By Clayton Hardiman, The Associated Press
MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) -- Outside the pastor’s office at House of Judah Full Gospel Baptist Church, there was the sound of a choir in rehearsal -- the stop-and-go music of blending voices, trying things out and eventually getting them right.
Inside the office, the pastor was settling behind his desk. And even on a weekday afternoon, the telephone already had begun to ring repeatedly, signifying clearly the demands on the pastor’s time.
In a sense, Calvin Davis was starting his second shift.
Each day, Detective Calvin Davis yields to the Rev. Calvin Davis, and back again. In the detective’s domain, people have the right to remain silent. In the pastor’s world, there’s a message he can’t afford to muzzle.
In both roles, Davis often encounters people in the wake of bad choices and serious consequences.
The 28-year-old Davis seems to take it all in stride.
“My parishioners know I live in two separate worlds,"he said. “If you encounter me in one world, I’m forced with the responsibility to uphold the law. “In the other world, I uphold truth. I can’t compromise either.”
And if those two worlds were to collide? Davis said he knows which one he would turn loose.
“If as a pastor, my compassion overrides my ability as a police officer, I’ll walk away from police work,"he said.
Muskegon Heights Police Chief George Smith is thankful that hasn’t happened. He considers Davis an asset in his detective bureau.
“The fact that he’s a detective tells you what I think of him as an officer. You have to be pretty sharp. ... And the fact that he’s a minister makes everything better. He’s an example of what I think other pastors should be doing.”
For Davis, it’s strictly a matter of priorities. Police work was always Davis’ personal desire. His being in the ministry, he said, was God’s plan.
“I’ve always known I was called to the ministry,"Davis said, “but it was confirmed to me when I was 6 or 7.”
Two decades or so later, Davis lets the story unfold with the caution of a man who still fears he might not be believed.
“I would have nightly visitations -- an angel, no older than I was,"he said. “He told me not to be afraid. He told me I would be a great man of God and that I would preach the word of God to many.
“I was terrified. I would tell my mom I didn’t want to go to sleep. But mom told me not to be afraid.”
Don’t be afraid: It was standard fare from Florine Davis and her husband, J.D. -- the couple who became Calvin’s parents by choice. Calvin was a year old, when he, a 2-year-old sister and an infant brother were left on the doorstep of Muskegon’s Child Haven. The siblings spent the next six to seven years in foster care.
Then, when he was 7 or 8 years old, he was adopted by the Davises. His name, which had been C.B. Gordon IV, was changed to Calvin Davis.
“It takes a very unique person to love children unconditionally that aren’t yours,"Davis said.
He grew up in Muskegon Heights, where he discovered an athletic gift. “Football,"he said, and smiled. “I loved it.”
But Davis said he knew he had been drafted for a different calling.
At 18, he accepted his childhood call and became a licensed minister. But in the meantime, there was the question of developing a secular career.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army. During basic training, he was diagnosed with a heart murmur and was honorably discharged. The fact that the ailment has never resurfaced only convinces him it was part of God’s plan, Davis said.
He embarked on a series of jobs with Muskegon Heights Public Schools, including an assignment as administrative assistant. In the meantime, he was studying under a number of local pastors.
Eventually, he came to Fountain of Love Full Gospel Baptist Church and his mentor, the Rev. Stanley Levy.
In 1998, Davis’ childhood dream caught up with him. He entered the police academy at Kalamazoo Valley Community College.
“There was no debate,"Davis said. “I knew it was time to step out on faith.”
Davis’ police career developed swiftly. In 2001, he was assigned to the West Michigan Enforcement Team, a drug enforcement task force. In his two years with the task force, he discovered two things about drug investigation: He liked it, and he was good at it.
In the meantime, he felt he was developing as a minister as well. Under the auspices of Fountain of Love, Davis and his wife launched a Bible study and worship called Shewbread Ministries. They held weekly services at Muskegon Heights Middle School. In a 10-month span, their congregation grew from eight parishioners to more than 100.
“We drew from a lot of people who were not normal churchgoers, people who had been wounded and rejected,"Davis said.