Political Quotes

“Mr. President, over the August recess, the North Lawndale community on the West Side of Chicago witnessed the end of an era. Founding pastor of the Lawndale Community Church, the Reverend Doctor Wayne ``Coach'' Gordon passed the torch to the church's new lead pastor, Pastor Jonathan Brooks, or as the congregation affectionately knows him, Pastor J. Pastor Gordon first heard the call to serve when he was a junior in high school in Fort Dodge, IA. The call came so clear that he woke his mother in the middle of the night to share his newfound purpose and let her know that he was ready to forgo his studies and get started immediately. His mother heard him out and arranged for him to meet with the local pastor. That call set in motion a lifetime of service and selfless commitment to helping others. He listened to his mother and finished his studies. In 1971, he graduated from Fort Dodge Senior High School. He attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL, where he played football. From there, he attended the Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, and he later would go on to obtain his doctorate in ministry from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. By 1975, Pastor Gordon had moved to North Lawndale, a predominantly Black community that at the time was ranked the 15th poorest neighborhood in the United States. He took a job as a teacher and coach at Farragut High School. Pastor Gordon, a White guy from Iowa teaching and coaching in a predominantly Black community, immediately stood out.…”