Dr. Marion Henderson — 1922-2012

On May 6, I began my message by telling our congregation that on Friday, May 4, Dr. Marion Henderson was called to his eternal reward. While you may not know him, his life is a testimony to a long life lived serving the Lord.

When I enrolled at Lincoln Christian University in 1969, the first class I attended was Gospels, taught by Dr. Henderson. That class met four times a week at 7:30 in the morning — but did we ever learn the Gospels! I had read the Gospels, but I learned the Gospels under Dr. Henderson. He taught the Gospels to countless Lincoln students from 1951-1976 and again from 1986-2006. He had a way of making the Gospels come alive. His last lecture of each course was an event every semester as he took us through the Garden of Gethsemane. Every student eagerly anticipated hearing that lecture for the first time. It was the stuff of legends at Lincoln. If I know anything about the Gospels today, it began with Dr. Henderson.

In my senior year, I completed the circle and took third year Greek from Dr. Henderson. I have forgotten how many classes I took from him in between, but each one offered something powerful from the Scriptures.

Besides teaching, Dr. Henderson filled many others roles. For many years he coached the college basketball team. As I said last Sunday, I never played for him. His last year of coaching was the year before I enrolled, but he still coached me — after games, as I came or went from class, or when we met in the hallway. In his own way, whether it was teaching in the classroom or talking about how you played in your last game or just talking to you about life, he encouraged you to give your best to Christ.

He also had a third legacy. During most of the years during his first stint at Lincoln, he preached for the South Fork Church of Christ, outside Rochester, Illinois, about 30 miles from campus. For those of us who were going to be preachers, he modeled every week what he taught in the classroom.

We can model someone with Dr. Henderson’s commitment to Christ and his church — and we should. It will not be the same going back to campus knowing I will not have a chance encounter with Dr. Henderson, but I will always be grateful he was my teacher. See you in heaven, Doc.