I did not know he was sick, but I did know that something inside of me was pushing me to reach out to him, the Rev. Dr. Craig Dykstra. But I did not. For two years, I ignored this impulse, and now I am sorry.
Craig Dykstra died last week at the age of 78. I hope to attend his funeral next week in Indianapolis.
Dr. Dykstra was vice president for religion programs for the Lilly Endowment of Indianapolis. In April of 2008, I wrote him, requesting a conversation on an idea I had: namely, elevating The Meetinghouse from a radio program and website to a Center for Culture and Christianity at Georgetown College. Or something like that.
He responded and set a date: June 23, 2008. Because that meeting with him and his associate Chris Coble resulted in the formation of the Academy of Preachers (AoP), that day—June 23—was for several years celebrated as AoP Day.
Here is how that happened.
“How are things at Georgetown?” he asked right off; and I said, “I don’t know. I am not there anymore.” Unbeknownst to them, my Dean of the Chapel position at the college had been eliminated and when I arrived in Indianapolis, I was unemployed, 58 years old, and still a Baptist preacher. Not the trifecta you want to hold.
“What are you going to do?”
“I am like a man going fishing,” I responded. “I have five fishing poles to put in the water.”
“Tell me about those poles,” he replied.
I had the big pole in front of me, a large black leather notebook full of statistics, notes, plans, and such. I will hold this until the end, I thought to myself.
I started in with what I had been thinking, something that would put food on the table, pay my mortgage, and help build my retirement. First, taking a church as pastor, the most plausible. Second, launching a ministerial coaching ministry, which they liked. Third, starting some way to help young ministerial students develop a love for preaching. Which is what caught their attention.
For eight years, I had been directing a Lilly grant program at the college, part of the Endowment’s Programs for the Theological Exploration of Vocation. In that process, we identified and organized a significant cohort of students who were open to careers in Christian ministry. But few wanted to preach.
For thirty minutes or more, Drs. Dykstra and Coble quizzed me about our ideas. Throughout that conversation, I talked out of my heart and off the top of my head. I was eager to get to the main proposition—the Meetinghouse proposal.
Finally, Dykstra said, “What can we do to make this happen?” He was, of course, referring to the preaching academy.
I was caught off guard but stumbled a response, “I don’t know.” Here I was, talking to the nation’s number one philanthropist of religious life and programs, and I did not know what to say!
“Here is what we are going to do,” Dykstra said, rescuing me from my befuddled incompetence. “We are going to give you the money and let you do it. Send us a proposal by September, we will approve it in November, and you can start in January.”
“But I have this other idea,” I said, surely appearing ungrateful for what had just been proffered.
“This Academy of Preachers is what needs to be done,” he said (or something like that), and I closed my leather notebook, gathered my things, and walked out the door. For hours and days, I was stunned.
That was June of 2008. What ensued was a Young Preachers Leadership Team, eight national festivals for young preachers, an annual book of festival sermons, a flurry of retreats, conferences, and connections. And a full decade of the most amazing experience of my life. It was, indeed, a beautiful thing!
In 2019, the Academy of Preachers (AoP) came to an end, not with a bang but with a whimper, and I will say more about this on my Sunday in the House broadcast this coming Sunday (June 15). But today, I give this testimony about my relationship with Rev. Dr. Craig Dykstra.
I am one of hundreds who can give this witness about the good Dr. Dykstra. I know there is much more to his long and illustrious career. But this is my testimony, and I speak for many. In a spirit of deep and lasting gratitude, I give thanks to God.
And yes, I regret not picking up the phone or getting in the car to check on the man that did so much for so many. Including me.
Dr. Dykstra’s address at the 2011 National Festival of Young Preachers, “The Beginning Word” which includes his memories of our meeting on June 23, 2008, can be found here.
I did not know he was sick, but I did know that something inside of me was pushing me to reach out to him, the Rev. Dr. Craig Dykstra. But I did not. For two years, I ignored this impulse, and now I am sorry.
Craig Dykstra died last week at the age of 78. I hope to attend his funeral next week in Indianapolis.
Dr. Dykstra was vice president for religion programs for the Lilly Endowment of Indianapolis. In April of 2008, I wrote him, requesting a conversation on an idea I had: namely, elevating The Meetinghouse from a radio program and website to a Center for Culture and Christianity at Georgetown College. Or something like that.
He responded and set a date: June 23, 2008. Because that meeting with him and his associate Chris Coble resulted in the formation of the Academy of Preachers (AoP), that day—June 23—was for several years celebrated as AoP Day.
Here is how that happened.
“How are things at Georgetown?” he asked right off; and I said, “I don’t know. I am not there anymore.” Unbeknownst to them, my Dean of the Chapel position at the college had been eliminated and when I arrived in Indianapolis, I was unemployed, 58 years old, and still a Baptist preacher. Not the trifecta you want to hold.
“What are you going to do?”
“I am like a man going fishing,” I responded. “I have five fishing poles to put in the water.”
“Tell me about those poles,” he replied.
I had the big pole in front of me, a large black leather notebook full of statistics, notes, plans, and such. I will hold this until the end, I thought to myself.
I started in with what I had been thinking, something that would put food on the table, pay my mortgage, and help build my retirement. First, taking a church as pastor, the most plausible. Second, launching a ministerial coaching ministry, which they liked. Third, starting some way to help young ministerial students develop a love for preaching. Which is what caught their attention.
For eight years, I had been directing a Lilly grant program at the college, part of the Endowment’s Programs for the Theological Exploration of Vocation. In that process, we identified and organized a significant cohort of students who were open to careers in Christian ministry. But few wanted to preach.
For thirty minutes or more, Drs. Dykstra and Coble quizzed me about our ideas. Throughout that conversation, I talked out of my heart and off the top of my head. I was eager to get to the main proposition—the Meetinghouse proposal.
Finally, Dykstra said, “What can we do to make this happen?” He was, of course, referring to the preaching academy.
I was caught off guard but stumbled a response, “I don’t know.” Here I was, talking to the nation’s number one philanthropist of religious life and programs, and I did not know what to say!
“Here is what we are going to do,” Dykstra said, rescuing me from my befuddled incompetence. “We are going to give you the money and let you do it. Send us a proposal by September, we will approve it in November, and you can start in January.”
“But I have this other idea,” I said, surely appearing ungrateful for what had just been proffered.
“This Academy of Preachers is what needs to be done,” he said (or something like that), and I closed my leather notebook, gathered my things, and walked out the door. For hours and days, I was stunned.
That was June of 2008. What ensued was a Young Preachers Leadership Team, eight national festivals for young preachers, an annual book of festival sermons, a flurry of retreats, conferences, and connections. And a full decade of the most amazing experience of my life. It was, indeed, a beautiful thing!
In 2019, the Academy of Preachers (AoP) came to an end, not with a bang but with a whimper, and I will say more about this on my Sunday in the House broadcast this coming Sunday (June 15). But today, I give this testimony about my relationship with Rev. Dr. Craig Dykstra.
I am one of hundreds who can give this witness about the good Dr. Dykstra. I know there is much more to his long and illustrious career. But this is my testimony, and I speak for many. In a spirit of deep and lasting gratitude, I give thanks to God.
And yes, I regret not picking up the phone or getting in the car to check on the man that did so much for so many. Including me.
Dr. Dykstra’s address at the 2011 National Festival of Young Preachers, “The Beginning Word” which includes his memories of our meeting on June 23, 2008, can be found here.
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