Taken from the introduction of In My Own Words... The bishopric in the African-American Pentecostal tradition has been a most influential seat of power, and many great men and women of luminary spiritual stature have led the Church through countless transitions, but much of their theological reflections have been lost or discarded because their musings and scholarship were not preserved in writing. In this volume, I attempt to give a snapshot of the inner workings of the life of a bishop in our time. Those of us set apart to serve the Church as leaders are responsible to the legacy we leave. We are accountable to produce work that will be both invigorating and stabilizing for succeeding generations. My intent is to share my development and to offer sound bites of my voice. Those who would be stretched out to this great office must offer more than charismatic leadership in the worship moment and much more than the ability to raise funds for building projects. We are the vanguard of the Church. The bishops are the guardians of spiritualties and must therefore provide a written witness that extends past the preaching moment and the antics of fundraising.