My old tapes

Not too long after David Lewis came to Sunshine, Dad talked him into accompanying me on a trip to Harding University. I was struggling to decide where to go to college. David had recently graduated from Harding's School of Biblical Studies. David and I endured two 12 hour stints together in Dad & Mom's Monte Carlo. The ramifications of that trip deeply impacted the course of my life. However, that was not the biggest impact David made on me. The ramifications of another event made a more significant impact.

The second event was when David offered me a tape, the first in a series by Landon Saunders, called Lectures in Preaching. I had no idea who was Landon Saunders or why I was being given tapes for preachers. But, it was David, so I listened. I listened to those tapes over and over again. Landon's message about the man of God helped me understand not only why David Lewis was different, but who I wanted to be. I have gone through many copies through the years. I just recently spent 80-some dollars acquiring 2 more sets.

I was not fully aware at the time, but my deepening appreciation of what it meant to be a man of God, shifted the focus of my faith from the Church of Christ to Jesus Christ. That may sound cliche, but the distinction is monumental to me. The call of those tapes continually causes my heart to burn within me. Landon calls the man of God to walk the highest road. He describes a difficult yet wondrous process in which a man receives his message and mission from Most High. I never actually met Landon. I shook his hand once, after he delivered a key note address at one of Harding's annual lectureships. But, I have always felt he was a part of my life.

I pick-up on references to Landon, especially references to Lectures on Preaching. I discovered James Walters, a professor I had come to deeply appreciate at Harding, was leaving to go work with Landon (He actually worked with him for 10 years). I remember Mike Cope announcing at one time, that he needed to recharge. He would be attending a retreat with Landon Saunders. Many times through the years, as I listened to lectures or sermons, I would catch a reference indicating to me that this particular speaker had his own set of tapes.

I just caught another. Lynn Anderson delivered a speech at the ACU Graduate School of Theology Alumni Association Luncheon at the ACU Lectures, February 22, 2006. He concluded with this reference:

As Landon Saunders said, "The nails of reality have been driven through the hands and feet of God's man, the sword of the spirit has pierced his side, and out of him flows the very life of God."

Those words depict the theme of the Lectures on Preaching series. If you are interested in listening to the series- I have two fresh copies, bits and pieces of several other copies.

Thanks to Milton Stanley (Transforming Sermons) for the link to Lynn Anderson's speech. To read Lynn's speech for yourself (and I highly recommend it)- click here.