Building People, Not Just Buildings
A Community Spotlight on My Father, James Brinson Richardson

Every so often, a spotlight comes along that's harder to write than the rest — not because there's less to say, but because there's so much more of it, and none of it feels like enough. This is one of those. The subject of this week's Community Spotlight isn't a business owner or a public official. He's my father.

From Charlotte Roots to a Calling in Service

James Brinson Richardson was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1945, where he grew into the man who would go on to spend the rest of his life in service to others. After completing his early education there, he transferred to Seminary School in Kentucky, where he earned his doctorate — deepening the knowledge and conviction that would shape decades of ministry and community leadership. Charlotte is where he carried that calling home, raising his family and building a life rooted in faith and service.

By the early 1980s, my father had answered his calling and became the head pastor at Pleasant Plains Baptist Church. It was the beginning of a ministry that would eventually bring him — and our whole family — to Shelby, North Carolina.

Fifteen Years at Poplar Springs

Not long after taking on that first pastorate, my father accepted the position of head pastor at Poplar Springs Baptist Church in Shelby, and that's the move that brought us to this community. He held that role for roughly 15 years, and in that time, the congregation grew to more than four times its original size.

My dad has always said it's not about the buildings — it's about the people. He didn't just grow a church; he built a family out of a congregation, one relationship, one visit, one Sunday sermon at a time. That distinction says everything about who he is.

Still Serving, Decades Later

My father never really stopped. For the last 10 to 15 years, he's served as assistant pastor at Big Springs Baptist Church, and he stays active running interim pastorates — stepping in to guide congregations between pastors, offering steady leadership during a church's most uncertain seasons. It's the kind of quiet, behind-the-scenes work that doesn't come with a lot of recognition, but it's exactly the kind of work my father has always been drawn to. He shows up where he's needed.

The Man Behind the Pulpit

Here's what I want people to know about my dad: he is, without question, the kindest, fairest, and most decent man I have ever known. That's not something I say because he's my father — it's something I've watched to be true my entire life, in the way he treats people, in the way he listens, in the way he never seems to run out of patience or grace.

He's been a preacher his whole life, but he's never been the stiff, serious type you might picture behind a pulpit. My dad loves to laugh. He's always got a joke ready, and he has a way of making a room feel lighter just by being in it. That sense of humor, paired with a deep and genuine faith, is part of what's made him so effective at what he does — people don't just respect him, they like being around him.

And then there's my mom. My parents have been married for decades, and after all these years, they are still very much in love. Watching the two of them together — the way they still enjoy each other's company, still laugh together, still choose each other — has taught me more about love and commitment than anything I've ever read or been told.

A Life Spent Building People

My father's story isn't really about titles or church growth statistics, even though both are part of it. It's about a man who has spent his entire adult life showing up for people — his congregations, his community, and his family — with humor, humility, and an unshakable kindness.

Shelby has been shaped by a lot of good people over the years. My dad, James Brinson Richardson, is one of them. And I'm proud, more than words can really capture, to call him mine.