NAC 2007

After our obligatory initial fill-up at Sheetz, we headed for Anderson. That trip would sure be lot shorter if it weren't for Ohio, but what are you gonna do?


We arrived in Anderson at about 6:20 Friday evening, just in time for the opening service. The Friday night service is sponsored by Anderson University as a welcome and opening to the Convention.

This year's university offering was a tribute to Robert H. Reardon, president of Anderson College from the 60s into the 80s. He was president when Janelle and I were in school there, and he touched our lives deeply. He passed away last February at the age of 87 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

When Janelle was a teenager, she had surgery on her feet. During that time, the church where her dad was pastor completed their new sanctuary and they invited President Reardon to speak at its dedication. Janelle was sitting in a rocking chair when someone (she thought it was her brother) started kicking the runner in an annoying fashion. She wheeled around to slug him, and found to her surprise President Reardon standing there with a twinkle in his eye.

When the family took him to the airport for his return flight, he disappeared only to show up a few minutes later with a wheel chair for Janelle, and graciously served as her chauffeur, wheeling her all over Kansas City International Airport.

When Janelle and I were on the road sharing concerts across the country, Dr. Reardon happened to be at one. We don't remember where it was, but he lingered as the sanctuary was emptying after the service, and beckoned us over. He took my hand, shook it warmly, and skillfully pressed a $50 bill into my palm. He just wanted to be an encouragement to us. A year or two later when we were considering going on staff at a church in Nashville, Dr. Reardon made a phone call on our behalf and recommended us for the position.

I guarantee thousands of men and women could tell similar stories about this gracious man. He was a story-teller, a humorist, one of the Church of God's first Ph.D.'s, a friend of Anderson University, an encourager to young pastors, and a servant of the church. He will be missed.

This is the crowd gathered in the Kardatzke Wellness Center for President Reardon's tribute.


And this is "Main Street" outside the Wellness Center, where convention attenders mingle and find something to satisfy their sweet tooth following the evening services.

I sure wish you could be here with us.