Reflective Profile:

Reverend Dr. George S. Peart

     The late great legendary African-American theologian, philosopher, sage, seer, poet, Dr. Howard Thurman, once said that “the only witness a man can make is the witness of his own experience.”  He challenged each of us to search for what he calls our “irreducible essence.”  During the time I have known Dr. Peart, I have come close to his “irreducible essence.” There is something within each of us that makes us who we are even without validation from others. He has a contagious zest for life and a profoundly serious quest for knowledge.  I first see a “man of God” who has all the trappings of one’s bare humanity who has been a faithful steward of those entrusted to him as a pastor. With unswerving loyalty, this son of Clarks Town, Trelawny, Jamaica is indeed a servant of God.

     Among the many gifts imbued upon Dr. Peart is his passion for writing. He does not know the measure of his gift. I have never met anyone who is more disciplined and passionate about writing than Dr. Peart. He is indeed an unsung genius who outran the accolades due him. The multiple volume Basusu novel is equal in depth to Alex Haley’s Root’s, a saga that swept this nation at a time when the question of ethnic and racial identity had become center stage. His multi-volume Can’t See Out of Your Eye, has the potential and makings of a best seller.

     In Dr. Peart’s writings I detect a deep groaning for the universal. Basusu appears to be an attempt to deal with the author’s deep sense of particularism. In the tradition of our Lord who “came unto His own and His own received Him not (particularity), “but to as many (universality) as have received Him…”  Indeed, this is a positive trend in his writings that has tremendous potential for the global village. It is virtually impossible to embrace others authentically, without fully embracing one’s self. The goal has been achieved in his writings, I am inwardly convinced that Dr. Peart’s full impact has been delayed indefinitely because he is virtually unknown to the larger community.

 

Why Bother to Read George Peart’s Writings

 

We love good stories

     Most of us are constantly on the alert for a good story. Good stories usually retain a certain kind of resiliency. Such stories consist of the kind of stuff from which dreams are derived. A story is said to be good when we can get inside of the characters and empathetically feel their joy and even live their pain. Good stories have sequels that compel us to slavishly follow characters we love and identify with whether we perceive them to be good or bad. Often such sequels may be either subtle, dramatic or compelling. Good stories also consist of the beautiful and the ugly, sadness and gleeful joy, darkness and of light. The ingredients of a great narrative drive or draw us to a central point of the story where we may learn some positive good or value that may assist us on our way. Our guilt may surface through characters who challenge us to seek to be better than we really are. Such are the writings of George Peart.

 

His writings build character

Character is developed not by what one says, but rather what one does under trying circumstances. It is under the cauldron of pressure that human character is birthed shaped and molded. His writings are by any common standard riveting and shot through with a mysterious kind of compassion. Ours is a generation of rootlessness. Without roots, character goes awry. His writings are for anyone who desires to be grounded in solid character with the hope of succeeding against the odds. Character is nuanced within the storied lives who constitute George Peart’s narratives. This author seeks to have a balanced life which is the foundation for a good ministry and true authentic personhood.

 

Transparency is encouraged

A major concern among many leaders today is their unwillingness to display their real humanity. One has to crash the glass ceiling or burst the bubble that they are falsely encased in to see them for who they really are in their full humanity.  The ability to laugh at oneself without damaging one’s self estimate is to be endowed with the gift of grace. Humility precedes transparency. George Peart’s writings are for anyone who wants to make sense out of small beginnings.  There are no safe havens when the self is laid bare and stripped of all pretense before the Creator. Such is the person of this author who cherishes his freedom and resents chains of any kind. A generation in search of a life of meaning in a market-driven culture would do well to draw upon the lessons distilled throughout the writings of George Peart.

 

                --Dr. Leonard Lovett, Ecumenical Officer, Church of God in Christ