A Profile in Purpose: Memoirs of an Appalachian Ministry Two People - One Vision - Faith Practical Action and a Farm - Paperback

The couple's love story, though dramatic and riveting, is secondary to the other story of their lives. That story is about being driven by a purpose, energized by faith, and guided by a compelling though at the time imprecise vision. Two days after their wedding they settled in a place neither had ever seen before and in a run-down, unfurnished house by the side of the Memphis-to-Bristol highway, one of the primary thoroughfares in Tennessee. Two years later they moved to the far more remote, isolated, poverty-stricken, and backwoodsy open-country neighborhood of Big Lick. The move was deliberate, self-requested, and purposeful. For thirty-five years they labored in relative obscurity working on their purpose. They refused promotions to more prestigious and lucrative positions to continue clarifying and implementing their Big Lick vision. Eventually their pioneering efforts in community development and racial equality gain distinction among and replication by many in rural ministry locations worldwide. Then toward the end of their ministry, to his surprise, dismay and consternation, but to her delight, he is elevated and elected, in what some described as the greatest upset their church had ever witnessed, to the highest office in their denomination. This is their story.