
Thank you for that.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Absolutely Amen.
Dr Cook, how can we keep upwith you?
And Anderson, united MethodistChurch, where is your webpage,
your social media?
Give us some direction as tohow we can keep up with you guys
.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
Well, you can go to andersonumcorg and follow us for
the latest things that arehappening at Anderson, what we
have forecasted for, what'supcoming down the road.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Amen, amen.
It is a blessing Always.
I am always enriched andencouraged anytime I spend time
with you, and this time was nodifferent, and so we are
incredibly blessed and fortunateto be able to grab a few
moments from your busy scheduleand to glean some wisdom from
you.
So thank you so much, dr Cook,for your time and thanks to the
(27:20):
listening audience joining us onthis episode.
Please feel free to share thispodcast with any of your friends
and family and coworkers andchurch members.
You can always visit MissionMississippi by going to
missionmississippiorg.
You can always share thispodcast by going to any podcast
app out there and searching onLiving Reconciled to subscribe
(27:42):
and share, and we would love foryou to do that Again.
It was incredible to have ourfriend Dr Cook on this episode
of Living Reconciled and, onbehalf of my good friends,
austin Hoyle, nettie Winters I'mBrian Crawford signing off
saying God bless.
Speaker 4 (27:57):
God bless.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
God bless, the journey continues.
Thanks for joining LivingReconciled.
If you would like moreinformation on how you can be a
part of the ongoing work ofhelping Christians learn how to
live in the reconciliation thatJesus has already secured how to
live in the reconciliation thatJesus has already secured,
please visit us online atmissionmississippiorg or call us
at 601-353-6477.
(28:19):
Thanks again for listening.
This is Living Reconciled, a podcast dedicated
to giving our communitiespractical evidence of the gospel
message by helping Christianslearn how to live in the
reconciliation that Jesus hasalready secured for us by living
with grace across racial lines.
Hey, thanks so much for joiningus on this episode of Living
Reconciled.
I'm your host, brian Crawford,with my incredible friends and
(00:33):
co-hosts Austin Hoyle, nettieWinters.
Gentlemen, how are you doing?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Oh, I'm doing real well.
I'm just glad I'm an incrediblefriend again.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Yeah, man, I'm glad to have you as an incredible
friend.
Nettie, you doing good as well.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Man, I'm doing great man.
I'm like Austin man.
I never know what kind offriend I'm going to be until I
get over here, but I'm excitedto be an incredible friend, I'm
glad to encourage you guys.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Even when we're less than incredible, I still feel
counted to at least be known insome measure by Brian Crawford.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Amen.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Well, I feel fortunate to be in that number
as well as a friend of AustinHoyle and Nettie Winters, and we
got another friend we're goingto introduce in just a moment.
But first of all, a quick shoutout to our friends and sponsors
that are listening online Folkslike Brown Baptist Church,
people like Nissan, people likeSt Dominic's Hospital, folks
(01:27):
like Mississippi College,mississippi State.
Thank you, guys, so much forall the encouragement that you
have given us and all thesupport that you have given us,
good friends like Ann Winters,bob Ward.
Again, thank you, guys for yoursupport of this podcast.
It's because of what you dothat we're able to do what we do
of this podcast is because ofwhat you do that we're able to
do what we do.
And if you would like to jointhose and others who support the
(01:48):
work of Living Reconciled andMission Mississippi, it's easy
to do.
You can go tomissionmississippiorg, click on
the Invest Today button that'snormally at the top right of
that website and you too canjoin in investing in the work of
reconciliation and investing inthe work of this podcast,
living Reconciled, where we pullin guests from all over the
(02:09):
state and all over the countryand have them talk about
reconciliation from theirparticular lane, their
particular perspective andvantage point.
In fact, we have anotherindividual, an incredible
dynamic man, that we're excitedto interview here today,
reverend Dr Stephen Cook.
Dr Cook is the lead pastor atAnderson United Methodist Church
(02:36):
.
He is a longtime supporter ofMission Mississippi.
He is a longtime committedinvestor in the work of
reconciliation.
He is a bridge builder, he is adynamic preacher and we are
incredibly excited to have DrCook on our podcast.
Dr Cook, how are you doing, sir?
Speaker 4 (02:57):
I am doing outstanding.
It's good to see each of you.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Good deal, good deal.
Welcome to Living Reconciled.
And we'll start by just askingyou if you don't mind share a
little bit about your story.
How did you come to faith inChrist and how did you become
passionate about the work ofreconciliation?
Speaker 4 (03:26):
to join you on this day and I want to give a
significant background about myupbringing, as an impact which
you've already lifted up.
I was born in Lexington,mississippi, to wonderful, dear,
precious parents.
My mother's name is Juanita andmy father's name is Fernando,
and in that upbringing I wasraised in a place called
Carrollton, mississippi.
I don't know how many of youare familiar with that place,
but that's the place I wasraised, which was Carrollton,
(03:49):
mississippi, and we went toworship service on a regular
basis.
I went to Baptist church everyfourth Sunday.
Every third Sunday we would goto the United Methodist Church,
had Sunday school every Sundayand we would go to Bible study,
and sometimes those Biblestudies they would just seem so
long, but, like many people, Ifaced a season of searching, a
(04:10):
season where I was trying tofind my identity in life, in
this world, throughaccomplishments and approval of
others.
Along this journey, but throughit all, there was a gentle,
persistent pull, and we come toknow that pull as the Holy
Spirit drawing me to the truth,the way and the life.
And one of the most definingmoments in my life came not
(04:31):
doing a mountaintop experience,but it came doing a valley
experience.
I was wrestling withuncertainty.
I was burdened with heavyresponsibility, being
success-driven and questioningif I was enough.
But then Jeremiah Jeremiah,chapter one, verse five.
This says before I formed you,I knew you.
(04:53):
Before you were born, I set youapart.
This verse stopped me in mytrack.
It reminded me that my story isjust not a random story, but
it's a story that's written byGod Almighty.
God knew me, he formed me andhe called me, not because I was
perfect or polished, but hecalled me because of who he is
(05:16):
and what he was calling me to bein life.
Since then, my journey has beenabout surrendering, letting go
and letting God just have hisway in my life, whether through
pastoring, teaching, counseling,community outreach, simply
sharing coffee and conversationwith others to help them through
encouraging words.
I've learned that ministryisn't just about the platform,
(05:37):
but ministry is about beingthere for others, just being
present.
And one of my favoritescriptures is Proverbs, chapter
three, verses five through six.
This is trusting the Lord, thatGod lean not on our own
understanding, but in all ourways, acknowledge him and he
will direct our path.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Hey, pastor man, thank you for sharing a little
bit about your passion forreconciliation.
And how did you, how did howdid your life really move from
the space of ministry that you,that you, that obviously the
Lord has called you into?
You talked about that Jeremiahtype of call.
How did your, how did your lifemove from just that embracing
(06:21):
that Jeremiah level call tomoving specifically into seeing
racial healing in the course ofyour ministry?
Speaker 4 (06:30):
As I mentioned earlier, I grew up in the
Carrollton Mississippi area,which is a rural area, part of
Mississippi, and my life it wassimple but not easy, and let me
just emphasize again it was asimple life but it was a life
that I embraced because of theupbringing of my parents.
We didn't have a lot ofdistraction but we had what
(06:52):
mattered, we had family, we hadfaith and it worked for us and
it continued to work for me andmy family, but through the quiet
, grounded environment that Igrew up in.
My Christian faith it took rootNot just through church but
through the daily example of myparents, and I emphasize heavily
my parents, my mother and myfather.
(07:12):
My father was a dedicatedworker.
He worked for a company calledIllinois Central Gulf Railroad,
which eventually became CanadianNational Railroad.
He worked for the railroadcompany for over 35 years and
then he retired.
My father showed me what itmeant to be committed, to work
(07:33):
hard, to show up on time andgive your best, even when no one
was watching.
He taught me that faith isn'tjust what you say on Sunday
morning, but it's how you carryyourself Monday through Saturday
.
What you say on Sunday morning,but it's how you carry yourself
, monday through Saturday.
Watching him reminded me ofColossians 3 and verse 23, which
says whatever you do, whateveryou do, work at it with all your
(07:53):
heart, working for the Lord,not for human.
And my mother, god bless hersoul.
She's the heart of our home,the heart of our family.
She's a faithful homemaker.
Her ministry was in the daily,preparing meals, praying over us
, filling our home withscripture.
She lives that type oflifestyle that we call the
(08:14):
Proverbs 31 type of woman withgrace and consistency.
From her I learned that faithdoesn't need a stage to be
powerful.
You just need love anddiscipline and humility.
Powerful, you just need loveand discipline and humility.
She often reminded us, as herchildren, about Deuteronomy,
chapter six, and she told otherchildren about this.
These commandments that I giveyou today, let it be on your
(08:35):
heart, impress them on yourchildren, talk about them when
you sit at home and when youwalk along the road.
So she passed it along to us asher son, and to her daughters,
and we thank God for her eachand every day Together.
My parents just didn't teach theWord of God.
They modeled it, and thatformed a foundation for the
(08:55):
things that I'm serious about,even to this day.
They gave me the root.
They gave me the solidfoundation, even though I had
questions along the way about mypath.
Gave me the solid foundationEven though I had questions
along the way about my path,which I have chosen, and have
had mistakes along the way.
But thank God for his mercy,thank God for his grace and
thank God for his lovingkindness.
And when I felt a call toministry, it wasn't a dramatic
(09:23):
lightning bolt experience.
It was a quiet clarity that hasbeen forming for years.
I saw that the same work ethicthat my father had been living
out and my mother had trulyembraced by living out as well,
that caused me to live the typeof lifestyle I live now, being
respected and loving everybody.
I never heard my mother orfather say anything in a
disdaining manner against anyone, of any hue color.
All they demand is respect fromothers, no matter who they are
(09:47):
and where they come from.
So that has impacted my life insuch an influential way that I
choose to live a life ofintegrity based upon what I saw
from my parental upbringing.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Yeah, yeah, your mother and your father seem to
have incredibly influenced andshaped the man that you are
today, and whether it's whetherit's ministry, whether it's just
her hard work, work, ethic,discipline, whether it's
reconciliation and healingacross divides, it seems like
(10:22):
your mother and father justplayed this prominent role in
the man that God has shaped youto be.
So praise God for that.
Dr Cook, let me turn yourattention a little bit to your
story about Mission Mississippi.
You've been involved in thework of Mission Mississippi for
a number of years now.
Tell us a little bit about howyou got started there.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
Well, I got started through Mission Mississippi,
through one of the persons onthis podcast this morning,
nettie Winters and Dolphus,where they came to Greenville,
mississippi, I read somethingabout grace greater than race,
and so I went to a church Ithink the name of it is Pilgrim
Rest.
I don't remember the pastor whowas pastoring at that time, but
(11:05):
I received the invitation and Isaid to some of our church
members let's go over here tothis rally that they're having.
And because of that rally andwhat I heard at that rally, I
said to myself I want to be apart of that.
I wanted the church that I waspastoring at that time, rebels
Memorial United Methodist Church, and I used to say at Rebels,
the church where everybody issomebody.
I said, well, let us be a partof what Mississippi has started,
(11:29):
let us embrace it, let's hostprayer breakfast, let's go to
other things that are going tohost throughout the state of
Mississippi, and so I've been apart of it ever since.
I love it.
I love what we're doing.
It's a continued work that isnecessary for such a time as
this.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
And amen, amen, nettie, awesome.
I know you guys probably gotsome questions.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Feel free to jump in with anything you might have,
yeah well, well, steve, I'veknown you for a couple of years
and I actually you're.
You are who I got involved inmy my work through Mission
Mississippi, and so I'm excitedto be talking with you.
All the connective tissue isthere.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
It's all right here.
The doctor cooked the Austin.
That's amazing.
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
One of the things I alwaysadmired about you was the
significant amount of order andorganization you're able to
offer, and a lot of that comesfrom, I think, a lot from your
military background, and nowthat I'm hearing more about your
parents, I see your dad's workethic in this as well, ad's work
(12:40):
ethic in this as well, and soyou've moved from military to
pastoral leadership, and I thinkyou've also had a couple of
other industries here and therethat you've been able to engage
in, and you've also emphasizedthe ministry, referencing
Proverbs 3, trust the Lord withall your heart and lean not on
your own understanding.
I think this presence isabsolutely vital for the
ministry of reconciliation,where bringing divides requires
(13:03):
trust, humility and activeengagement.
And I guess I'm just I'mwondering.
So what are some of these otherexperiences you've had
throughout your life, military,other sectors?
Obviously, the ministry issignificantly important for the
reconciling work that you'redoing with Mission Mississippi,
but in what ways have some ofthe other experiences you've had
(13:24):
, these practices, be able tojust present within your
ministry, within thisreconciliation that you're
talking about, having such apassion with the prayer,
breakfast, all of that and howdoes those experiences help to
facilitate that work ofreconciliation you're currently
(13:45):
doing, because it must have beensignificant as well.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Well, thank you for posing that, austin, it is good
to see you as well.
Well, thank you for posing that, austin, it is good to see you
as well.
Drawing from my militaryexperience, of course, some of
you already know this Igraduated from Mississippi State
University, and I graduatedfrom Mississippi State
University in 1983.
And upon graduation fromMississippi State University, I
(14:15):
was commissioned as a secondlieutenant in the United States
Army, and so I did a lot oftraveling.
Within my four years as acommissioned officer, I went
from Petersburg, virginia, toColorado Springs, colorado, fort
Carson, Colorado, to goingoverseas to a place called Pusan
, korea, the Camp Haleah inPusan, to my last duty station,
which was at Fort Hood, texas,and throughout my time in the
(14:37):
military, I saw a team of people, various teams, that I worked
with throughout the militarythat we came together and we
were stronger together becausewe depended on one another to
accomplish the mission.
As part of the military and theunits that I were a part of in
the military, we didn't playaround when it came to whether
(15:00):
you were Black or white.
We focused on being together,whether we were playing
basketball in the gym, whetherwe were playing flag football,
whether we were playing softballfor a particular unit or a
company in the military, wefocused on what we could do
together to achieve a win.
(15:20):
And even when we didn't achievethe win, we still remained
together because we knew thatthat was vital and important.
So how does that play a role inwhat I do today and live in a
reconciled life?
I'm intentional, just as I waswhen I was in the military.
I am serious about the teamtruly being a team.
(15:45):
I am a person who truly embracethese words and if we say that
we are Christian, then let us beabout love of God and love of
neighbor as thyself.
And when I see people not goingin that direction, I don't
throw them under the bus, but Ihave a serious conversation with
(16:06):
them about how can we do betterto model what we need to see in
this life, and that is lettingour light so shine that others
may see our good work andglorify the Father, which is in
heaven.
So, in a nutshell, what I sawin the military, what I saw
through my parental upbringingI'm living that out today we're
(16:26):
stronger together when we liveaccording to teamwork and
breaking down these isms such asracism, sexism and all these
other isms that so easily divideus, and being more intentional
and impactful in a way to helpthis world be a better place.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Amen, hey, Nettie, jump in on us.
I think you're on mute brother.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Yeah, your integrity, your straightforwardness and
your honesty and yourintentionality has become really
intense in many instances as Iwatch you.
You know, being born inLexington, holmes County, being
raised in Carroll County,carrollton Mississippi, being in
(17:13):
Washington County, carrolltonMississippi, being in Washington
County, you know a lot of thoseplaces are known for their
segregationist, their racism,their divisiveness.
All of those things would beconfronting you as you work
there, as you live there.
Tell me how comparison to thenand now and how that's working
(17:35):
out for you as you travel acrossthe state.
You know you were districtsuperintendent for the United
Methodist folks.
You did a lot of travelingthings.
So tell me how, thisintentionality that you have,
how do you help others get towhere you are?
I guess that's the bottom line.
How do you get them to get towhere you are in terms of?
I know that you walk up right,you do the right thing, you live
(17:56):
out the reconciliation, so, butyou know a lot of your um
people that you got to work withboth in the church and outside
of the church.
They'll always get there, so,so, so help.
You know Mr Mississippi istrying to encourage the body of
Christ to walk that out.
So tell us in a way that thebody can be that team that
(18:18):
you're talking about.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
Well, I'm going to mention several things here.
I'm going to use the three V's,I'm going to use the three M's,
and we'll actually the four M's, and then I'm going to talk
about three other M's.
I can't wait to hear them,brother, to help me unpack what
you have lifted up from aquestion perspective how to live
(18:41):
that out in the here and now.
I hearken to the voice of God,following the direction that God
has called me to be intentionalabout.
Number two, the vision of God.
I believe God has a preferredfuture for the church and that
(19:01):
is definitely what MissionMississippi is about, day in and
day out, and I love what we'redoing and what we will continue
to do.
So voice vision and I choose towalk in victory, even though
there are some things happeningon the news even right now that
some of us have already seentoday and last night and will
(19:21):
happen even later on today andtomorrow.
I choose to walk in victory,even though we see some sad
looking situation.
I know that greater days arecoming.
So voice vision and victory.
And then the 4M I choose tomeet people where they are in
life and after.
(19:43):
Meeting people where they aremay not necessarily like all
what they say at time, andsometimes they may not like
exactly what I'm saying, and sowe have to be careful with our
tone and our tenor when we aretalking to people.
But I choose to meet peoplewhere they are, I make time to
listen to their story.
Sometimes we choose to saywe're listening, but we want to
(20:07):
get our words in and we have ourthought process already at work
even as somebody else istalking, because we're just
waiting for them to finish so wecan say what we need to say.
So I make time to listen towhat they have to say because
their story is important just aswell as my story.
So I meet people where they are, I make time to listen to their
(20:28):
story and then meet felt needs.
We need to be a people thatmeet felt needs along the way as
it relates to this journey andthen, if we do all those three,
then we'll see the manifestationof the kingdom of God here on
this earth, if all of us chooseto live that out more in an
(20:49):
impactful, intentional and a wayof integrity.
And then three other M's I knowyou may be getting tired of all
these.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
V's.
I'm loving it, man.
I'm taking notes, man, so I canremember the V's and the M's
man, You'll hear them again.
Speaker 4 (21:08):
So, in addition to the four M's, I want to lift up
three M's Memory, to recallwhere I've come from, to not
forget the journey, to notforget that there was a time
when I was in a store as a16-year-old, on my way to being
17.
I was working in a store, agrocery store, and I heard a
(21:30):
little boy call me the N-word,and this little boy was a son of
the store manager.
I never heard that storemanager say anything ill towards
me, but his son came in thestore one day and I was in the
back room getting ready to takesome grocery items to put them
out on the shelf and thismanager's son said the N-word to
(21:54):
me.
So I remember that's memory,but I didn't let that impact me
in such a way that I live inthis here and now, or even
during my college days, when Imatriculated over to Mississippi
State University, or even inthe Army that caused me to have
so much hatred in my heartbecause one little boy said some
(22:17):
words, said one word called theN word, because he was taught
that at home.
But I chose to live a differentway, a way of love, and I choose
to live that way with my wife,my beautiful wife, and our two
daughters.
With my wife, my beautiful wifeand our two daughters, we have
instilled that within them tolove everybody.
We may not like their ways, maynot like what they say all the
(22:38):
time, but choose to love.
So, memory, but also movement,and what I mean by movement.
When I move from place to place, when I'm called to go from
place to place, when I'm calledto speak at various places, I do
it in such a way that I moveaccording to the spirit of the
living God.
I choose to be obedient,without hesitation.
(23:00):
I choose to go to places with amindset that says, even though
we see some things that aregoing on that is just not right.
We believe that change iscoming and change is coming for
the better.
And then one last M the message.
We have a message to carry, andthat message is a message of
(23:21):
salvation, not only for thosewho are African-American, not
only for those who are Caucasian, but we have a message for
African-American, latino,hispanic, black, white.
Doesn't matter what color youare, whatever hue you have.
It's a message for the entireworld.
It's a message that says Godhas spiritually gifted all of us
, but we need to tap into it andwe need to have some attitude
(23:44):
adjustment and realize that Godhas been so generous, not only
to all of us that on thispodcast but to others as well.
So let us carry that to all thenations.
Let us go beyond the state lineof Mississippi, because we have
a message to tell to the entireworld.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
Man.
You came out putting a bow onit there.
Brother Crawford, I thought youdid it, didn't you?
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Amen, amen.
I heard every singlealliteration man.
I heard every singlealliteration Voice vision,
victory, amen, amen.
That was incredible, that wasincredible.
And those M's, those four M's,in particular Dr Cook, really
resonated with me in terms ofthe idea of making time but also
(24:36):
creating opportunities to meet,felt need, meeting people where
they are and then watching themanifestation of the Lord if we
adopt those M's.
And so that was incredible.
You know Nettie talked aboutmentioning those things
somewhere down the road.
You know there'sie talked aboutmentioning, mentioning those
things somewhere down the road.
You know there's.
You know there's three levels,there's three levels to
attribution.
You know, the first time, thefirst time that he mentions it,
(24:59):
he'll say you know, dr Cook usedto say these three M's.
The next time he'll say I heard, I heard, want somebody say
these, these three M's.
And then the last time he'llsay you know, like I always say,
you know these three M's.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Well, I want you to know, man, I've already
developed the V's from visionand those things that he talked
about.
You know, in terms of that,I've added vessel to that.
So you know, I'm going to bethe willing vessel for the other
V's to work through right, I'mworking on the fifth M and the
fourth M.
So you know, I'm not going totake it completely away from you
(25:38):
, I'm going to add a little bitto it.
You know, yeah, the Bible talksabout since you're on that
subject, mr President, listen,the Bible talks about taking
what your mentor gives you andthen add what God has given you
and you'll be better than yourmentor, right, and so that's
classic.
Now listen, you laugh, but it'sclassic with Paul and Barnabas.
(26:02):
You know, for a long time, withBarnabas and Saul, barnabas,
and all of a sudden, man, youget to the 15th chapter.
Between the 14th and 15thchapter it's Paul and Barnabas
becomes the father at that point.
So you know, keep up the goodwork.
Dr Cook, I love the way you setthat up.
I love the way you describedthat.
(26:23):
For us at the Body of Christ,you know, we capture it in a
nutshell God's grace is greaterthan race and isms and all those
other things that you have, andso I think that's a way to
recap that.
Thank you for that.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Absolutely Amen.
Dr Cook, how can we keep upwith you?
And Anderson, united MethodistChurch, where is your webpage,
your social media?
Give us some direction as tohow we can keep up with you guys
.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
Well, you can go to andersonumcorg and follow us for
the latest things that arehappening at Anderson, what we
have forecasted for, what'supcoming down the road.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Amen, amen.
It is a blessing Always.
I am always enriched andencouraged anytime I spend time
with you, and this time was nodifferent, and so we are
incredibly blessed and fortunateto be able to grab a few
moments from your busy scheduleand to glean some wisdom from
you.
So thank you so much, dr Cook,for your time and thanks to the
(27:20):
listening audience joining us onthis episode.
Please feel free to share thispodcast with any of your friends
and family and coworkers andchurch members.
You can always visit MissionMississippi by going to
missionmississippiorg.
You can always share thispodcast by going to any podcast
app out there and searching onLiving Reconciled to subscribe
(27:42):
and share, and we would love foryou to do that Again.
It was incredible to have ourfriend Dr Cook on this episode
of Living Reconciled and, onbehalf of my good friends,
austin Hoyle, nettie Winters I'mBrian Crawford signing off
saying God bless.
Speaker 4 (27:57):
God bless.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
God bless, the journey continues.
Thanks for joining LivingReconciled.
If you would like moreinformation on how you can be a
part of the ongoing work ofhelping Christians learn how to
live in the reconciliation thatJesus has already secured how to
live in the reconciliation thatJesus has already secured,
please visit us online atmissionmississippiorg or call us
at 601-353-6477.
(28:19):
Thanks again for listening.
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