Don Gordon is an ordained Baptist minister who is the founder and CEO of Christians Caring for Creation. He is a member of the Good Faith Media strategic advisory board.
1. What story, verse or passage from your faith tradition’s sacred texts has significantly influenced / shaped your life?
The call of Moses in Exodus 3 has always fascinated me.
I’m struck by the fact, he wasn’t seeking God or trying to find God’s will. He was doing his ordinary work on “the backside of the desert.”
God revealed himself to Moses in a powerful, but mysterious way. I think calls of God are like this.
2. Who are three people (other than your family) who have shaped your life and worldview? And why?
Tom Womble, my pastor growing up. He was a combination of intelligence and spiritual wisdom, and he had an ability to connect with ordinary teenagers.
Daniel Vestal, a courageous leader in the CBF who needs no introduction to the readers on this platform.
Søren Kierkegaard, the 18th century Danish philosopher who upset Europe and continues to unsettle me.
3. List three of your “desert island” books, movies or TV shows.
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jarod Diamond; Confessions by Augustine; Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo
4. What is one of the most critical issues people are facing today?
Without a doubt, the most critical issue people are facing today, whether they realize it or not, is climate change. It will have a greater impact on the world than the fall of the Roman Empire, the invention of the printing machine and Al Gore’s invention of the internet, combined.
5. What are a few of your hobbies?
I like to play tennis, play with my grandkids, hike trails, do strength-cardio-yoga workouts and listen to symphonies.
6. If you could freeze your life into an already-lived 10 seconds, what would they be?
Two seconds each for the birth of my three daughters and two grandchildren.
7. Our tagline at Good Faith Media is, “There’s more to tell.” What’s your “more to tell”?
Like David, I’m throwing a few pebbles against the recalcitrant forces enabling the “Goliath” of climate change, and I’m throwing a few pebbles into a creek laughing with my grandkids. You see, I believe sadness and ecstasy can live together.