Today is Labor Day. Ironically, I am at my desk working – writing. It’s a labor of love on my part to share with you a little bit about somebody else’s labor of love. And it truly is a labor of love on his part – in far more ways than you might have ever thought.

These are some portraits I did of Jamie Ford, the thirty-nine year old Pastor of Concord Baptist Church in Lovett, FL. I shot them to go along with a series of photos I was doing while back home visiting family and friends that represent southern places, southern people, and southern activities. What could be more southern than a Sunday morning Baptist church service, and the Pastor from said church?

Jamie is actually originally from New Jersey, but he’s lived in The South since he was fourteen and is about as southern and country as one can be. I believe he may be about as good hearted as one can get too. He’s the father of four boys through his wife of twenty years, Joni. “She is a crucial part of my ministry – behind every successful pastor is a great wife,” he told me on the phone last night. I ask what lead him to becoming a pastor and he said, “The Lord called me into it. It’s not something you decide. You just gotta answer the call. God doesn’t call the able, He enables the called.”

To those of you reading this that are not Christian — those that do not believe in God, those of you that find the concept of being “called into service” as being kind of hokey —  let me express this feeling in a non-secular sense. For sometime now I have felt an almost haunting responsibility, or duty, to help people understand other people (and even themselves) better through my photography. That’s actually why I’m writing this now, on Labor Day, when there are so many other things I could be doing. Yes, I personally believe in God, but ultimately it is all about using the abilities you know you have to help make the world a better place, whether you believe in God or not. It’s about loving one another.

The calling of being a pastor is not an easy one to fulfill. I asked Jamie what the toughest part of being one was and he said, “To see people hurting and not being able to reach those that are lost.” Being a pastor is a 24/7 job. These are people that show up at all hours of the day to be with those that have just lost a loved one, or that are worried sick about their loved ones in times of medical and emotional crisis. And those that are pastors of small churches like Concord Baptist don’t make enough money to live off of just by that, so they have another fulltime job. They don’t do what they do for the money. On top of this, many people expect them to perfect; even though they’re human too.

“I was Jamie before I was a pastor,” he told me, alluding to things he’s done in the past that he is not proud of. “Our past is a testimony to how God can use anybody. He just wants commitment. God doesn’t care about the past, he cares about the present.” Here’s what I believe Jamie means: we all have life experiences, some of which that may not have been so great.  But we can use our experience with those events and what we learned through them to help others that may be dealing with the same issues. You don’t have to be a Christian to do these things. He is saying that God never wants you to feel like you’re not good enough to be of benefit to others, and worthy of His love. No matter how guilty or shameful some pastors, congregations, or Christians so famously may have made you feel, always know that none of those people are any better than you in God’s eyes.

So, I’m sharing all this today because I believe pastors like Jamie deserve to be applauded and thanked for what they do – even from those that may not believe in God. What pastors do is truly a labor of love. It is their job not just to love others, but also to serve as an example of how to love others.

Jamie, thank you for your labor of love.

Disclaimer: I realize that it is not seen as professional to openly talk about religion or politics in a work environment. Well, this blog is one of my work environments in a sense, and I know me writing a post like this could cost me work. If you have read this far and are a bit put off by anything I have said, please know that I don’t go around preaching to people or talking down to them because of my beliefs. I personally can’t stand that. I do try and represent what I believe in and stand for by how I act and not what I say though. This doesn’t mean I will think less of you for being different than me. Hell, I likely will appreciate you being different than me. All different types of people fascinate me. I’m just a guy trying to make a living doing what I love and am passionate about. In the process, I try to follow the teachings of Jesus – and fail miserably at everything He wants me to be and that I’m capable of being, daily. Everyday. It’s not my desire to “convert you” or change your mind on your personal beliefs. It is my desire to be the best person I can be, and I do that through trying to follow what I know about Jesus through The Bible. If you read what He called his followers to do you will see that it is pretty great advice on how to treat yourself, those you care about, and even those you don’t even know. It’s about having a heart. It’s about loving one another. Being a Christian or believer in God doesn’t make you a good person. Being a good person makes you a good person.