Meet Edward Morris Jr.

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Edward Morris Jr. a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Edward, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

My work ethic is a blessing received from my heavenly FATHER, as well as my family, including grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, teachers, and pastors.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Minister Edward L. Morris Jr. was born May 31st, 1966, in Salisbury MD> He is the only son of Edward L. Morris Sr. and Mother Betty L. Morris (now Pastor Betty Morris-Bivens). He has one sister, Rhonda, and her son Micah. He is a product of the Wicomico County Public School System and received his diploma in 1984. Life experiences and on the job training have blessed Minister Edward, or as he prefers, Eddie with knowledge in a variety of vocational areas, as well as a love for and involvement with music.
Eddie has experience in plumbing, carpentry, masonry, auto body, auto mechanics, warehouse management, driving and delivery, as well as over 20 years’ experience in Quality Assurance. His QA experience comes in the pharmaceutical rubber and aerospace industries. He is also a certified IPC trainer.
Eddie’s love and thirst for music started at an early age. From banging on pots and pans at age three, to piano lessons at age five, to guitar lessons at age sixteen. He also created mix tapes in high school and was a professional DJ for a period after high school.
After giving his life to CHRIST in 1990, Ed often served in the music ministry. He has learned to play drums, keys, and bass and has served as sound engineer, musician, minister of music, praise and worship leader, lay speaker, teacher, and event coordinator. Mr. Morris is also a published poet.
Through marriage to his wife Brenda, Eddie has influenced the lives of two stepdaughters, five grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, a host of nieces and nephews, and many of their friends. This developed a love of and desire to teach and encourage young people.
One of Eddie’s passions is The West Men Society. With its focus on young people, The WMS uses vocation and the arts to minister to, encourage, mentor, teach, and influence those who want it. The West Men Society is an organization designed and dedicated to giving back to the community through encouragement, ministry, and education. Eddie is a founding member and is currently serving as president of the non-profit organization.
Eddie currently worships at In The Garden of CHRIST Ministries in Jacksonville FL. He and his wife Brenda currently serve in the music department as well as wherever else they may be needed. Eddie thanks and praises GOD for all things and can often be heard saying “I live my life to be a blessing”.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

A quality that was impactful to me was honesty. I had to learn the hard way the importance of honesty in all things. I also had to learn at an early age that honesty is important in others, and I had to learn to discern honesty. As for a skill, I would have to say that my ability to learn and pick things up quickly was most impactful. Because of this gift I have learned a lot of things and learned them well enough to teach a number of them to others. As for an area of knowledge, I thank GOD for the gift that was my parents. By watching and listening to them, as well as through genetics, I have knowledge of running a successful business, and sales. My advice to those early in their journey in these areas is to be prayerful. As a believer and follower of CHRIST, I try to encourage myself and others to pray about everything. I also suggest being persistent. The more we do a thing, the easier it becomes to do it. I’d also advice people to decide on a goal and do what is necessary to bring it to fruition. That includes research, study, and watching those who are successful at that goal or something similar.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

The most impactful thing my parents did for me was teach. Both my parents were excellent and patient teachers. Each of them had their own style of teaching and each taught my sister and I many valuable things. We learned about the LORD, life lessons, manners, respect, as well as marketable skills. My father taught me to be and my sister what to look for in a man, and my mother taught my sister to be and me what to look for in a woman and lady. I would venture to say that my sister and I were not the only ones to learn those and other lessons from my parents.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.westmensociety.org
• Instagram: [email protected]
• Facebook: https://accountscenter.facebook.com/profiles/100000677589631/

Image Credits

Edward L. Morris Jr.