Papa Joe Bradford
9 min read ⭑
“Every town and city has at-risk children, underserved families, and homeless individuals crying out silently for help. It is a greatly fulfilling joy for people of all ages to relieve the trauma and oppression of our fellow children, women, and men in distress.”
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
There’s much more to food than palate and preference. How does your go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?
My favorite hometown meal, with all its nuances, is an analogy of the humility and perseverance that I seek from the Lord to serve as somewhat of a surrogate father to the thousands of children and families with whom I am called to share practical love and hope.
Though I was born in Nashville, and have lived in the Nashville area most of my adult life, I grew up as a poor, fatherless child in the small town of Waverly, Tennessee. My favorite hometown restaurant was the local “Grandma’s Kitchen.” And I mean quite literally grandma’s kitchen! I grew up in my grandmother’s house eating in her kitchen. Our town did not have a local family restaurant. My favorite meal was catfish that I freshly caught from the nearby Tennessee River.
Growing up in the 1960s and 1970s with a roaring population of 4,000 residents, our town didn’t even have a walk-in restaurant, and hunting and catching your own food was sometimes a necessity. This required diligently cleaning your weapon and gathering your ammunition before hunting and attentively collecting the appropriate fishing tackle and bait before traveling to the river. After that, you had to develop a vast amount of patience to bring home “the big fish that got away” last time.
Love Club
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called "nonspiritual" activities do you love and help you find spiritual renewal?
This is a very interesting question for me. Many years ago, I was awarded the honor of the vote for “Most Versatile” as a Senior class favorite. You can’t miss me if you see the 1979 Waverly, Tennessee, yearbook. There I stood, over 6 feet tall, yet in reality, I am only 5’6”. This was all thanks to my handy dandy five-inch stacked shoes, and the giant six-inch afro I sported!
I was voted most versatile because of an unusual ability to have a pretty decent degree of skill in various areas, such as music, sports, martial arts, academics, and as you already know, hunting and fishing. It was sort of an anomaly to receive offers for college scholarships in music, baseball, and academics. Even now, versatility is evident in my life, but my surprise out-of-the-way interest would have to be a card game called Spades.
To me, a good Spades game is synonymous with life. The object of the game is to connect closely with a partner, much in the same way that life is not a journey to be taken alone. And in Spades, when you are on the trailing team, strategizing to come out on top regardless of the odds against you rewards the player with the thrill of impending conquest. When challenges arise in life, it is a great reward from God when you know that you can be victorious no matter what.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness. Every human, too. We're just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you hide it?
Setting my sights too high on events that help children and families in distress is a weakness that I have been working through for years. For example, our hunger relief program will commonly take groceries door to door to 800 families (over 3,000 residents, mostly children) within a couple of hours in Nashville’s largest low-income community. I understand that this is a success, but knowing that there are still thousands more hungry children in several other local communities, especially during school breaks, makes me want to feed them all—in one weekend!
I have to stabilize my mind when setting goals or else I’ll find myself planning what could turn out to be an administrative nightmare. If that were to happen, my team would look at me as if I have lost my mind. As a visionary, I have to consult with administrators who are go-getters and yet have practical knowledge that I might overlook at times.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your obsession? And why should it be ours?
My professional time and the things that drive me are uniting coalitions to feed hungry children and families, enhancing underserved kids’ education, inspiring kids’ creative gifts, and rescuing children from hopelessness and all forms of abuse (including trafficking). My obsession is igniting a movement of practical love that overrides the racial and political conflict in our society.
My role as a leader is to bring together volunteers and contributors of various races, businesses, and denominations through mercy and compassion and help them to overlook our differences so we can together serve those who are indigent and hopeless. Every town and city has at-risk children, underserved families, and homeless individuals crying out silently for help. It is a greatly fulfilling joy for people of all ages to relieve the trauma and oppression of our fellow children, women, and men in distress.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors, or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it's God when it happens?
We don’t move on any mission or project unless we believe that the Holy Spirit is leading us to do it. We have been far from 100% right on our decisions, but even when we make less than productive decisions, the Holy Spirit is very loving and is gracious to use our mistakes as a lesson so that we will make better decisions next time.
We faithfully look for signs of the Holy Spirit that go beyond our natural ability. For example, 13 or so years ago, we were promised a truck of food from a reputable organization to feed dozens of poverty-stricken families with many kids. The Friday evening before the Saturday giveaway, I received a call that the promise of the truck of food was a mistake. Can you imagine the disappointment our team felt with that news?
As a team, we prayed and gave it over to the Holy Spirit. Within 30 minutes of the prayer, I received a phone call from a benefactor who told us that she had just found $8,000 in her bank account that she was unaware of. She believed that she should donate it to us right away! It was incredible what the Holy Spirit did! The lady went with our team leaders and purchased grocery gift cards for all the families. We named the experience “The Grocery Card Miracle” and posted the giveaway event on YouTube for all to see.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied actions that open our hearts to the presence of God. So spill it, which spiritual practice is workin' best for you right now?
I believe that God wants to surprise us in unlikely places because it makes his reality even more undeniable, so I yearn for it with expectation. One example happened when our oldest child was 12 years old attending a public school next to our low-income community. A bully challenged and confronted my son to fight, and unfortunately, my son couldn’t avoid the encounter. Much to the bully’s surprise, my son successfully defended himself, hurting the bully’s pride more than his body.
An hour or so after school, some kids ran to my house anxiously telling me to quickly come behind the community fence. My son was surrounded by a young gang, and the ring leader was none other than the bully who fought my son earlier. Much to my dismay, the bully had a gun in his pocket. I could have taken the chance to disarm the kid and then call the police, but something unusual popped into my head. So I said, “Son, just come with me. I have a gift for you.” All the boys were amazed to see that I wasn’t speaking to my son—but the bully.
The young man followed me home with my son. After the Holy Spirit convicted me to show fatherly love to the boy, even though he could’ve shot my son, that young man became a good friend to my son and broke from gang life. The Holy Spirit wants his love to penetrate our everyday life.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources—lots of things that have truly impacted our faith lives. But you know about some really great stuff too. What are three resources that have impacted you?
Pastor Tony Evans’ book Kingdom Man: Every Man's Destiny, Every Woman's Dream is a game-changer. It’s a must-read for men who are looking for dynamic principles of biblical manhood that affect marriage, parenting, and ministry.
With a background in drama and with a movie inspired by my story, I am a big advocate for inspirational movies and series. I would suggest The Bible Series and its successor, A.D. The Bible Continues. You’ll have multiple nights of impactful episodes that will grow your faith.
We all have things we cling to to survive (or thrive) in tough times. Name one resource you’ve found indispensable in this current season—and tell us what it's done for you.
At times, when I need a burst of faith, I go back and experience various episodes of The Chosen again to re-energize my spirit.
My all-time favorite television series is The Chosen. This series, which focuses on the lives of Jesus and his disciples, has captured and inspired the hearts of my entire family.
QUESTION #8: dream
God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So, give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
Twenty years ago, I had a recurring dream. In the dream, I had discovered the cure for cancer. Up to that point, I had never been more excited. People throughout the world were going to be healed. Yet each time, just as I was waking up from the dream, the cure would fade from my memory. I was terribly disappointed. It felt as though the dream had been happening in the natural and I had actually discovered the cure for cancer.
Then the dream recurred one final time, but this time, just before I awoke, God revealed that the cancer was symbolic of sin in people’s hearts against God and others. The cure: love. I awoke in amazement.
For the last 20 years, my quest has been learning, researching, practicing, and teaching the biblical view of love that cures the cancer of sin. Everything in my life is centered around the practice of love. Our Hunger Relief program is The Walk of Love. The movie inspired by my story that has spanned the globe is Unconditional.
I have recorded my years of research and experience in a practical book/course called Love or War? Choose Love to help people’s hearts heal and help them become the true lovers that Christ chose them to be. The “war” is sin, which battles against our soul. Since God is love, Love or War? Choose Love is also a training in discipleship. I look forward to seeing what God does with this study, which was released in October 2021.
So many people mistake love for weakness. And it’s understandable—this world can often be a cruel and unforgiving place. If you don’t fight to protect yourself above anyone else, you’ll get hurt. Life will take any chance it gets to bring you down. At least that’s what we’re told.
But those who love best have realized something few others do: This life isn’t about avoiding pain. It’s about experiencing God in his fullness. It’s about enjoying and walking in his all-encompassing love.
Papa Joe can certainly tell you stories of times life has broken his heart. But he can also tell you even more stories about times God’s love touched a person’s soul, transformed hardened hearts, and led to a miracle.
A life controlled by the fear of getting hurt isn’t a life led by complete, matured love. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18a, ESV).
Yes, love is risky. Yes, it’s painful at times. But it’s worth it. So tell us—how can you take a step deeper into love today?
Papa Joe Bradford is an international father figure of love as seen in the movie inspired by his life, Unconditional, which you can buy on the Walmart app and a watch a free copy of on YouTube. As founder of Nashville’s largest door-to-door hunger relief program (WalkofLoveClub.com), CEO of Elijah’s Heart, a nationwide speaker to serve the most vulnerable inner-city communities, and Bible teacher, Papa Joe is an indisputable authority on the power of love. Learn about his impactful new book and course, Love or War? Choose Love, and other opportunities at PapaJoe.org.
