I grew up believing I wouldn’t make it past 25… and that belief shaped everything. This episode is a raw, true story of childhood trauma, a broken home, and the deep questions that follow you when the people who claim faith don’t live it—identity, purpose, and whether God is real when life is falling apart. You’ll hear how a promising basketball future—Division 1 recruiting, a record freshman season, and NBA dreams—collapsed fast after an arrest and three felony drug trafficking charges. What happens when you’re expelled, in and out of jail, and still trying to prove you matter? This is a story about father wounds, chasing power, pleasure, and possessions, and hitting the kind of darkness that forces a decision. Then comes the turning point: a “death” before 25 that wasn’t what anyone expected—dying to the old life and finding a new one through Jesus Christ. And it doesn’t stop at a testimony. It becomes a mission: urban ministry, at-risk youth, and confronting a fatherless crisis—while asking the hard question many won’t: if the gospel is reconciliation, why do our cities still feel so divided?

You’ll learn how fatherlessness and trauma can distort identity and drive destructive decisions even when you look “successful” on the outside.

You’ll hear the behind-the-scenes story of going from D1 basketball to an arrest, jail time, and losing everything in a single season.

You’ll understand what real repentance and life change looked like for him—why he calls it dying before 25, and what shifted after that moment.

You’ll see why he believes the church must move beyond buildings and talk—toward reconciliation, community impact, and reaching fatherless, at-risk youth.

00:00 Intro
00:31 The double-life at home
00:56 Why I questioned God
01:24 Searching for identity
01:52 Two kids by 18
02:16 D1 basketball success
02:43 Arrested: three felonies
03:14 Second chance… then relapse
04:02 One-way ticket to Birmingham
04:28 “I died before 25” (the turning point)
04:58 Fatherless crisis + the church challenge
05:29 If reconciliation is real, where is it?

Hashtags:
#Testimony #FaithStory #Fatherless #SecondChance #UrbanMinistry

What if the most powerful blueprint for community revitalization isn’t a new program, a politician, or a grant… but the people who already live there? In this episode, Gerrel Jones, a Birmingham native and Executive Director of Renew Birmingham, shares his raw story—how he went from a criminal lifestyle and prison time to a life sentence, and how the deepest turning point came through guilt, faith, and finally learning how to function like a healthy human being. After being released in 2012 and later pardoned, Gerald explains how he used what he learned to help others coming home and to rebuild neighborhoods from the inside out. You’ll hear how collective impact, workforce development, adult education, housing opportunities, youth services, transportation, and community health and wellness can work—when they’re infused with something most places are missing: real neighbor engagement. If you care about second chances, reducing recidivism, and building safer, stronger communities in underserved areas, this conversation will shift how you think about leadership, healing, and what it actually takes to put the neighbor back in neighborhood.

How Gerrel prison experience reshaped his identity, mindset, and leadership approach for reentry and community building. The Renew Birmingham model for empowering residents in underserved communities to lead their own neighborhood revitalization. Why loving your neighbor is a practical framework for community health, mental wellness, and long-term stability. How “proximity investment” and local ownership can help residents build wealth and protect their neighborhood’s future.

00:00 Intro
00:21 From Birmingham roots to prison
00:45 The moment everything changed
01:05 What prison taught him about community
01:44 Turning himself in and rebuilding his life
02:26 What Renew Birmingham actually does
03:13 Love God, love your neighbor: the core principle
03:56 Services + the missing ingredient: neighbor engagement
04:14 Putting the neighbor back in neighborhood

#Birmingham #SecondChances #CommunityRevitalization #Reentry #NeighborhoodDevelopment

Barbecuing Sacred Cows puts the “sacred cows” on the grill—and we’re not apologizing for the smoke. This isn’t clickbait outrage; it’s a podcast for truth-seekers tired of pretending things make sense when they don’t. We’re not ivory-tower commentators. We’re boots-on-the-ground practitioners—philosophers in the streets—bringing real stories, real history, and real questions. Expect bold clarity, charitable pushback, and conversations that challenge assumptions and ignite critical thinking.