MICHAEL KELLEY (M.Div. ‘04) remembers, with some chagrin, the first sermon he ever preached. He was sixteen years of age. Zealous for the Lord and anxious to declare his Word, Michael’s sermon was full of enthusiasm but lacking depth, content, and biblical wisdom. As he recalls, he built the whole sermon around an illustration using Gilligan’s Island and then went back and tried to put in a few Bible verses afterward. But it was a beginning and Michael continued to learn and grow deeper in his desire to serve Christ and in his love and knowledge of the Bible. He was helped along the way by faithful pastors and youth ministers who encouraged his calling and taught him the discipline of serious Bible study.

I have often said that our Beeson alums are among our best recruiters. That was certainly the case with Michael Kelley, who came to Beeson on the recommendation of several of our graduates he had come to respect and admire. He checked out Beeson and found several things he really liked. One was the small student to teacher ratio, along with the philosophy of “life together” (Bonhoeffer) that allows for students and professors to get to know one another at a personal level. Beeson is blessed to have a faculty composed of world-class scholars who are also faithful mentors.

Michael also liked the interdenominational character of the school, the emphasis on respectful listening and learning from one another, despite our diverse ecclesial traditions and perspectives. And last, but maybe not least, there was the offer of a very generous scholarship, the kind of support that allows students to graduate without a mountain of debt to repay. Michael sensed that Beeson was the right place for him to prepare for a lifetime of ministry. He has no regrets about that decision today.

Beeson emphasizes the importance of doing ministry while studying for the ministry. Michael, along with several other Beeson students, worked together at a ministry called Student Life. This was a formative experience for Michael as he himself became a mentor to younger Christians and learned much about leadership and teamsmanship from his fellow students as well as from his teachers. Dr. Calvin Miller and Dr. Robert Smith, Jr., two giants in the field of preaching, both had a great influence on Michael by challenging him to engage with the biblical text not only as an intellectual exercise but personally, and emotionally as well, the kind of appropriation the Prophet Ezekiel referred to when he said, “Your words were found, O God, and I did eat them.” To this day, Michael recalls a statement made by Dr. Smith in one of his preaching classes: “You can’t preach a text until a text has preached you.”

Where is Michael Kelley now? He lives in Nashville where he is the Director of Discipleship for LifeWay Christian Resources. In this role, he leads a team of people who are seeking to inform and impact positively the practice of discipleship in local congregations across the Southern Baptist Convention and beyond. He also serves as an elder at Grace Community Church in Nashville. Michael and his wife Jana have three children: Joshua (7), Andi (4), and Christian (2).

Next month, Michael will publish his first book, titled Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal: A Boy, Cancer, and God. This book is the gripping story of their son Joshua’s battle with leukemia, a struggle that began when he was only two years old. The publisher, Broadman & Holman, asked me to endorse Michael’s book and here is what I said:

Have you ever wondered why? Have you ever walked through what the psalmist called the Valley of the Shadow of Death? Have you ever been where God could not be found in the midst of your pain? If so, this book is for you. It is a true story about Michael, his son Joshua, and cancer. But it is also a story about hope and the God whose love reaches us in the deepest depths, the God whose middle name is Surprise! You must read this book!

I am so proud of Michael and Jana, of their love for the church, their desire to share God’s Word with others, and their faithfulness to Christ in the midst of great trials. Please take a minute and say a prayer for Michael, Jana, Joshua, Andi, and Christian. You can also keep up with Michael via  his blog. You can find out more about the ministry of discipleship at LifeWay Christian Resources by checking out their website.