John D. Pierce, executive editor/publisher of Good Faith Media, has served for 20 years as editor of Nurturing Faith Journal. Previously, he was managing editor of the Christian Index and, earlier, Baptist campus minister at Kennesaw State University and then Georgia Tech.

  1. What story, verse or passage from your faith tradition’s sacred texts has significantly influenced / shaped your life?

In his very personal encounter with a Samaritan woman, recorded only in John 4, Jesus breaks down social barriers of gender, race/ethnicity, religion and reputation. It’s a relational example worthy of emulation.

  1. Who are three people (other than your family) who have shaped your life and worldview? And how?

The late John Claypool was the first and best “confessional preacher” I ever heard. From him, I learned to address “our” struggles and shortcomings rather than “yours.”

Hank Aaron, my favorite sports figure, showed remarkable courage and discipline achieving his dreams in face of opposition and ugliness that I’ve never faced. Therefore, I have no excuse for not pushing ahead without fear while acknowledging my cultural privileges.

Singer-songwriter Dolly Parton perfectly balances an embrace of the warm traditions of her upbringing while growing beyond the provincialism. That’s what I seek to do.

  1. List three of your “desert island” books, movies or TV shows.

Ken Burns’ Country Music series, any or all Pat Conroy novels, and the movie 42 on the life of Jackie Robinson because it offers both baseball and social justice.

  1. What is one of the most critical issues people are facing today?

So many Americanized Christians have a primary allegiance to a self-serving religious/political ideology at odds with the life and teachings of Jesus. That’s why the emerging Jesus Worldview Initiative, now part of Good Faith Media, is so needed.

  1. What are a few of your hobbies?

Hiking, watching baseball and landscaping projects

  1. If you could freeze your life into an already-lived 10 seconds, what would they be?

Watching my daughters, overwhelmingly and speechlessly, take in the wonders of Yosemite from atop Sentinel Dome.

  1. Our tagline at Good Faith Media is, “There’s more to tell.” What’s your “more to tell”?

Growing up in a simple and sheltered world, I never imagined that crafting sentences, including putting my thoughts into words, would become a fulfilling vocation.

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