Tex Sample (born December 28, 1934) is a specialist in church and society, a storyteller, author, and the Robert B. and Kathleen Rogers Professor Emeritus of Church and Society at the St. Paul School of Theology, a United Methodist seminary in Kansas City, MO where he taught from 1967–1999. One of his specialties is working class people and he has published four books in this field.

Background

Born in Brookhaven, MS, Sample received a BA from Millsaps College, an MDiv and PhD from Boston University, and a DD from Coe College. A former cab driver, laborer, and oil field roustabout, he is currently a freelance speaker and consultant and lives in Goodyear, AZ. A much sought-after lecturer, storyteller, workshop leader and consultant, Tex is a contributor to many of the DVD programs in the Living the Questions series.^[1] His most recent book is Earthy Mysticism.

Tex is his real name, not a nickname. His father named him after Texanna Gillham, an African-American woman who was born in slavery and helped raise his father near Center, Texas.

Books

• Blue Collar Ministry: Facing Economic and Social Realities of Working People, Judson Press, 1984, ISBN 0-8170-1029-7
• U.S. Lifestyles and Mainline Churches: A Key to Reaching People in the 90's, Westminster John Knox Press, 1990, ISBN 0-664-25099-8
• Hard Living People & Mainstream Christians, Abingdon Press, 1993, ISBN 0-687-17931-9
• Ministry in an Oral Culture-Living With Will Rogers, Uncle Remus, and Minnie Pearl, Westminster John Knox Press, 1994, ISBN 0-664-25506-X
• White Soul: Country Music, the Church, and Working Americans, Abingdon Press, 1996, ISBN 0-687-03293-8
• The Spectacle of Worship in a Wired World: Electronic Culture and the Gathered People of God, Abingdon Press, 1998, ISBN 0-687-08373-7
• The Loyal Opposition: Struggling With the Church on Homosexuality, Tex Sample and Amy E. Delong, editors, Abingdon Press, 2000, ISBN 0-687-08425-3
• Powerful Persuasion: Multimedia Witness in Christian Worship, Abingdon Press, 2005 ISBN 0-687-33901-4
• Blue Collar Resistance and the Politics of Jesus, Abingdon Press, 2006 ISBN 0-687-33502-7
• Earthy Mysticism: Spirituality for Unspiritual People, Abingdon Press, 2008 ISBN 0-687-64989-7

External links

• Indigenous Ministry in the Context of the United States - originally published 1991
• Pentecostals on Motorcycles book review by Sample of Riders for God: The Story of a Christian Motorcycle Gang by Rich Remsberg, in The Christian Century, March 7, 2001 p. 18–20
• TexMix - Stories of Earthy Mysticism with Tex Sample on DVD (from Living the Questions)
• Baseball: A Spiritual Reminiscence by Tex Sample

References