Articles

“Joy Comes in the Morning” is a workbook with 14 sermons delivered by the Rev. Dr. Cecil “Chip” Murray at First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles.

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, who died April 5, 2024 at age 94, trained 1,000 faith leaders in community development and civic engagement at USC, building on an illustrious career as pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME) Church of Los Angeles.

Rev. Murray has inspired and mentored much of the faith-based community engagement work that continues today in Los Angeles, across denomination and ethnic groups.

Hear the Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, who died April 5, 2024 at age 94, sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” shortly before his retirement from the University of Southern California in 2022.

Until the pandemic, the Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray was the first person in the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture’s office every morning. Then 90 years old, he would open the gate to welcome guests looking for career or academic mentoring, advice about how to lead a church or take social action, or simply a compassionate ear.

Rev. Dr. Cecil L. "Chip" Murray served for 27 years as pastor of the historic First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles and guided Angelenos through the trauma of and recovery from the 1992 civil unrest.

For more than 15 years, I’ve watched as people from all religions and walks of life come to our offices to get a few moments of his time. I’ve seen mothers drag sons by the ear to sit them down for a talking-to at the table of the one who many call Papa.  I’ve seen fellow pastors seek his guidance, political leaders seek his approval, community leaders seek his backing, couples seek his blessing.

Rev. Cecil L. Murray led First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME) Church in Los Angeles for 27 years. In this video, Pastor Murray reflects on his calling to the ministry, from his childhood in the Deep South to preaching to thousands at FAME. Pastor Murray shares his pastoral theology, which grounded his sermons in a liberating reading of Scripture as well as universal truths of human nature and the particular context of his congregation.

In his 27-year tenure at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, Rev. Cecil L. Murray transformed a small congregation into a megachurch that brought jobs, housing and corporate investment into South Los Angeles neighborhoods. He did so through a leadership philosophy he developed for helping churches grow and make a difference in the world. The "Murray Method" includes five "M's" that guide church leaders: