Stopping Planes and Building Bridges: Lee Paris on Courage and Reconciliation

Join us on “Courageous Crossroads” as we welcome Lee Paris, a distinguished son of the South from Indianola, Mississippi. A profound racial reconciler and devout Christian leader, Lee has made a significant impact in both the business world and his community. Now residing in Oxford, Mississippi, with his beloved wife, Lisa, and their family, Lee embodies a deep commitment to family and faith.

In this episode, Lee will share incredible stories highlighting his integrity and courage,
including the unforgettable moment he stopped an airplane before takeoff. As a champion of racial reconciliation through his leadership roles with Mission Mississippi, Lee continues to inspire change and unity.

A managing partner at Meadowbrook Capital, Lee’s professional accolades include serving on various boards such as Planters Bank and Trust Company, and the Mississippi Business Finance Corporation. A University of Mississippi alumnus and law graduate, Lee is and has been deeply involved in numerous organizations, including the First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, the National Center for Fathering, and the Mississippi Charitable Foundation.

Tune in to hear Lee unfold his inspiring journey of dedication and service, showcasing why he is a treasured friend, leader, and community pillar.

Thank you for listening! We hope you feel inspired and encouraged by our conversation today. If you did, be sure to share this episode with others.

Let’s stay in touch:

• Follow us on Instagram @crossroadsapologetics
• Email us at info@crossroadsapologetics.org
• Visit our website www.crossroadsapologetics.org

See you in the next episode! Be blessed!

Full Transcript

Intro:
Welcome to Courageous by Crossroads Apologetics, a look into what motivates us to step out in courage and the everyday bravery of men and women like you. In each episode, we hear a personal story of bravery centered around this question. What’s the most courageous thing you’ve ever done? And now your host, founder of Crossroads Apologetics, Jeff Johnson. 

Jeff Johnson:
Hey, everybody. Welcome to another episode of the Courageous Crossroads. Do you own a seersucker suit? Do you know what a seersucker suit is? I didn’t, and I do. I own one now because of our next guest, Lee Paris. He’s a close friend of Min, and he’s a true son of the south. And he originally hailed from Indianola, Mississippi, and now he lives in Oxford, Mississippi, which is one of my favorite cities in the country. And alongside his wife Lisa and their loving family, Lis dedication to faith and family is a real bright light. He’s involved in racial reconciliation, which you’re going to hear a lot about in this podcast. And he’s a steadfast Christian leader and a razor sharp business man. 

Jeff Johnson:
So this episode has a lot of stories that blend that deep significance with a touch of whimsy, including an incredible story about how he stopped an airplane before takeoff. Anyway, I don’t want to ruin it for you. Another quick little note for our listeners. We encountered a little bit of static during our conversation due to some poor connections, but rest assured, you won’t miss a beat of Lee’s inspiring stories. So just sit back and let’s dive into the journey of a man who lives his life with courage and heart. Lee Paris, here he is. 

Lee Paris:
Well, it is an honor to be asked to be on your podcast, Jeff, and anytime I have any excuse to be with you, it is always a blessing. 

Jeff Johnson:
Ditto. Ditto right back at you. And you’re located in one of my favorite cities of all time that I’ve been to a total of one time. So I need you to invite me back over and over again. But you’re located down in Oxford, Mississippi, right, Lee? 

Lee Paris:
We are. I know you’re familiar with another Oxford and have spent a good bit of time there, but I hope that you will give Oxford, Mississippi equal time in the. In the seasons ahead. 

Jeff Johnson:
I’m telling you, I went down there, and for our listeners edification, we got invited to an Ole Miss football game. And I’m a. And I’m a die hard Iowa Hawkeye fan. Go Hawks. And I absolutely love going to Kinnick Stadium. But I’ll tell you, when we had a chance to hang out in the Grove and then go to that Ole Miss football game. That was a, that was a whole nother world and I so appreciated it. And I know that you’re a long standing alumni of Oxford. Mrs. How far back do you go, Lee, in your family? 

Lee Paris:
Oh, my kids are fifth generation at Ole Miss. I had two great grandparents that attended school here in the 1870s. And so it’s deeply rooted in our family, a big part of our family life. 

Jeff Johnson:
Wow. What give me one of your earliest memories of growing up around Oxford when you’re in college and that’s, well, tell our listeners where you’re from primarily, but then get up to an old memory from Oxford, Mississippi. 

Lee Paris:
I grew up in the Mississippi Delta, which is the northwest corner of Mississippi in a town called Indianola. And I think you’ve got an Indianola, Iowa that’s close by your world had a wonderful childhood growing up indianola. We would take the trip about a two hour drive up to Oxford for football games was my earliest memory. In those days, the stadium didn’t even have lights so there was no nighttime games. And the town of Oxford was so small it had almost no hotel rooms. And so the concept of spending the night or certainly the weekend was those in the 1960s, those were, that was far from even believable. 

Lee Paris:
So we would just ride up, my grandparents and my parents, we’d all get cram as many into the car or two cars and go up and have a trunk load of picnic stuff and spread it out. And the cars actually in those days drove into the Grove, which is a, like a central park. The university was built around the grove and it’s 11 acres in the middle of campus that thank goodness was left unspoiled. And it’s just rolling hills and beautiful trees. And you used to tailgate in the grove and you literally drive your cars into the grove, open up the trunk and get the picnic table out and eat from the trunk at the picnic table with your friends and family. And so we, that was a, a big part of my childhood. 

Lee Paris:
And then you’d go to the game and then you’d pack up and go home. And so there was the spend the night or spend the weekend things that Oxford has met and morphed into today. It was complete a completely different world. It changed I think in the late 80s, around 1990, when the town had rainstorms for about two weeks and the beautiful trees were threatened by the cars that were about to converge on it. And so they put ropes around the entrances to the Grove and wouldn’t let cars go. 

Lee Paris:
But people were so, I guess, used to generations of picnicking that they just got their stuff out of the trunk and went to their spots through the mud and all, and after doing that for two weeks in a row, decided that, hey, this isn’t so bad, and we have a whole lot more room for the kids to throw football and to run around and visit rather than get all the cars in the way. And so the university, with the support of just about everybody there, not to allow cars in. So that was the beginning of what the Grove is now. You put up tents and invite. We have 12 families in our tent group, and we have. 

Lee Paris:
It’s quite elaborate and great food and great fellowship, and everybody knows who’s in what tent and goes tent to tent, and it pretty much lasts all weekend. So it’s. It’s a. It’s a lot bigger deal today than. Than it was in the 1960s, but it was equally as fun, just in a different way. 

Jeff Johnson:
I was. I was captivated coming down to that football game, not only walking through the Grove, but just seeing all the students. You know, they see it. They were dressed up. You know, in Iowa City, we kind of get a little bit rugged, you know, with T shirts and stuff like that. But it seemed like all the students and everybody were kind of dressed to the nines when they were going to the football game. And it was just a beautiful picture of Southern hospitality, Lee. And you and your family really embraced that. 

Lee Paris:
Well, as we say, y’all come back now, you hear? 

Jeff Johnson:
That’s right. Well, yeah, and that’s one of the things that I appreciate so much about you, is your Southern roots and that feeling of family that. That you. I get that sense when I’m in Oxford, that feeling of generations and family and that sort of thing. But having the opportunity to count you as one of my closest friends, Lee, and knowing you as long as I do, I know you as a. As a good father and a wonderful husband and a wonderful grandfather and all of that good stuff. How does that translate, being a. Being a Southern man? Is that feeling of family just come natural to you, Lee? 

Lee Paris:
Well, I had a wonderful dad, mentor, and he did, too. And I had the privilege of knowing my grandfather for the first many years of my life. And from what I hear from his father, he was just an incredible dad as well, my great grandfather. So I really did not have any excuses not to at least be. Have a semblance of being a good dad. And Love a family. So I said it. Yeah, I guess it did come naturally to me because of my dad and granddad and great grandfather that lived out devotion to family and fatherhood in generations before me. 

Jeff Johnson:
Well, you’re purposeful about that, Lee, and I really appreciate that. That’s one of the things I admire the most. Can you tell the folks that are listening a little bit more about where we find you and your career and that sort of thing? What kind of, what do you do? 

Lee Paris:
I work for a firm out of Atlanta called Wellspring Associates. And Wellspring is, in my, I guess, biased opinion, the best estate planning firm in the country. We deal kind of the top of the spear, tip of the spear with high net worth families. And my job is to introduce the families to the concept of wealth integration, just generational planning and how that we might could be of service to those families and then decide which of our team members would best to serve that family and pair them up and get out of the way. Let the smart guys do their job. 

Jeff Johnson:
So you get to travel around and talk to some pretty interesting folks, I would imagine. 

Lee Paris:
I do. I get to meet with some incredible folks and very interesting families and I think, and then get to watch our firm be a blessing to them generationally. So it’s a, it’s a wonderful opportunity for me that the Lord has provided. 

Jeff Johnson:
So our topic here on the podcast, of course, centers on courage. And I’m going to ask you here in a bit, what’s the most courageous thing you’ve ever done? But you did share with me a story about you and Delta Airlines. I don’t, I’m not sure that’s the most courageous, that maybe it is. But before I ask you the big question, will you share that story with the folks that are listening? 

Lee Paris:
I guess I will, Jeff. I’m not sure on the statute of limitations. They may come back and arrest me because I’m sure what I did then is quite illegal now. In fact, they probably wouldn’t have arrested me. They would have shot me on the spot. But I had this in the days before cell phones. This would probably be in the mid-80s. I had a friend, a close friend who was working for Chick Fil a in Atlanta, and he took some time off to meet me at the Atlanta airport. And were going to spend an hour during his lunch break and he didn’t have much time off. And so he had already left Chick Fil A’s headquarters and was driving to the Atlanta airport to meet me at my gate and spend an hour and a half or so with me. 

Lee Paris:
And I felt very honored that he was doing that. I was in a meeting in Macon, Georgia, which is probably a 20 minute at most flight from Atlanta. And by the time that my meeting was over, I had called his office to tell him I was running late and may or may not make the plane and so don’t come to the airport. Well, his assistant told me, oh, no, he left 10 minutes ago. And there was no way to get in touch with him. And you can’t just call up somebody at the Atlanta airport. So I’m picturing him, you know, giving up his lunch break, driving and parking at the airport and waiting on me, and I’m not on that plane. And that just, I just could not accept that. So we, the. The taxi picked me up at my meeting. 

Lee Paris:
I told him, you know, go as fast as you can. And I saw that the Delta plane, a little small commuter plane, was on the Runway in Macon. And so I said, I saw a gate that looked. That appeared to be slightly ajar. So I said, let me off at this outside gate. And I ran to the Runway with my bag and stood in front of the plane that was about to take off on the. It was still on the taxiway and stood in front of the plane with its propellers turning and waving my arms. Well, they did stop the plane and they did let me on. It was in the middle of the summer, and I was drenched in sweat and the looks that I got when they opened the. The plane. 

Lee Paris:
And of course, they had some very unkind words for me, but they let me own. And I made the plane, made the flight, and met my friend at the, you know, as. As scheduled. So, you know, looking back on it, that was maybe the stupidest thing I did. But it was pretty brave to stand in front of a Delta airline flapping your arms and stopping a plane. So today, in today’s world, they literally would have shot the fool that was on the Runway and asked questions with the family later, you know, but in those days, it was a gentler, kinder. 

Jeff Johnson:
World, without a doubt. Well, that absolutely fits theme of the podcast. 

Lee Paris:
Brave and stupid. 

Jeff Johnson:
Oh, my goodness. And I think that tells everybody who’s listening the kind of person we’re dealing with here. So you got a lot to say about courage now. Wow. Where. I mean, somebody must have wrote in you a letter or something afterwards, or. 

Lee Paris:
If they did, I don’t remember it. I, you know, I think it was probably very embarrassing for Delta Airlines as well, and they probably chose to just, you know, to sweep it under the again today. They wouldn’t do that. So I don’t know if I’m glad that I told you that story and it may go on a little bit because, you know, I guess like I said, I don’t know if the statue of limitations is run or not. I might appear at my door from the FAA and take me and put me where they shouldn’t have put me in 1983. 

Jeff Johnson:
Oh, not at all, Lee. I’m sure you’re good. And we’ll punctuate it with the public service announcement. Don’t ever do that. 

Lee Paris:
Okay? I promise I will never do that again. And I’m a million mile flyer on Delta and diamond medallion or whatever. So I’ve been faithful to Delta for many years. So maybe that’s right. Maybe they have forgiven me. 

Jeff Johnson:
Lee, how do you define courage? I know you’d be a faithful man and as I mentioned, you know, a faithful person through the generations and a good father and a husband and grandfather and a son and all those wonderful qualities. You must have been immersed in the topic of courage over your years. How do you define it? 

Lee Paris:
Well, I’ll have to say to your listeners that the questions that Mr. Johnson is asking of me was not provided to, to me anytime. So this is off the cuff. 

Jeff Johnson:
Yeah. 

Lee Paris:
I would say courage would be performing a, a desired action without the perceived resources that you felt you needed to accomplish that and moving forward. 

Jeff Johnson:
That’s a great definite. That’s a, that’s a definition of an act of faith. Not being able to see everything in front of you or have everything that you need, but doing it anyway. 

Lee Paris:
Yeah, yeah, I would say that would be courage. 

Jeff Johnson:
That’s, that’s a wonderful definition, Lee. And yes, right off the cuff, too. So I’m impressed. Have you bumped into that quite a bit in your life, would you say? 

Lee Paris:
Well, I would say not as much as I probably wish that I would have, but I think that in my almost 67 years now that there have been a few acts of courage. 

Jeff Johnson:
Is courage something that can be taught? 

Lee Paris:
I would have to say yes. You know, it, taking the action would have to be from the individual, but it certainly could be examples of courage and modeling of courage from those around you, I think would encourage you to be courageous. 

Jeff Johnson:
Yeah, yeah. If I was going to pass down courage, if I were to pass down courage to future generations, how would I Best do that again. These are all off the cuff, Lee and I always tell people, I only invite smart people on this podcast, so I give myself license to. 

Lee Paris:
Ask, then I need to hang up right now. If you were to pass down desire, to pass down courage, I would invite somebody into your life, you know, let’s say one of your sons and to share with vulnerability the courageous things that you did that perhaps resulted in great things and that, and some were utterly disastrous and to just be vulnerable and to share where you acted out of the box, so to speak, with resources you didn’t have to accomplish something that you hope to accomplish. Had hoped to accomplish. 

Jeff Johnson:
Yeah. 

Lee Paris:
So mirroring, you know, living by example. Let him see what I think you could read. You could read about courage for, you know, for your whole life. I don’t know that would equip you to be courageous, but watching men and women of courage in their actions, I believe would be the best way to learn courage. And I certainly had that opportunity with my dad and his many acts of courage and others that mirrored. 

Jeff Johnson:
Courage around me, to let them, to let your kids see that and talk about it and. Yeah, I think that’s wonderful, Lee. Well, let me ask you the question then, Lee Paris, what’s the most courageous thing you’ve ever done, other than stand. 

Lee Paris:
In front of the airplane? 

Jeff Johnson:
Other than the airplane thing? 

Lee Paris:
Jeff I think you’re familiar with my role in organization called Mission. Mississippi may not have told you all the stories from the early days, but Mississippi is, I think, from the onset of our conversation, your listeners would have gathered that I love this place. Our family has been here since the 1820s, and it’s. We’re deeply rooted in the soils of our state and love this place. And there’s so many wonderful things about Mississippi. It’s Achilles Hill. No, no question about it. Throughout the decade been its lack of harmonious racial relations. You know, slavery was certainly a part of our history. We did not do a very good job after slavery ended of making all citizens of all colors one and equal and fought that for many years. There’s lots of reasons behind that. 

Lee Paris:
We have the largest African American population in the United States and I think always have. And it’s. There were those with the power that did not want to share it with the other half of the population and went to great links even within the church to make sure that things were not equal here for generation after generation. And as I grew as a believer and as an adult, this was on my heart. And I was a part of a Christian ministry that was exposed to two fine leaders, Pat Mortley and Tom Skinner from out of state, who had this on their heart to be a part of a crusade to address racial reconciliation within the body of believers, which is rather large in Mississippi. 

Lee Paris:
I don’t know if we are the most Christian state in the country, but I would say 95% would probably be a good guess of those that would at least identify with the Christian faith in Mississippi. My family background on my father’s side is Jewish and so I would. I’m part of. Me as part of that other 5%. But the vast majority of Mississippi would. Mississippians would identify as Christians. And so we, because I was involved in Christian Businessmen’s Committee and was the chairman at the time of that effort in Jackson, our capital, I was approached by these two men that said, hey, let’s do an evangelistic crusade that has a racial reconciliation component. This was 1992. 

Lee Paris:
And so I and several other leaders in Jackson put together a weekend where were going to address and eliminate all the racial issues within the body of Christ in one glorious weekend. And we had 24,000 people that came to the stadium for this event and we had Dave Dravecki give his testimony and Lauren L. Harris, who was probably the best black, top black Christian vocalist at the time. We had two Miss America’s, one black and one white. One 500 member choir that was half black and half white. And Pat Morley, who’s white, and Tom Skinner, who’s black, were the Prince, the keynote speakers. And we had probably 100 ministers, black and white, that raised the Christian the cross on the stadium ground. It was a great event. And in the planning, however it was, we had about a year to plan the event. 

Lee Paris:
It was discovered as were meeting black and white together to plan the event, that were going to have a great gathering and get lots of attention and everybody was going to have a profound experience. But that 300 years of racism was not going to be cured in one great weekend, no matter how much money and how many people and how much fun were involved. And that if were going to accomplish what we had said we wanted to accomplish, that somebody threw out a figure that was going to be a 20 year effort to bring together the body of Christ across racial and denominational divisions. And some of us gathered there committed to a 20 year part of our lives to commit to this calling. And I was not prepared for this. I did not have a lifetime of training. 

Lee Paris:
I lived in a privileged life as and a life that was not. We certainly knew African Americans, but most of it, most of all my relationships there were in employee, employer type relationships and had some close relationships, but certainly not of social equality or spiritual equality or equality in any nature. And so to be a part of this breaking down walls that had been securely fastened in our society for hundreds of years and to attack those walls was a pretty bold step that I really did not want to do. But God made it abundantly clear to me that I was tapped on the shoulder to be a part of this. And I argued with him verbally and he verbally told me, you know, sometimes gently taps you on the head and other times he takes a two by four and knocks you cuckoo. 

Lee Paris:
And he knocked me cuckoo to tell me, yes, you were going to do this. You know, if your choice is to disobey the King of kings and creator of the universe and the guardian of your soul. And you know, should you choose not to do this, you know, I’m not going to be pleased, you know, and that didn’t mean they love me. But he called me to this and it was again abundantly clear that he did. 

Jeff Johnson:
Wow, that’s amazing. And how long ago did that start, Lee? 

Lee Paris:
So that’s been 32 years ago. 

Jeff Johnson:
Wow. And what’s the nature of the organization now? 

Lee Paris:
Mission Mississippi is still going strong. We are in communities, active communities all across Mississippi. The, the results have been phenomenal. We have seen bodies of believers and individual believers form relationships that were truly unheard of a generation ago. And part of that has been the change in society as a whole in our country. And racial attitudes have certainly changed in those 32 years. But the relationships that have been built within the church and through the organization Mission Mississippi are undeniable the impact that it has on our state. There are a whole lot of black and white Christians that truly love each other because of building relationships through Mississippi. So it’s changed the landscape of our state for sure. 

Jeff Johnson:
I think you and I go back 13, 14 years or somewhere in there. But yeah, ever since I’ve known you, Lee, you’ve had a passion for this particular thing and there’s been all sorts of activities and events and that sort of thing that I’ve heard you talk about over and over again. So I really applaud you for that. I want to go back to the calling piece because you say there was, it was clear that God wanted you to do this even if you didn’t want to do it yourself, where’s the courage in that? Describe that for our listeners, because I think that’s really powerful. 

Lee Paris:
You know, there’s a fine line between courage and fear. And perhaps my courage was I really did not want to disobey God. You know, I feared. I feared him and I feared what. Now as a believer, I know that nothing can separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus and that I have grace for my salvation and that no matter what I do or don’t do, that, you know, I’m his child and I will be with him in eternity. And, you know, my works are not going to affect that. But I do believe that God gives his children assignments. And if we disobey him, it’s a display of lack of love for the Lord and we withhold from ourselves in this life and in the next, I believe blessings that we might not have if we don’t obey. 

Lee Paris:
And so, you know, I guess a part of my obedience was just the fear of, you know, he’s made it clear to me what my assignment is, what if I don’t do this? So, you know, so I guess fear is often a motivation. And so I’d have, I’d be. To be honest, I would have to say that was a driving factor. And then I would say love for my state and realizing that weren’t going to be able to be the people and the state and have the blessings as a whole if this did not come about and realizing that some of my uniqueness was vital to bringing this about. And then the Lord just gave me the courage to do it? I would just say he did. 

Jeff Johnson:
Comes from God. That’s wonderful. So what would you say to somebody who is wondering, maybe they feel a little bit like God’s calling them to something. How would you encourage them to discern God’s call in their life to take that next step, to do that courageous thing? 

Lee Paris:
You know, I don’t. In my life, God’s been pretty clear. He’s not a God of confusion. If God is truly calling you to something, you know it. And how do you know it now? You know, God speaks in lots of different ways. But, you know, the proverb says there’s wisdom in the council of many. And if you have, you know, 10 or 12 close friends and you go to each one of them individually and share what the calling, and all 12 of them, you know, say, yes, it is, and you respect those men and women, God, you know that they have your best interests at heart. And they all saying the same thing. You know, it wasn’t a 7 to 5 decision. 

Lee Paris:
You know, it was everybody that I would talk with would say, yeah, this is something, Lee, that I feel God is leading you to do. And he made it clear. I’m Presbyterian, and we don’t get real excited about, you know, God, you know, sitting next to us on the pew and giving us direct assignments. But I did hear from him in some, I think, very direct audible ways during those days that he made it very clear that he would be with me in this. 

Jeff Johnson:
Yeah, that’s well put, Lee. I, to share about myself, I, my discernment is just that I know that I know. And that’s exactly what you said. You know, when it’s just very clear to you. Every once in a while I’m driving behind a car and there’s something funny on a license plate that feels like a little confirmation to me or there’s a song that you hear at just the right time. But that knowing that you know is, is a real powerful thing. Lee, thank you very much for joining us today. I really appreciate hearing from you and hearing your story and good luck with the airlines. 

Lee Paris:
I’m not going to stand in front of any moving planes anymore, Jeff. I promise you that. So. But thank you for the time together. And just think, you know, what I think about you, but I want to say it as loudly as I can and is that I’ve had the privilege of speaking with and this morning and walking through life for 13 or 14 years with the man that I ad as much as any on the planet. And I love the way that the Lord speaks through you and that the way he allows you to love on people and share him. I just, you’re one of my heroes Jeff Johnson.

Outro:
Thank you for joining us today on Courageous. If you’d like to hear more about the work and ministry being done at Crossroads Apologetics, please visit our home on the web at crossroadsapologetics.org Would you or someone you know like to be featured on Courageous? Send us an email at info@crossroadsapologetics.com or info@crossroadsapologetics.org telling us about the most courageous thing you’ve ever done.