Spiritual Giants
“Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
but to your name give glory.”
Psalm 115:1a (ESV)
Two spiritual giants died last week and sent shock waves through countless churches, congregations, and communities around the world. Dr. Harry Reeder III, Senior Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Birmingham, Alabama and Dr. Timothy Keller, founding Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian (PCA) in New York City and Co-Founder of The Gospel Coalition (TGC) died within 24 hours of each other. These two men were very different in life and death, yet both shared a passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a fervent love for God’s people. Dr. Reeder died suddenly on May 18 in an automobile accident; Tim Keller died the next day ending a painful 3-year battle with pancreatic cancer.
Many tributes have already been written for both men. Author Kevin DeYoung who knew both Reeder and Keller shared his thoughts here and here. Blogger Tim Challies posted a collection of Keller and Reeder tributes here.
Harry Reeder and Tim Keller both had an enormous spiritual impact in my life. Tim Keller was my guide to the gurus. Keller’s prolific writing ministry and TGC women’s conferences (TGCW) helped me gain clarity over both hard doctrinal truths and practical matters like marriage, forgiveness, and integrating my faith into my work. Someone once said that Tim Keller took difficult subjects like substitutionary atonement or justification and put them on the “bottom shelf” for laymen like me to understand and teach.
But it was Harry Reeder who was my pastor for 24 years.
I vividly remember Harry’s first sermon at Briarwood. His sermon text came from Psalm 115:1: “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory.” I don’t remember the sermon’s outline, but I do remember Harry’s main point: The Christian life is to be lived for God’s glory, not ours.
I left our sanctuary, walked into the church’s massive foyer, and two thoughts immediately came to my mind and heart:
Harry wasn’t afraid to follow the 40-year ministry of our beloved founding Pastor Dr. Frank Barker and
Harry understood leadership. He wasn’t intimidated by the challenges and changes that would come with leading a 4000-member congregation.
I knew instinctively that our church was in good hands moving forward with a transition of pastoral leadership.
Through the years that followed, it was Harry Reeder who taught me that a WELL church is one who worships, evangelizes, loves, and learns. Pastor Reeder stressed the importance of building effectively with his 5 A’s: acceptance, affirmation, affection, availability, and accessibility. He loved alliterations and memorable maxims! For me personally, Harry was at his best during our weekly Sunday night worship services. He once said that Sunday morning was for preaching and Sunday evenings were for teaching. He was good at both.
Harry Reeder wasn’t afraid to publicly tackle cultural hot topics such as marriage, homosexuality, and gender identity from the pulpit. With each wedding that he officiated, we were exposed to Harry Reeder’s “mathematics.” Citing Genesis 2:24, Harry’s math reasoning for marriage was 1 Man + 1 Woman for (=) 1 Life. He carefully explained that when a man leaves his mother and father and then cleaves to his new wife, the end result is one life, not two. But biblical marriage involves both leaving AND cleaving. If the marriage partners fail to leave their parents, then 1+1 = 6! If one marriage partner leaves, but fails to cleave, the end result is 1+1= 2.
Harry Reeder wasn’t just a pulpit preacher; he was my pastor. Last year Harry was the first one to offer congratulations on Robert’s head coaching job at Vestavia Hills High School. One month later Harry helped us navigate our grief and bury our son James Bruce. Pastor Reeder baptized my three grandchildren; hosted Bruce and me, along with countless others, for dinner in his home; and encouraged my writing, speaking, and teaching ministries.
Last night after our Sunday night church service, one of my Flower Guild friends who attends a church of another denomination told me, “I just want you to know, our priest prayed for the Reeders and the Briarwood congregation this morning in mass.”
Author Kevin DeYoung summarized Harry Reeder’s life with words far more eloquent than mine when he wrote, “As well as anyone I’ve known, Harry embodied the motto of the PCA: “Faithful to the Scriptures, true to the Reformed Faith, obedient to the Great Commission.” That was Harry—all of him and all of it. He loved to teach the faith, he loved to defend the faith, and he loved to share his faith.”
Thanks be to God for these two spiritual giants who faithfully lived for the good of others and the glory of God!