My dad started attending Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina, in October 1993. Dad had just moved to Charlotte for a new job, and one of his friends invited him. The growing church under the leadership of pastor-teacher Harry Reeder met in an auxiliary gym at the time. There was nowhere near enough space for the entire congregation, so Reeder preached three times on Sunday mornings in addition to the evening worship service.
From those early days of Christ Covenant, Reeder—through his teaching, leadership, and even humor—discipled my dad. My dad, in turn, discipled me. No small part of this discipleship has been repeating what he learned from Reeder or pointing me to ways he continued to learn from Reeder’s ministry until his recent death. This models a truth the psalmist proclaims: “One generation shall commend your works to another” (Ps. 145:4).
Reeder’s Influence on My Dad
Over the last few years, Dad and I have marveled at the many gifts God gave Reeder to use in service of the church. His faithful proclamation of the Bible every Sunday morning and evening blessed thousands. His heart for the lost and his ability to talk to anyone had him praying for countless waiters and waitresses. His sharp memory allowed him to move around effortlessly without notes in the pulpit. Reeder remembered the name of virtually everyone he met.
Reeder—through his teaching, leadership, and even humor—discipled my dad. My dad, in turn, discipled me. No small part of this discipleship has been repeating what he learned from Reeder.
As Reeder’s ministry grew, his influence continued through his leadership conferences, retreats, books, and sermons. My dad reminisces about storming a hill in an impromptu Civil War reenactment during one of Reeder’s leadership training trips. The prominent pastor-teacher wasn’t afraid to have a little fun.
My dad will also miss Reeder’s funny quips. When speaking of how he began to value Christian education and a biblical worldview after surrendering his life to Christ, Reeder once declared, “I actually found out my head could be used for something other than a baseball cap and a golf visor.” My dad still repeats and chuckles at that phrase.
Passed Along to Me
Reeder’s love for Jesus emanated through his relationships, especially his Spirit-empowered love for his wife, children, and grandchildren. I was blessed to be coached in soccer by Reeder’s son-in-law and play at a summer camp with his grandson. Both witness well to God’s glory in the secular sports world, and they’d credit this to their father-in-law and grandfather’s influence.
Though Reeder moved from North Carolina to Alabama before I was born, my dad and others at Christ Covenant Church passed along their love for his teaching to me. The familiar opening and closing tune of Reeder’s Today In Perspective podcast still rings in my head. Through this daily ministry, Reeder taught listeners how to approach politics and the news of the day from a gospel-centered perspective.
Reeder thrived on emphatically communicating profound theological truths in simple ways. His resources gave me confidence to better understand the Bible and its intersection with faith and politics. His mantra “Truth without love is barbarity, but love without truth is cruelty” is ingrained in my mind. The slogan captures a sliver of who Reeder was. As a man committed to the truth of God’s Word, he unashamedly proclaimed the good news of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. Though unwilling to compromise biblical truth amid cultural pressures, Reeder wrapped the truth he preached in a shawl of love.
Drawn to Reeder’s preaching and his ministry at Briarwood Presbyterian in Birmingham, Alabama, I considered living there over the summer. My sister will be a freshman at Samford University in Birmingham in the fall, and she eagerly anticipated sitting under Reeder’s teaching for the next four years. Though we were never part of his church, we’ll miss him deeply.
Generation to Generation
Thirty years after my dad started there, our family still attends Christ Covenant Church. Through Reeder’s love for Jesus and commitment to stay “on mission, on message, and in ministry,” my dad has grown in steadfast love for Christ and his church. He loves our family well. He cherishes the evening service and fellowship with the saints. He treasures God’s Word. Reeder’s influence on my dad remains, and it won’t soon be forgotten.
His resources gave me confidence to better understand the Bible.
Psalm 78:4 says, “Tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD.” Reeder modeled what it means to proclaim God’s glory to generation after generation. One day, if the Lord wills, I hope to tell the next generation stories about my dad. And there’ll be no way to share Dad’s story without telling about that Christ-exalting preacher, Harry Reeder. I’m one of the thousands who stand in his legacy, part of a new generation that has “set their hope in God” (Ps. 78:7).
I want to live my life like Reeder lived his. By God’s grace and in the Spirit’s power, I want to be faithful, fun, and diligent in my declaration of Jesus’s name to the people around me. Like Reeder, I want to teach the next generation of “the glorious deeds of the LORD.”
The Gospel Coalition