Paul Robeson Ford

Paul Robeson Ford is senior pastor of First Baptist Church (Highland Avenue) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He was born and raised in New York City and grew up at The Riverside Church under the leadership of James A. Forbes Jr. He received a Master of Divinity from the Divinity School at the University of Chicago where he is now a candidate for the Ph.D. in theology.

Paul Robeson Ford

Evangelicals have lost moral credibility. But there are signs of self-confrontation that could lead to reconciliation, even revival

Whatever moral credibility American evangelicals once had, they have lost. They have chosen to die on the 45th hill, and it has been painful and despairing to watch. Our nation desperately needs strong faith communities that are able to articulate a clear moral voice, even if it convicts them, too.

‘Queen of Soul’: from transcendent to transcendent

Aretha Franklin was the “Queen of Soul” because her voice and her musical phrasing – and the spirit that both articulated – reached something deeper in all of us; and she did it in a way that really no one else with her talents ever did.

Embracing the power of story

Like the rising river in the Arkansas Delta, the persistence of poverty still looms just over the levee, threatening to wash young people down paths of violence, drugs, food insecurity, unemployment, and early death.

We share a new series in BNG’s Storytelling Projects “Arkansas Delta” as part of our "resilient rural America" theme.

This series will address the precise focus on literacy and leadership development to build children’s imaginations, the story of Swim Camp where children and teenagers not only learn to swim but learn to pursue leadership, and video interviews of those connected to Together for Hope Arkansas.

At the center of Arkansas Delta’s fight against poverty and division: an 85-year-old swimming pool

Imagination is the greatest threat to Delta poverty, Together for Hope Arkansas says

We created Storytelling Projects because we believe stories, rooted in the Jesus Story, have the power not only to inform but to transform people and communities. They can be sources of spiritual insight, imagination, creativity and hope for all who seek justice and mercy.