Thom Thompson

So there I was in Vanderbilt University Divinity School, headed for the Christian Ministry when I encountered the Baha'i Faith and had to assess the claim of Baha'u'llah to bring a fresh Revelation of God to our world. More challenging still was His statement: "If ye be intent on crucifying once again Jesus, the Spirit of God, put Me to death, for He hath once more, in My person, been made manifest unto you."

I realized right away that that statement seemed to demand a decision from me as to whether it was true or false. The Baha'i teachings about human unity, about the oneness of God, the oneness of humanity and the oneness of the prophetic figures of all the religions attracted me greatly. Teachings about gender equality, the elimination of prejudice of class and race and the need to seek agreement between the disciplines of science and religion also garnered my attention.

Other teaching about the imperative to seek some solution to what Baha'u'llah called the 'extremes' of absurd wealth and utter poverty, the need for a world language and some form of world government, together with his famous statement: "This earth is one country and all mankind its citizens" impelled me to investigate further.

But I still had to come back to that challenging question: Was Baha'u'llah the reappearance in modern times of the Spirit of Christ? Did His life represent, in effect, the Return of Christ? After a period of spiritual struggle, aided by prayer and much reading, I decided that the Christ that I had given my life to at age fifteen was now calling me again to follow Him in the Person of Baha'u'llah. I felt that I was now a ‘citizen of the world’ and that history had a meaningful thread of development, helping me to understand and relate to all religious history.

But, as I cast my lot both with Christ and the One I thought was His Return, I found that I no longer had a job! The Baha'i Faith had no 'ministry,' no priesthood. After casting around for several years, I got a Master's degree in social work, which led later to teaching social work at several major universities, including the University of Maryland, Howard University and finally, retiring after twenty five years from Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. During those same years, I opened and led a Social Work Private Practice group, one of the first in Maryland.

Along the way, I had a media career, starring and co-writing in two television series, the syndicated and Emmy award winning 'Family Counselor' and 'Crisis Counselor,' the latter of which showed over an eight year period in forty eight states on Lifetime television. I was on, I remember, right after Dr. Ruth! Other media opportunities were many appearances on Oprah Winfrey's morning show when she was in Baltimore and a two year stint on Public Radio’s 'All Things Considered' as 'The Family Counselor.'

After retiring from teaching and from a private practice of social work, I worked for several years in a prison in Baltimore, then learned of work that I could do for the military as a Counselor on Army and Air Force Bases, which I have been doing for five years up to the year 2013.

However, my new and latest career is writing, which is so fulfilling. For years, I had wanted to tell the Baha'i story in writing and did so for my first book, 'Questions from Christians: About Baha'u'llah and the Baha'i Faith’, published in 2002. My second book 'Vanderbilt Boys...and what about the Girl?' told of three young people declaring their Faith in Baha'u'llah at Vanderbilt University in the late 1950's. Published in 2012.

The third book, to be published in late 2013 is 'Every Good Thing,' my personal selection of Baha'i Scriptures for Christian readers. A fourth book is finished and will be published in 2014, entitled 'Famous Christians.' I was amazed to find that there were a number of Christians in Baha'i history who played large and important roles in the establishment of the Faith, including one who saved the life of Baha'u'llah. But what prompted me or almost demanded of me to write this book was learning that a Christian had actually sacrificed his own life for the life of Baha'u'llah.

With time and good health, I intend to keep on writing. When I think about it, I have been privileged to have had not one but many careers. I love teaching. I love counseling and psychotherapy. However, I find that most of all, I love to write, especially about the subject that I have found so important to my own life and potentially, to the life of the world, the coming of Baha'u'llah.

In my writing, I am able to act out my dual-discipleship to Christ and to His Returning Spirit, Baha'u'llah. I am able to join freely and fully with Buddhist, Muslim and Jewish friends (and others) in our necessary and joyous task of contributing to a regenerated humanity and a united world.