In many cultures, naming is important. For instance, the Bible recounts various stories where the naming of people or places reveals their meaning and predicts their destiny. To name is to chart a course for the future.

By naming me “Brad,” my parents significantly shaped my calling to be a progressive scholar, preacher, and social activist. In Old English, “Brad” means “broad meadow.” Thus, my goal in life is to live up to and into my name. My ministry strives to create broad spaces where people from diverse backgrounds with divergent beliefs can peacefully probe their differences and celebrate their similarities for the sake of a better world.

Progressive thought and activism involve collaborating with God to deliver people from tight spaces. Deliverance in the Bible is often depicted as the rescue of people from restricting conditions. For example, Psalm 107:13 says, “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and [the Lord] saved them from their distress.” The Hebrew word translated “trouble” (tsar) means “tight place.” That word also can mean “hard pebble.” We poetically could render Psalm 107:13 this way: “Then they cried to the Lord in their tight place or rocky space, and the Lord saved them from their distress.” In other words, prophetic, progressive ministry seeks to liberate people who are stuck in a tight situation—that narrow nook between a rock and a hard place.

The combination of diverse people and seemingly dwindling resources can create contentious social contexts. A fascinating story in Genesis 26 reveals that more peaceful possibilities exist. In this story, different groups of shepherds travel to a valley to find refreshing water. As they dig wells in tight spaces, tension arises, and quarrels erupt. However, when the biblical patriarch Isaac digs a well in a wide-open space, the fighting stops. Consequently, Isaac names the well “Rehoboth,” which in Hebrew means “broad places.”

I hope that God uses my life to create space, enlarge options, and broaden possibilities. My mission is to widen the boundaries so that people can break free from their tight situations and find refreshment as they bask in the breadth and beauty of wide-open spaces.

My website will soon feature a blog where I will post occasional reflections designed to bring our hearts and minds into a broad meadow. I pray these reflections will move us closer to the refreshing resources of “Rehoboth.”