Sterling Griggs

The Bean There, Done That looks like any other coffee shop near a major college campus. Olive colored walls, dim lights, students hidden behind laptops sucking in the free Wi-Fi, college-style music playing from a worn out radio in the background, stools and rickety tables scattered throughout, a well-worn bulletin board with fliers for the next great social event or call to action plastered all over it. Yet this visual panorama isn’t what captivates the senses. No, it is the smell that draws you in. That rich, almost floral scent of coffee that permeates the place and sticks to your clothes for hours after you leave. This place smells like heaven on earth and that’s why Stewart comes here almost every day. Stewart is a bit of a celebrity at the coffee shop. His stay at the university has been a bit longer than most (six years and counting) but that’s because of the multiple majors and minors that he’s been pursuing. Philosophy, art, psychology, even a little...

As a kid growing up, I had the privilege of sitting in the shadows of some great examples. My grandfather fought in WW2 and afterwards worked as a mail carrier before opening a family grocery store with his wife, my grandmother, that they both operated until he died in 1990. My father went to a technical school after he graduated from high school and he has had the same career as a contract draftsman since the early 1970's, a job that he's pretty stinkin' good at too. No one told me growing up that I had to pick one thing and strive to do it to the best of my ability, but there was some outside pressure that pushed me in that direction. Ever since high school I knew that God was calling me into the ministry, and student ministry was always at the heart of what I wanted to do. So it just seemed natural that I would pursue student ministry alone and then, when I became older and more seasoned, I could transition out into other areas of ministry. The only problem was that, ...

This past weekend I had two conversations regarding the state of public education in the state in which I live. Okay, they were more muted down diatribes delivered by yours truly than they were conversations, but I had a captive audience and I just couldn't help myself. If you are resident of the great state of North Carolina, then you know the rough state of affairs that our public schools and teachers are facing. With four children of my own in public schools, I share your concerns. And as one who tries so hard not to be overly political with issues - I call them as I see them and am a proud registered Independent - it's hard not to get frustrated with the perceived lack of concern for our public schools from those in Raleigh whom we all had a hand in electing. Besides, I've yet to see a legislator sitting in a classroom in my community striving to understand exactly what is going on before he or she casts their next vote. It gets frustrating to see a revolving door ...