When Kasey and I moved to Denton and joined Singing Oaks one of the first things I did was connect with Leroy Garrett. I first heard about Leroy while I was a student at ACU. It was in a church history class where I learned about his great impact on our movement. I remember reading some of his writings and thinking, wow, it would be great to sit down with this guy someday.
Leroy’s care facility was not far from the Campus Center and so two or three times a year for the last three years we would do lunch together. After lunch we would go back to his room full of books and talk late into the afternoon. We laughed. We prayed. He told story after story. I did my best to soak up all the wisdom I could. It was sacred ground.
Leroy was nothing less than a prophet in Churches of Christ. I sat amazed as he told stories of standing up for women and African Americans when it wasn’t the popular thing to do. Especially in Churches of Christ. He didn’t just believe Galatians 3:28. He lived it out.
And yet, despite his prophetic nature, had such a humble spirit. This from his autobiography, “I learned from my graduate studies, especially at Princeton, that true learning and scholarship makes one humble and childlike rather than proud and arrogant.” And his humility was a beacon of light in our movement. He wrote a book entitled “What Must the Church of Christ Do To Be Saved?” and the very first chapter is called “Confess That We Have Been Wrong About Some Things.” The second and third chapters are about repenting of sectarianism and our sin of division. It is not hyperbole to say that much of the ecumenical spirit that is now alive in our tradition is a direct result of Leroy and his passion for unity in the body of Christ.
Beyond being a humble prophet, Leroy was a great pastor and friend. I wore him out with questions about life and parenting and marriage and ministry. And his words of wisdom will always stay with me.
We have lost a giant of the faith and many of us, whether we know it or not, stand on his shoulders.
Thank you God for your servant Leroy, and the gift that he was to us.
