David Currie Pays Tribute To Herb Reynolds

David Currie of Texas Baptists Committed has posted a tribute to the late Herb Reynolds - former President of Baylor University.

Dr. Herbert H. Reynolds died on Friday, May 25, 2007. Over 1,300 people attended a celebration of his life at First Baptist Church, Waco, last Wednesday. It was a wonderful tribute to his life, highlighted by his three children speaking about their father; and Paul Powell talking about all that Dr. Reynolds meant to Baylor University and all true Baptists.

Sitting between Loretta and my son Lance, I listened, feeling very much like a family member, because that is how I felt about Dr. Reynolds—he was another father to me. I hope that doesn’t bother Kevin, Kent, and Rhonda, but I sort of feel like a stepbrother to them because of all that Dr. Reynolds and I have shared these past 20 years. I sense that they understand.

In his eulogy, Paul Powell said that someone had described Dr. Reynolds as “pure courage and pure class.” That is how I had described Dr. Reynolds in my statement to the Baptist Standard, and I was honored that he quoted me in his eulogy, for I meant it with all my heart, and I believe it.

I learned my motto—“Leadership Solves Everything”—from Dr. Reynolds. I don’t recall him ever saying those exact words, but he lived them in front of me. Dr. Reynolds modeled courage for me over and over and over. He never doubted that he had to stand up to radical fundamentalism because it was the right thing to do. He did what he thought he had to do to protect Baylor, and then—rather than walk away from the fight—he led the fight to save Texas Baptists as well. He was part of the “trinity”—along with Phil Strickland and John Baugh—who led all of the work that TBC did over the years. I now feel very alone, having lost all three of them and Foy Valentine in just over a year.

Read the rest here.

It truly is sad that so many great Texas Baptist leaders have passed away in the past year. David Currie may not have included himself among that "trinity" of Texas Baptists - but he deserves a place alongside Strickland, Baugh, and Reynolds. All four men plus other great Texas Baptists like Dunn, Valentine, and Allen who lead at the national level have devoted their entire lives to defending our historic Baptist principles and distinctives against the onslaught of fundamentalism and "creeping creedalism." We owe them our sincere thanks.