Randall J. Greene

Born into a Christian Household

I was born into a devout Christian household in the Washington, D.C., area, the second of four children and the only son. My father was an officer in the Air Force, and my mother was able to be a full-time mother for us children. My grandfather had long been a Southern Baptist pastor, and the faith heritage passed from my grandparents through my parents to me was formative from the very beginning.

Claimed Christianity for myself

When I was five years old, I claimed my faith for myself for the first time. Although I was undoubtedly motivated as much by fear of hell as I was by anything else, my belief and commitment were real. My father and I knelt beside the sofa in our living room and he led me in a sinner's prayer of repentance. In these childhood years, my family and the churches I was a part of developed in me a deep and enduring love of Scripture.

Moved to St. Louis

Before my 7th Grade year in school, my father was transferred to St. Louis, MO, so our family moved to Ferguson, a suburb of the city, and we were enrolled in a Christian school there associated with the Church of the Nazarene. This was where I met Shannon, a girl in my class whose wild Irish enthusiasm terrified me and my militaristic need for structure.

Began dating Shannon

The fall of our senior year of high school, Shannon and I began dating. She had been called by God as a middle schooler to pursue a vocation in pastoral ministry. Although she was expressing this as a call to youth ministry for now, we both knew it was possible that could expand to higher levels of pastoral ministry which, in my Southern Baptist belief system, were not permissible for women to hold.

Moved to Kansas City for College

I enrolled at the University of Missouri – Kansas City, which was my first exposure to public education. Shannon attended the Nazarene university in the Kansas City suburbs, and we were able to continue our relationship.

Married a Pastor in Training

Shannon and I married as we were finishing our undergraduate degrees, and I resolved my cognitive dissonance around her call to ministry by committing to listening to God's lead in my life. I knew God was calling me to this woman, so if God wanted her to be a pastor, then I believed God would convince me of it, too.

Moved to Oklahoma

We moved to Enid, OK, for a youth ministry position for Shannon while she completed her first seminary degree. This small town had a market opportunity for me as a digital marketing professional, so I officially opened my web design and development studio with the goal of using my skillset to support churches and other missional organizations.

Confronted with Racism in my communities

Just a couple miles from the home in Ferguson where I'd grown up, Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer. Racial tensions had been simmering there for a long time, and I knew from my friends in high school that police often targeted people of color.

I was surprised, though, by the sudden explosion of activism in my hometown and by the apathy of many of the Christians all around me. For Shannon and me, this was deeply personal. It was during this period that I began and writing with fresh zeal, because it was the only way I knew to express the turmoil I felt.

Returned to Kansas City

We longed to return to Kansas City, and an opportunity arose for me to join the staff of a large United Methodist Church there as their digital marketing lead. Shannon had just been ordained into the Church of the Nazarene, but she was unable to find any Nazarene churches that would hire her, so she took a position working for the denominational headquarters.

In Kansas City, we found a community that encouraged us to continue wrestling with the expressions of racism, nationalism, and other forms of bigotry that we increasingly recognized in the faith communities in which we'd been raised. As I explored the assumptions of my faith, examining Scripture and my interpretations of it, I found myself changing many of my foundational beliefs, including my understanding of women in ministry. My faith shifted from being rooted in fear to being rooted in grace and compassion.

Published my first short book

I self-published Whispers of a Stronger Faith, my first collection of poems and short stories. I'd previously posted many of these stories on my blog, and although few of them were explicitly religious, they demonstrated the journey of exploration I had begun.

Began seminary

With the encouragement of the church where I continued to work, I entered seminary at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. The diverse group of professors and fellow students there further challenged my shifting theological views. They helped me understand that it was not enough to simply welcome and love everyone, but that the gospel of Christ actually called me to actively look for and liberate the oppressed in my communities.

Wrote my thesis on digital communities

As I concluded my seminary degree, I wrote my thesis on comparing the Apostle Paul's use of letters as a tool for cultivating Christian community in Corinth to the use of social media to cultivate Christian community in our world today.

Became foster parents

After years of consideration and months of training and preparation, Shannon and I became foster parents to a precious five-year-old girl. Three days later, the world shut down in an effort to contain COVID-19.

There were a lot of firsts for us to navigate: parenting, the foster care system, preschool (and then kindergarten), all within the context of a pandemic world that was also adding stress to our professional lives.

The eight months we spent as foster parents were by far the most difficult of our lives, and they culminated in the most difficult decision we've ever had to make. By November, the strain of it all was taking such a toll on our marriage that we had to request a new foster placement for the little girl in our care.

Finding healing and stability

For the last couple years, we have spent a lot of time healing from our traumas. Some of that trauma stemmed from the pandemic experiences we all shared, but I have also uncovered other traumas from my life that I had buried deeped inside me. Shannon and I have both pursued changes in our careers, which for her has involved becoming a senior pastor and returning to seminary as she pursues ordination as an elder in the United Methodist Church.

I'm excited to find out what tomorrow brings.