Visits from Old Friends

We were surprised on Sunday afternoon by a phone call from an old friend, Glenn Vernon from Citronelle, Alabama. Glenn is known for calling his friends - he is much better at that than I am - especially on their birthday or anniversary.

I last saw Glenn in September when Vicki and I were in Mobile, as I led a World Religions Conference at an Episcopal Church. Rob Bearden, another old friend, co-ordinated a lunch for us at which we were able to visit with many folks we had not seen since we left Mobile and the Hillcrest Baptist Church. Before then, it had been more than 10 years since I saw him.

The call today was even more special because he was in town. Glenn has told me for months that he was going to come to North Georgia and visit, and I did not take it too seriously. I have said to lots of folks, "Someday, I will come to see you" and never did. Nor do I think they expected me to follow through on my offer. Glenn did.

Vicki and I spent a wonderful hour+ talking with Glenn and his daughter, Elizabeth. We caught up on old times. Glenn brought me a DVD of the Memorial Service for his wife, Sylvia. He told me some new stories about his years running the Citronelle Baptist Assembly - a Baptist camp - and the special weeks of camp that he initiated for special needs children.

Glenn was always out of step with the majority of folks in the South. He always took seriously those radical words of Jesus about loving people, even people that were different from you. So, he still works with Native American congregations and has helped African students get college education and provided weeks of loving care for folks with Cerebral Palsy and a host of other afflictions. Glenn did more for the Kingdom of God than most of the pastors in Mobile County ever dreamed of doing.

Would that we all would be more like Glenn.