Pastor Charles Prescott II: Hope in the Messy Middle — A Christmas Conversation About Calling, Grief, and Community – Episode 68 cover art

Pastor Charles Prescott II: Hope in the Messy Middle — A Christmas Conversation About Calling, Grief, and Community – Episode 68

Pastor Charles Prescott II: Hope in the Messy Middle — A Christmas Conversation About Calling, Grief, and Community – Episode 68

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 There are some conversations that feel timely.Others feel important.And then there are those rare conversations that feel necessary.This episode of The Town Square Podcast—our Christmas special—falls squarely into that third category.As the year winds down and the calendar edges toward Advent, Gabriel and I sat down with Pastor Charles Prescott II, Senior Pastor of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Covington—affectionately known by generations of members as “The Mac.” What unfolded was not just an interview, but a holy pause. A space to breathe. A place to name grief honestly, to talk about leadership without ego, and to rediscover hope—not as something loud or flashy, but as something faithful, steady, and often found in the smallest places.This was a conversation about calling—and what happens when you try to run from it.It was about institutions—the church, law enforcement, education—and how trust is built when faith in those institutions feels fragile.It was about grief—personal, communal, generational—and how it shows up most loudly during the holidays.And it was about hope—not as denial, but as disciplined remembrance of what God has already done.In other words, it was exactly the kind of conversation we believe belongs in the messy middle.A Pastor Who Didn’t Want to Be a PastorOne of the most compelling parts of Pastor Prescott’s story is that he never aspired to the title he now carries.“I didn’t want to be a pastor,” he said plainly—without bravado, without irony.For more than a decade, he ran from ministry. Twelve years, by his own account. Until his grandmother—wisely and lovingly—reminded him that sometimes when you keep running, you’re only circling the thing God has already assigned to you.That tension—between resistance and surrender—became a recurring theme throughout our conversation. Because many people listening right now aren’t running from a pulpit. They’re running from a hard conversation. A leadership role. A responsibility they didn’t ask for. A calling they feel unqualified to carry.Pastor Prescott’s journey—from Augusta to Atlanta, from youth ministry to bi-vocational leadership, from law enforcement to the pulpit—offers a powerful reminder: calling is rarely convenient, but it is persistent.From the Streets to the Sanctuary: A Leader in Two WorldsPastor Prescott doesn’t just lead a historic church. By day, he serves as the Chief of Police and Associate Vice President of Campus Safety at Morehouse College, his alma mater.That matters.Because few people understand the complexity of Black male leadership quite like someone who has lived on both sides of the institutional divide. He has investigated some of Georgia’s most high-profile cases. He has supervised in systems where trust is thin and scrutiny is constant. And yet, when he returned to Morehouse—back to a campus filled with young Black men—he was reminded of something essential.“These aren’t suspects,” he said.“These are sons. Scholars. Future leaders.”That re-centering reshaped how he pastors.It gave him language for bias—not as accusation, but as reality.It reinforced the importance of listening before correcting.And it shaped his conviction that leadership—whether in law enforcement or ministry—requires humility, patience, and emotional intelligence.You cannot lead people well if you only see them through your worst experiences.Stepping Into a Church Still GrievingWhen Pastor Prescott arrived at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in April, he didn’t step into a blank slate.He stepped into grief.The previous pastor had passed away—a beloved leader whose absence was still deeply felt. For more than a year, the congregation had existed without a shepherd. And anyone who has ever loved a church knows: when a pastor dies, the loss is not just professional—it’s deeply personal.“I walked into hurt,” Pastor Prescott shared.“And I had to work on the inside before we could ever focus on outreach.”That insight alone is worth sitting with.In a world obsessed with growth metrics, branding strategies, and outward impact, Pastor Prescott named a counter-cultural truth: sometimes the most faithful thing a leader can do is tend to wounds before chasing vision.In-reach before outreach.Presence before programs.Listening before leading.Authenticity Over PerformanceAt 147 years old, Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church carries deep tradition—and with tradition comes expectation.Pastor Prescott didn’t dismiss that history. He honored it. But he also made something clear early on: authenticity matters more than performance.That means preaching with substance—not Saturday-night specials.It means sneakers with a suit when bunions demand it.It means sermons that can withstand Google fact-checks from the pews.“We’re in a generation that wants depth,” he said.“They want to know how this changes Monday.”It was ...
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