Chris Carson
I come to Texas, after forty years on the east side of the great Mississippi. As such, I am a product of the South-east, where the football is advanced on the ground and the barbeque is pork, as God intended both to be. Growing up where I did taught me a great deal about the importance of grace and hospitality, elements that are central to the Body of Christ. In addition, my rearing also taught me about brokenness. From race, to gender, to social status brokenness abounds. Yet, springing from this brokenness, I have seen great reconciliation, reconciliation that has taught me the importance of forgiveness, and, as importantly, instills in me great hope for the future.
I am a product of the Presbyterian Church, having been born into, raised by, and nurtured in the Presbyterian Church. My father was a Presbyterian minister. From him, I learned and experienced what it meant to live within grace.
I am a product also of a strong educational emphasis. Until retiring, my mother was a school teacher, one who expected excellence in the classroom from her children. From her, I learned the importance of hard work, as I, in spite of two learning disabilities, was not free from her expectations of excellence. Her expectations instilled in me an inner sense of excellence, something for which I am eternally grateful.
I am a product also of a sports-driven upbringing. I cannot remember a time in my life in which I was not part of a team or competing in an individual sport. I am grateful for this part of my life as it has taught me many things, not the least of which is what it is to depend on and value another.
I am a product also of a phenomenal marriage. I, a child of the South-east, am married to an Alaskan. Our extended families could not be farther apart and still be citizens of the United States. Our varied formative experiences have opened windows neither of us knew existed, windows that open great and amazing worlds to our three children, worlds that my wife and I still are trying to grasp.
I am a product, I am sure, of many other things. I hope to always be able to say that, for the ability to say that ensures that I am always being touched by another part of God’s glorious creation.
