I remember when crack cocaine arrived in our neighborhood during the mid-'80s. The weapons on the street--and the people carrying them--became more deadly. More money became available and people became meaner. Kids moved from selling $5 bags of weed to selling kilos of cocaine. We stopped using .38s and moved to Uzis and AK-.47s.
Today I have an M Div from Duke Divinity School and work as the Minister of Congregation Care and Evangelism at Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington DC and co-facilitate a Reflection Group for political lobbyists for The Faith and Politics Institute. The Faith and Politics Institute creates opportunities for spiritual community, racial reconciliation and moral reflection for persons who work on Capitol Hill.
Hope
I was born in San Francisco in 1970. My 17-year-old mother worked her way into better-paying jobs and finally got a good position at the Federal Reserve. But what began as recreational drug use evolved into a habit. Eventually, she lost her job.
I spent lots of time alone watching television. I loved family-oriented shows, travel shows, and things like 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.' I used to dream about how I was going to live that way some day. I never thought it was possible, but it helped to know that other people didn't live like I did.
At 13, I moved in with my grandparents in Vallejo, an hour north of San Francisco. Every evening, before I went out with my friends, I listened as my grandmother sat on the edge of her bed, processing her day and praying aloud. She asked God to have mercy on her and all of her children. She would talk about what each of them was doing: the good things and the bad. Whenever she mentioned the good things, she would always smile and laugh.
Though my grandparents gave me a curfew, it was never seriously enforced, and my uncles, who lived nearby, were less than positive role models. I moved from selling marijuana to harder drugs and joined a gang because it gave me a sense of belonging, worth, and identity.
One day I left a bag of crack on the kitchen table. My grandmother sat down
at the table, looked at the bag and said, 'So this is what they're killing
themselves for--this little piece of chemical.' She just shook her head. I knew
she was talking about her own children. That was my last day selling drugs.
Change
Desiring to change, I wanted to move to New Jersey and live with my father,
who had a wife and three other children. They lived in a middle-class
neighborhood and wanted me to come. I ran track but neglected my studies, so
after graduation, I joined the Army. Although I found both drugs and gangs
there, I also discovered myself. I graduated from basic training in the top of
the class and was tapped to give the graduation speech. At Ft. Sam Houston, I
trained as a dental hygienist and finished among the top three.
At Ft. Stewart, Ga., I began taking classes at an extension branch of St.
Leo's College, which didn't require the SAT. I made A's in all my classes, and,
by the fall of 1992, was admitted to nursing school at Howard University. The
military discipline I'd learned was put to good use at Howard and I studied like
there was nothing else. In May 1996, I graduated magna cum laude and
received special recognition from Colin Powell, the commencement speaker.
Role Model
In the summer of 1993, I joined the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington DC and began volunteering with its street ministry. Larry Sampson, president of Metropolitan's street and outreach ministries, offered to help by giving me a place to stay. Sampson also became a powerful model of Christian discipleship. (He taught me the discipline of being consistent in tithing; he showed me the discipline of daily prayer. I saw in him how to be both a man and a Christian.) I began accepting invitations to speak to youth about my earlier life and to teach Bible study courses.
At Metropolitan, I met Leslie Copeland who was active with singles ministry there. Out of commitment, respect, and love for God, we vowed to abstain from sexual intimacy. Over time, our faithfulness to this promise opened doors to do ministry together at singles meetings and in premarital classes.
I had a good job with a Maryland pharmaceutical company, was active in the Mitch Snyder Homeless Shelter, and had begun a Rites of Passage program for youth at Metropolitan. My goal was to attend medical school at Johns Hopkins, but gradually, as people suggested that I notice the way God was using me to bless other people, I began to wrestle with a call to ministry. After much struggle, I accepted this call and enrolled in classes at Howard Divinity School. I credit the nightly prayers of my grandmother, who is now 81, with giving me the Christian roots I draw on.
Transfer to Duke
After I married Leslie, I decided to transfer to from Howard Divinity School to Duke. It came as a surprise to almost everyone, because Duke was neither Baptist nor a historically black institution. I knew there would be fewer networking opportunities but my pastor, Rev. Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, Jr., said Duke is great for academics. I believed then, as I do now, that it was what God wanted me to do.
I'm determined to continue sharing the story of how I've changed as evidence of how awesome and how loving God is.
Romal Tune is a staff minister at the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington DC. You can contact him via email. His is willing to assist you with your youth & young adult ministry. Take a few moments to learn more about his church and The Faith & Politics Institute.