A new year presents itself to us, fresh, clean, and ready for us to make full use of all it’s days. What can we do better? What is our purpose? How can we best love the city with the heart of Christ? I spent an afternoon with Brandon Jackson learning about his life, listening to his story and discussing how other people help us find our way.
You may know Brandon as a member of our choir, a booming bass that can fill the sanctuary without a microphone, but here are some quick facts I bet you didn’t know. He is one of seven children with four sisters and two brothers. He is originally from Los Angeles, and his grandmother was a minister. His aunt is a musician, and she would get them all together to sing, and as Brandon put it, “They were the youth choir!” She would play the piano when he was a child, and he would come into the room with a bang and start singing. I pictured him as a child and asked him to describe himself. We laughed when he compared himself to Dennis the Menace. He was curious and liked to take things apart, and they rarely went back together. If there was spilled food or missing batteries from the tv remote, Brandon was to blame. I had an image of Brandon happily belting out a song with a trail of parts, popcorn and destruction in his wake.
Family is important, and he describes this church as family. It’s hard to convey how much it means when people do things for you, are excited to see you, and love you unconditionally. We talked about a church family who is real, who live by what they say, and who’s actions we can see. Brandon told me how thankful he is for this church, to see people helping people, and how it feels to be inspired by what you see around you. When you experience love in action, it does something inside your head to motivate you to be better and to pay that kindness forward.
Brandon has experienced his share of trouble, and there is no doubt God had him on a collision course with Renee Kloes and FUMC. Music was always there for him, but without a purpose, it didn’t mean much. When you are loved by a family like ours, you can’t help but love back and give of yourself because you want to give back, and in doing that, Brandon has found meaning and purpose. We talked about our story and how each individual piece, each person’s unique perspective, adds up to the whole story of our church. We may have trouble communicating the complete story with words, but maybe we don’t need words. We carry our story with us daily, out into the city, a part of ourselves, and the pieces we have gathered from others. If we are proactive and do what needs to be done, the story will fall into place. We can work together to help others find their way, their purpose, and the love of Jesus. One life touches another in a continuous circle. We don’t need to make it hard, as Brandon told me, “Just tell the story for real and be yourself.”
Story and headshot by Michelle Holland