Darrell Moore Jr. is a versatile individual.
He is a patient care assistant with the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services during the week, a pastor on Sundays, a radio host in his free time, a life coach whenever needed and a soul food lover always.
Moore, 27, is pastor of New St. John Christian Church, where he is known as one of the “most dramatic” pastors in the area, he said.
“I do so much to get their attention, just to get them excited,” he said with a big grin.
He said when people come to see him, they need to bring three things: dancing shoes, Kleenex and a sense of self.
“Come as you are. If you don’t have a suit, come on with your tennis shoes, your T-shirt and your blue jeans,” he said. “Just get you some high shoes, and come on out.”
Trying to reach people through what they know and who they are is a big part of his life.
When preparing to speak before the congregation, he not only looks at what is happening in the community but also draws inspiration from current popular music — a source of inspiration he admits is not traditional to most pastors.
“Mostly, what I get my messages from is pretty much from music — R&B, sometimes rap. I’m one of the odd types of preachers you hardly see, but the Bible says, ‘He will take the foolish things and turn it into the wise,’ so, yeah, I know it might sound crazy,” he said, laughing.
Learning to preach from his father, Pastor Darrell Moore Sr. of Labor of Love Ministries, and learning to love from his mother, Estelle Moore, a cafeteria worker at Threadgill Elementary School, Moore grew up the only boy with four sisters.
This, he said, has shaped his life and desire to help others.
“I try to teach a lot of people, concerning relationships, that you have to find yourself before you step into looking for others,” said Moore, a certified life coach.
He said that even from a young age, he always looked to help people but eventually took the leap to get certified and become a professional.
“Anybody can become a life coach, but I just went to get the courses to make sure that I got what I need to be a life coach,” he said.
On top of all this, Moore also finds time to practice his other passion: broadcasting.
Taking his gospel skills to the airwaves, Moore hosts an inspirational show that blends his motivational speaking, different genres of music and the stories of those trying to make Greenwood a better place.
“I really want people to understand that we’ve got some great people in the community,” he said. “Even though we see a lot of other stuff that’s overpowering, there really are people trying to make a change, and they have a voice. And I believe that newspaper, radio is a way to get our voice out there. … They just need to be heard, and that’s all they want.”
Starting this hobby at Greenwood Middle School, he worked his way up to doing it at Greenwood High, then WKXG, then WGNL, until eventually, he decided to go freelance and create his own website — www.DJMoore.site — to practice it on his own time.
At the heart of it, the show is about the people.
“I play traditional gospel music, gospel hip-hop, contemporary music, just different things to reach all kinds of people,” he said. “A lot of people, like our young people, listen to a lot of rap, so I had to play gospel hip-hop. Older folks — I got to play old-time religious music. … So I pretty much played the mixture of everything so I can get everybody.”
This fits his whole outlook on life, which is to help as many as possible.
“It’s about seeing people being changed,” he said. “And once I hear someone say, ‘Because of your preaching, I am who I am today,’ to hear that kind of stuff, it really gets me to keep going and do some more of it.”
- Contact Adam Bakst at 581-7233 or abakst@gwcommonwealth.com. On Twitter at @AdamBakst_GWCW.
