Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Cooper.
Hi Jay, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’m the product of a Roman Catholic 18-wheeler colliding with a United Methodist bus that careened into a Presbyterian seminary before picking up speed, rolling off a cliff, and hurtling, naturally, toward an even deeper love for Jesus. Along the way, I attended the University of Texas, got married, backslid into the United Methodist Church as a pastor, saw the sights while living in New Jersey, Guatemala, Arizona, and New York City, had a silly, saucy, amazing daughter, experienced a divorce, returned to my beloved Austin to help plant a special new community called Violet Crown City Church, and am now happily remarried and a proud stepdad as well.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I saw an interview of Stephen Colbert not long ago. Anderson Cooper was asking him about the incredible loss and grief he had experienced in his life, and Colbert said something I’ll never forget. He said, “If you are grateful for your life, then you have to be grateful for all of it – even grateful for the things that I wish didn’t happen because they gave me a gift.”
I know not everyone will agree with him, I’m not even sure I do honestly. But looking back at the loss and struggles I’ve experienced in life, although I don’t believe God ever makes bad things happen to people, I am at a point where I can be grateful for those things. From my divorce to personal loss to professional failure, not only did they make me change and grow as a person, along with give me greater compassion and understanding for others in their suffering, but they drew me closer to God. Or perhaps better said, God drew close to me in those times. That truth doesn’t always make life’s road smoother, but it does mean no matter how difficult the journey, we’re never alone.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am the pastor of a community called Violet Crown City Church, and I absolutely love it. I can’t imagine doing anything else. Sharing life with people through all of their mountaintop highs and darkest valley lows is a blessing and an honor. Plus, I get to tell terrible dad jokes during my sermons.
I’m most proud of being (or at least trying to be!) a loving husband and a father. Of course, I do have a few other hobbies and creative outlets that bring me joy. I suppose the one I’m known for – which might be overstating it – is the big Adirondack chair in the Crestview neighborhood that I paint. About ten years ago, I built a big chair out of wood I found in a dumpster. Since then, I’ve painted around 110 different designs on it. Usually the designs are silly or in response to holidays or current events, but I’ll occasionally do political ones too. In general, neighbors really seem to enjoy the chair, although a couple times people have given me a one-finger wave. They were probably just saying I was #1 : )
Besides a big junk-wood chair, I build tables and other furniture. And I also like to try new things, especially in the church. A few years ago, our church kind of made a splash (for better or worse) by letting AI create our entire worship service one Sunday. Well, the local news picked up the story, then it spread from there. I ended up being interviewed on a national Fox News show, which gave my progressive friends quite the chuckle. I’m glad we did the experiment though. The church should be a creative place that provides freedom for people to express their curiosity and follow their desire to explore the mysteries of life. And, of course, tell dad jokes.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Hopefully I don’t sound too churchy (but I am churchy, so there you go) when I say that a Jewish carpenter from a small town in Israel named Jesus has kind of had a big impact on my life and deserves most of the credit. I’m fairly terrible at loving and forgiving and living like him, but I’m trying, and I hope that counts for something.
My wife is also pretty awesome. I can’t believe she’s not only supportive, but even really proud of me for the work I do. I mean, it is kind of an unusual career, so having a partner that loves me for it is really special. I’ll also give a huge shout-out to my parents who gave me the foundation of my faith and taught me a lot about the importance of laughter when life is hard. In fact, because of them I still see laughter as a firehose to battle the world’s dumpster fire.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.violetcrown.church/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/violet.crown.city.church/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/violetcrowncitychurch
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@violetcrowncitychurch6788
Image Credits
All photos were taken by Jay Cooper (self).
