VisualCV

I have an eclectic interest in life with a diverse and interdisciplinary background.  Born in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1950 while my parents attended seminary, I spent most of my formative years in North Carolina and call that state home. Until 1992 when I became a professor at Eastern University, I had moved 25 times living in Texas, Alabama, Illinois, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where I reside now with my wife of 40 years.  Travel has been a passion.  Travel, research and consulting in over 40 countries has informed my teaching, community service and relationships.  Living in Africa for eleven years changed my view of life, and taught me the values of openness to and respect for others, tolerance for ambiguity, the importance of long-term relationships, and the joy of rhythm in music and in life.  My vocation is professor, my avocation is non-profit leader.  In my life I have served in roles as public school teacher, church musician, youth leader, university administration, missionary, media center director, consultant, ethnomusicologist, janitor, carpenter, and house painter.

My primary research and writing interests remain cross-cultural issues, music and oral theology.  I enjoy teaching and mentoring young people interested in community work, non-profits and the arts; and, especially enjoy seeing the world through first-time travelers' eyes.  I am a keen observer, networker, and love the basic question:  Who do you know who?  On many days you can find me working on our historic mansion in Germantown.  I have learned carpentry, concrete and tile work, and a bit of structural engineering, and thank my father who had me working around the house at 15, though it felt like child labor at the time.

At 59, I am proud of my three children who grew up in Africa, survived re-entry shock (not without struggles) and who are thriving with careers and families. At this age I have also learned the value of a good question, straightforward conversation, not taking offense and being at ease with myself.

"African Christian Music", in Companion to Christian Music. Lion Publishing,  Oxford, England, (forthcoming 2010)

Sample:

Music was born from cooking pots and hunting bows in the forests, savannahs and coastlines of Africa thousands of years ago.  Life centered in the annual rituals of planting and harvest, birth, marriage, death, hunting and war. Cooking fires and village centers were places of storytelling and celebration infused with song and dance. A deeply spiritual people, Africans prayed to the Creator, interacted with the spirit world and communicated with their ancestors about life decisions.  Africa has never been a stagnant environment. Through climate changes, disease and war, and migration, peoples throughout the continent have searched and settled for subsistence and survival.  From these origins, African music has been functional in providing the rhythm and song of life. 

At the root of African music is the music of the African village, an oral tradition. Call and response singing, complex rhythms and spontaneous expression mark this lively music as unique to Africa. The drum, often scourged by early Christians, undergirds the participatory nature of singing where “musicking” is more common that “spectating”. Nearly everyone is musical.  Griots hold the history of a people...

"Shaping Lives, Molding Character: Clay Therapy and the Work of Jaroslava Sickova-Fabrici" in forthcoming book 2010.

What child doesn't like mud? I grew up in the Southern United States in mostly small towns of farming communities. I remember the warm feel of the summer's clay between my toes. Making mud pies was a favorite past time with my sisters, especially after a spring rain and long before cable and the Internet. Playing in the mud was soothing, bonded me to my sisters, and most of all, fun. Who knew it could be part of a healing process back then?

Clay therapy became part of my vocabulary in 2004...

"Prophetic Music" in Singing Our Lives. The Center for Christian Ethics, Baylor University, 2006.

Let me start with a confession. I am not interested in hearing any musical prophets or prophetic music in my church during the Sunday morning worship service--especially not from a Christian gangsta-looking thug, or an aging rock star who has suddenly gotten religion, or a Bob Marley wanna-be who looks like he smoked pot to get inspiration and shouts about injustice in our society and my need to repent. I might be willing to sing a prophetic hymn from the hymnal occasionally-though if you take a look at the stock of Christian songs, few are what we might call prophetic. Truth be told, I live with so much conflict, injustice, and just plain chaos these days that I need to hear some Good News. And Good News to me is that God is in control-"Peace! Be still!"-everything is going to be all right. I need comfort. Have you ever felt this way? Some days, I don't want to hear about the needs of the world or be reminded of my calling to bring the gospel message to life. Prophetic music, however, does not give me an option.

The Spiritual Significance of Music in the Spiritual Significance of Music. Edited by Justin St. Vincent.  Online book: http://www.musicandspirituality.com/, 2008

Music has the power to transcend the mundane. Through the musical
experience, one enters into the presence of Otherness; a presence that unifies
outside of the boundaries of self, race, class, and difference.

Taking it to the Streets:  Using the Arts to Transform Your Community.  Co-written with Vivian Nix-Early.  Baker, 2003.

The Sound of the Harvest.  Baker 1998.

The Global Awareness Profile. Inventory and Manual.  Intercultural Press, 1998.  Reassigned and placed online to J. Nathan Corbitt, 2006.  www.globalawarenessprofile.com

"The Arts ad Economic Development" in Celebrating 20 Years: The Economic Development Program, Eastern University, 2006.

Ever think of arts in economic development?  Around the world, the aesthetic nourishment of the arts in community development add beauty, spiritual enrichment, community cohesion, and skills for living.