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Dr Carol Johnson, Superintendent of the Memphis City Schools spoke at 2PC on Sunday August 20th (yes, a little slow on the blog). I had the privilege of hearing her speak to the one of the Sunday School classes, but missed her later at the late service. In the brief time that she spent speaking to us i was reinvigorated with hope for our school system. As Neal McAtee stated simply, “my hope is restored.” Dr Johnson is a gifted leader and motivates all that she seems to come in contact with. She has been in Memphis only three years but has already seen drastic increases in graduation rates and has seen most of the schools that were on the State’s watch list fall off (or should I say climb off). She still has a great deal of work to do, however. She has made a call to the faith community of Memphis to come and help in the schools. Her motto resounded loudly in the halls of 2PC:

Every child, every day , is college bound

Dr Johnson is leading the charge to ensure a better tomorrow for Memphis. She is leading and raising Memphis’ future. Dr Johnson’s message is one of saving the children of Memphis by bringing out an “army of others.” Her “army” is not just the faith based community of Memphis but every citizen that enjoys this great city. She would tell Memphians and the churches of Memphis:

We are in the same business, the business of saving the hearts, the spirits, the minds, and souls of our children and their families… We need all of God’s hands on deck.

For the first time in my nearly 20 years in Memphis, I can say that I am excited about the direction our school system is heading. Let us all join together to pray and be “on deck” for Dr Johnson and her team.

Audio from the service is here.