Michael C. Edwards is the new pastor at Tabernacle Baptist Institutional Church. He was elected by the congregation last November and installed Sunday. This is his first pastorship. “I preach the word of God, teach the word of God and give leadership to the church and the community.”
WHY PASTOR AT TABERNACLE?
“I grew up attending Bethel Baptist Institutional Church. Tabernacle Baptist is the daughter church of Bethel Baptist. I was interested because of the location, being in East Jacksonville. This is an historical area for the black community. They were without a pastor. Several were interested but I was selected. They elected me; God assigned me and here I am.”
WHERE DID HE GO
TO SEMINARY?
Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. “It was part of accepting the call into the ministry. In order to do what I was divinely called to do, I needed training additional to what I received as a lay person.”
OTHER JOBS HE HAS HELD
IBM employed Edwards as a sales executive for 10 years. He also worked at Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson company, for five years and at Nextel Communications for two years.
WHY BECOME A PREACHER?
“My struggle prior to leaving corporate America was that I had such commitment and passion for the ministry that I was torn with my responsibilities to the company. I didn’t have time to tend to what God has placed on my heart. I had an active spiritual life but I was not able to give it my full attention. When I left Nextel, I vowed I would not return to the secular world of work. When God gives a vision, he gives the provision to sustain it.”
WHAT ARE THE CHURCH MEMBERS LIKE?
“The Tabernacle congregation is very loving and family-oriented. Many members are related and have a long history of family heritage. They are committed people who have done much with little.”
WHAT’S MOST REWARDING ABOUT YOUR WORK?
“Seeing the difference that the word of God and the spirit of Christ has — the influence it has on the lives of individual members and the rippling effect it has on the community. Seeing lives being changed is most rewarding.”
WHAT CHALLENGES DOES HE FACE ON THE PULPIT?
“Most challenging is getting people into the church and the community to embrace the power divinely given.”
HOW DOES HE
PREPARE SERMONS?
“Through prayer and study of the scriptures. Sometimes it’s revealed by considering the needs of the people. I always strive to be relevant to this time. It just kind of comes to me.”
WHERE DOES HE LIVE?
“Downtown on Jefferson Street in an area that used to be called Sugar Hill.” He and his wife Faydra have two young children, Maegan and Michael II.
HOBBIES?
“I used to travel internationally to experience different cultures. That has slowed down tremendously, so my hobby now is reading about it and listening to music.” He enjoys autobiographies and books on social concerns or self-improvement. His favorite novel is “The Road Less Traveled.”
HIS HERO?
“Jesus Christ. In the simplest way, he came and showed mankind love at its best and humanity at its best by loving the unlovable, by accepting the unacceptable and by pointing others to God. He brought the perfect blend of the right relationships with God, with others and with ourselves without the pomp and circumstance. Part of our mission is to find a righteous balance with all three. When we do, we get the most out of being alive. With that balance in the world, we wouldn’t have the ills of society, the killing and the selfishness.”
— by Monica Chamness