My Good Friend...Dr. Vernon Grounds

I received word a few days ago that my dear friend; mentor; counselor; and confessor - Dr. Vernon Grounds - passed peacefully from this earth and awoke at the place of his heart's desire. My little offering is but a widow's mite in respect to the rich volume of sentiment that has been expressed around the world the past couple of weeks. But, add to it I will because of the wisdom, kindness and grace imparted to me by this beloved man.

Dr. Grounds served for over sixty years at Denver Seminary. He was a professor, a president and finally Chancellor Emeritus. That last title sounds really important and dignified. If anyone earned such adulation from mere man - he certainly did. I first met Dr. Grounds several years ago while taking a doctoral class at Talbot Seminary in La Mirada, California. At the beginning of the class, the director of the program asked if any of us students would be willing to transport Dr. Grounds to and from his hotel each day. My brother, who was also taking this class, looked at me, smiled, and we both said, "Yes!" at the same time. Dr. Grounds was already somewhat of a legend by then and we felt incredibly honored to be able to squeeze in a little extra time with him. Before the week was over, he was referring affectionately to my older brother, Chris, as "Big Brother" and me as "Little Brother." When he would call on me in class he would say, "Tell me, Little Brother, what do you think of that?" I loved it. Taking a class from Dr. Grounds was, in a word, breathtaking. Does that sound hyperbolic? Perhaps. But to take a class from a man who never used a note, who could recite philosophers, Shakespeare, the ancient texts of Scripture and other notable authors from memory was...well...breathtaking.

But it wasn't just the style points that enamored me - it was also the content of his character. He was a tiny man with a very big heart, coupled with the grace of humility so rarely witnessed by leaders in our day - church or otherwise. Many times throughout his life he had been tempted to take strong polemic stands in order to exhibit the "purity of his faith" to some of the firebrands who supported the seminary. He rarely, if ever, took the bait. His view of education was liberal in the old sense of the word - not that battered, anemic and so easily offended demonstration of it we see today. He would say, "If you want to be taught what to think, go to (unnamed seminary). If you want to be taught how to think, come to Denver Seminary." Even with such obvious pimping of his beloved school, he would say it with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face. If the man ever actually despised anything - and that is up for debate - it would have been the sloppy moralizing and the intellectual laziness of Christians. He also cured me of the tired habit of speaking platitudes into the tragedies that I would shepherd as a minister. In other words - he taught me the grace of keeping my mouth shut and my hands busy in the company of grief.

I would be the negative recipient of that last grace a few years after my initial encounter with Dr. Grounds. For reasons I still do not understand; or, at best - can only offer opinion in regard to - "Big Brother" decided to end his life. I was mowed over by the well-meaning "platitudinous." It felt as though a host of well-meaning people were standing in line reading from a Hallmark card - really bad ones in some cases.

After the God-empowered adrenaline given me to share at my brother's funeral, I began to experience the crash. That's one of the things I have learned about grief...we each have to work through it. It is why counselors call it "grief work" because it is both of those things. One day, many weeks after the sad event, my phone rang. I said "Hello." I could hear on the other end a heavy sigh and these words, "Oh...Little Brother...ohhhh...." and then...quiet. I started weeping and the wonderful thing about Dr. Grounds was that he was totally comfortable being silent, not offering one ill-chosen, ill-timed word or platitude. It was beautiful then. It is a beautiful memory now. As I sit writing this I am weeping again at the minimalist and understated art that is true grace.

Dr. Grounds was known as somewhat of a mystic. He believed very strongly in practicing the classic disciplines of the Christian faith such as meditation and prayer. I have tried, very feebly, to follow his lead. It is difficult. Sometimes, it is quite boring and seemingly unproductive. To this feeling, common to all who attempt to develop the interior world of the spirit, Dr. Grounds preached a wonderful sermon where he gave a very helpful platitude (they are not all bad!). He said this: "The ruts of routine, over time, become the grooves of grace." One of the grooves of grace that Dr. Grounds imparted to me was the steady pursuit and impartation to others, of joy. Many Christians are angry. I chose a few years ago to leave them to ply their trade if they felt that was their calling. It struck me that they seemed to have enough anger, angst and judgment in them to cover my shift. My little contribution to repairing the image of Christ in this world is to carry the joy that so consumed Dr. Grounds. I have learned this: Joy is the present awareness of His presence - the moment, by moment, by moment, by moment sense of awe that He really is "Emmanuel", God with us. Such wonder, once embraced, can sustain us in our busyness and our anxieties at a deep and subconscious level. Embrace the thought, early in the morning that, "God is with me" and your spirit will rise, capture that truth, and keep it burning throughout the day like a pilot light. When the bitter wind of adversity, fear, self-doubt, or despair blow on you, know this - the pilot light will hold steady, ready to ignite the bigger flame of faith once more...at a moment's notice.

I have always been of the school that fancied the notion that God gives dearly departed loved ones a chance for one last peek. I have amassed too many stories where the lines between eternity and time get blurred during times of grief to believe otherwise. If that is so, let me say this: "Enjoy your reward Dr. Grounds. Give my Savior and "Big Brother" a kiss from me. See you on the other side...Love, Little Brother."

-CJ