Cedrick Bridgeforth
Minister. Author. Educator. Consultant. Strategist.
Cedrick Bridgeforth
Minister. Author. Educator. Consultant. Strategist.
New Book Release
20/20 LEADERSHIP LESSONS: SEEING VISIONS & FOCUSING ON REALITY (2nd Edition)
The lessons in this book center on encouraging leaders to see clearly all that is emerging and happening in our post-2020 world. At the same time, this book is based on the premise that even amid rapid and incessant change, there are some principles that stand the test of time. Space is given at the end of each section to reflect and journal on your own relationship to these principles. That is where the true power of this book lies. It is where you, as a leader, will challenge your own stasis and your organization’s status quo. Your thoughts will shape your behaviors. Your behaviors will inform your policies and messages. Your policies and messages will determine the pathways or structures you set in place.
Over and over, this book demonstrates how curiosity can be a leader’s superpower. This is especially true in moments of indecision or in situations where there could be several right responses. It takes courage to be curious enough to expect differing opinions or surprising revelations. Curiosity invites exploration beyond the norm. It challenges leaders and groups to try new approaches to old problems. Curiosity releases the stress of landing on the same or “right” response every time.
ALABAMA GRANDSON: A BLACK GAY MINISTER'S PASSAGE OUT OF HIDING
This book began as a series of letters to my maternal grandmother. Although she died in 1989, I have fond and profound memories of her presence, the aromas in her kitchen and the life lessons that rolled effortlessly from her tongue. I have lived as a Black man born in the rural south, and one who claimed Christianity as the religion of my birth and as of my own choosing. My decision to fully embrace my identity as a same-gender loving, queer, gay, or homosexual man has ebbed and flowed between being silent about it and fighting for spaces to fully exclaim it.
I did not realize how much I had to lose until I lost it all. In taking the painful journey of putting my life back together, it was obvious that who I had portrayed myself to be was never going to last. I had to find a way to be authentic in expressing my fullest and truest identities, and know that the contradictions that come together to form me have always been present and will always be the best parts of my story. This story intersperses the lessons taught by my grandmother, but they were learned through the living of my life in search of meaning and purpose through service of others.
My hope is that by telling my story, others will make connections with their motivations for living and take inventory of spaces and places where they are not being honest about who they are out of fear of rejection, ridicule, or ruin. My story is not your story and my journey is not your journey, but my grandmother’s lessons are for the living of lives that matter in these most turbulent of times.
About the Author
Cedrick D. Bridgeforth, EdD, is an ordained minister, author, educator, consultant, public speaker, and the founder of 20/20 Leadership Lessons. A native of Decatur, Alabama, Cedrick is a U.S. Air Force veteran and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Samford University, a Master of Divinity Degree from the Claremont School of Theology, and a Doctorate Degree in Organizational Leadership from Pepperdine University. He is a former District Superintendent in the California-Pacific Conference of The United Methodist Church and served as Director of Academic Programs at the Ecumenical Center for Black Church Studies at the University of La Verne. Prior books include Thoughts and Prayers and 20/20 Leadership Lessons: Seeing Visions and Focusing on Reality.
Check out Cedrick's other publications
These titles focus on prayer, leadership, and how to observe and make meaning of common and routine experiences.