Jackson encourages churches to ‘stay in love’ August 12, 2011 By GWEN SISSON
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It was while serving as a paralegal at East Mississippi Legal Services in Forrest that Embra Jackson accepted his calling into a life of ministry.
His father had also been diagnosed with cancer at this time. Jackson’s increasing frustration with how the world responded to the big issues, such as poverty, racism, war, etc., lead him to make a commitment.
In college, Jackson looked at other religions, but struggled in his faith.
“But in this time of humility, I realized that it was through Jesus that I would find an answer for my concerns and for my needs,” Jackson said.
As a result, Jackson returned to the faith of his early life— the faith in God that his paternal grandfather, a Baptist pastor, and parents nurtured.
After five and a half years of serving as Administrative Assistant to the Bishop of the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church, Jackson and his family have returned to Starkville to serve as the District Superintendent for the Mississippi Conference. He began the new role in January and is enjoying meeting and working with 111 churches, 64 “charges” and 71 active clergy in the district.
“Being the District Superintendent of the Starkville District is both an honor and a responsibility,” Jackson said. “The honor comes from knowing that Bishop Ward had enough confidence in me to select me to be the ‘shepherd’ of the lay and clergy members of this district.”
Jackson is leading the district “to stay in love with neighbor and God” with the mission “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, beginning in the Starkville District.”
“My faith has sustained me throughout my life and particularly as a District Superintendent,” Jackson said. “It takes faith in God in order to deal with some of the issues that many of our local churches confront. These range from making decisions as to when to relocate a building, starting new ministries, handling conflict, changing worship styles, welcoming new pastors and their families, deciding how to minister to the persons in the communities surrounding the church, etc.”