WELL-BEING MATTERS
Brought to you by Texas Health Community Hope
Well-Being Matters is an on-going series highlighting different members of our community and their strategies for well-being. Texas Health Community Hope engages in a broad range of innovative programs, investments, and collaborations outside hospital walls to promote a lifetime of health and well-being. This month we meet Ralph S. Emerson, Senior Pastor of Rising Star Church in Fort Worth. A path of ministry through churches in North Carolina and Odessa, Texas led him and wife Chanesia, along with their children Orien and Eden, back home to Rising Star in 2023 where he is enriching his congregation’s spiritual, physical, and mental well-being.
Q: Rising Star is a historic church in Fort Worth’s Stop Six neighborhood, founded in the 1930s.
A: We’re 94 years old this year. Our oldest member is 96, and our youngest members are babies.
Q: Your father Ralph W. Emerson Jr. was pastor there from 1990 through 2023. How did Rising Star change to meet the needs of the community under his watch?
A: The congregation built a 225-seat chapel, and a community center with a full gymnasium where high school basketball teams and the Texas Wesleyan University team have practiced. We have youth league sports and a walking track above.
Q: You went to Florida A&M University where you graduated with a BS in Business Administration. Did you always want to follow in your father’s footsteps?
A: I didn’t always want to, but I did. God does what He wants to do. Following my father is very nuanced – the timing had to be right. In my mind, I was going to go work for a Fortune 500 company, but I felt this tug.
Q: That explains the leap from the business degree to ministry.
A: I announced my calling to preach in July 2001 right before I went to school. In college I served as a volunteer in ministry at a local church. When I graduated, I decided not to pursue the secular industry business aspect.
Q: But you feel your business degree has helped in your ministry over the years?
A: I’ve leveraged my business skills in organizational development. Churches are businesses in the sense that bills have to be paid.
Q: After college, you were called to churches on the east coast and in Odessa, Texas. What brought you home?
A: I was senior pastor at Impact City Church in Odessa when the pandemic hit. I came home to recover, to feel safe, to be with my family and my aging father. I served as a youth and young adult pastor at Rising Star. In January 2023, dad needed shoulder surgery and I became interim pastor while he was out. But dad decided that he was done. That August I was installed as senior pastor
Q: You are very direct with your congregation about the connections between mental, spiritual and physical health.
A: We have the responsibility to steward minds, bodies and spirits. Being a great Christian is not about how much knowledge you have but what you do with it in the world.
Q: Specifically, you talk about how care of your own health and well-being is critical for overseeing the health and well-being of your congregation.
A: I want to be spiritual and practical. We have a rest day – every pastor has a Sabbath where we spend time with family, time at rest, and away from the church.
Q: Some members have never heard their faith leaders speak about the connection between mental and spiritual health, but you give credit to your father, who has shaped the way that Rising Star welcomed people in.
A: Mental health concepts and content may be new, but my father always pushed the envelope. My dad always said, “You don’t have to dress a certain way to come to my church. Let’s let youth participate. We don’t have to look the same or stay the same for 94 years.” The message doesn’t change – we always follow Scripture. The way we follow Scripture changes.
Q: Tell us about your version of March Madness.
A: Last March we launched a mental health sermon series called March Madness, a play on the basketball madness and the madness of life. We took a biblical approach to fear, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideations and grief. We launched smaller discussion groups on Transformation Wednesdays, and these sessions helped transform people by the Word. We had a panel on grief that has led to a Grief Share class this year.
Q: In addition to March Madness, the Rising Star family embarks on a 21-day fast at the beginning of the year. Fasting isn’t new to Christianity, Judaism or Islam, but you definitely take a modern approach.
A: It’s an example of interweaving spiritual, physical and mental health, rooted in Christian tradition. Daniel fasted 21 days. The goal is that the fast needs to be a sacrifice. If it’s not hurting, it’s not working. The purpose is not to just give up something I like or want –– it’s to replace that with something that’s better.
Q: You encourage people to replace a physical need with guidance from God. Suggestions include fasting from sugary beverages, fast food, coffee, meat and bread –– all of which can be detrimental to physical health. But you also suggest a media fast. Numerous studies indicate that overconsumption of media and social media can have a negative impact on mental health and happiness.
A: I don’t emotionally eat but I can scroll on my social media all day long. The goal is to look at your consumption of everything –– food, drinks, CNN, Days of our Lives, social media, etc. Don’t let those things steer your life.
Q: It’s interesting that 21 days is also the length of time psychology shows that it takes to create or break a habit. And you’re walking this challenge along with your congregants.
A: I’ve had testimony from people who now only drink coffee occasionally instead of by the pot. One family said that they replaced their favorite TV show with togetherness and prayer, and they say it changed their marriage.
Q: The 21-day Fast and March Madness aren’t just one-off events for Rising Star, right?
A: We’ve continued both into 2025. Now there are so many things to cover, we are weaving them into the regular sermons. We’re bringing in the physical aspect as well. July is going to be centered around fun and fitness – healthy in body and mind!
Q: Rising Star’s website mentions seeing “people’s faith transition from hearts to hands.” What does that look like?
A: We say, “Saved people serve people.” We serve 200-225 people groceries every month –– fresh fruits, vegetables, lentils, and starches. We partner with SOS and Tarrant Area Food Bank, and also Texas Health and JPS to produce health and mental health fairs.
Q: You presented at last year’s Texas Health Faith Summit. Why should other pastors and laypeople attend this year’s upcoming event?
A: It’s important to have tools to help your people. I’m a pastor, not a counselor. I graduate with my Masters in Divinity next month from Baylor University’s George W. Truitt Theological Seminary. I have never taken a neuroscience course. We deal with real humans, and church is the place to get support, resources, and create partnerships to better serve our congregation.
The Texas Health Community Hope 2025 Faith Summit, April 22 in Hurst, is open to all faith leaders, nurses, social workers, health ministers, community health workers and clergy who support care in faith communities. Learn more and register at qrco.de/faith2025.
Learn more about Texas Health Community Hope at TexasHealth.org/CommunityHope