Lipscomb launches Prentice Meador Distinguished Lectures April 6

Lipscomb University will launch its new Prentice Meador Distinguished Lectures Tuesday, April 6, with presentations by Landon Saunders and Mike Cope of Heartbeat Ministries, President L. Randolph Lowry recently announced.

 

Lipscomb established the Prentice Meador Distinguished Lectures in honor of Dr. Prentice A. Meador, Jr., a longtime minister and professor at Lipscomb who died Nov. 25, 2008, following a brief illness. The annual series is intended to highlight work done in innovative, effective Christian communication. The inaugural lecture features Saunders and Cope, personal friends of Meador’s and nationally known ministers and speakers.

 

“Prentice was a passionate teacher, telling our students the story of Jesus. He was a gifted communicator who saw teaching as an avenue through which lives of young people could be touched and transformed. He did it well. It is only fitting that his influence continues through the speakers that will be a part of the Prentice Meador Distinguished Lectures,” said Lowry.

 

The program begins at 10:55 a.m. with Cope addressing the Lipscomb community at the Gathering, the university’s weekly chapel service for students, faculty and staff in Allen Arena. At 7 p.m., Saunders will be the featured speaker in Collins Alumni Auditorium.

 

Following the evening presentation, “A Conversation with Friends: Celebrating the memories and stories from the life of Prentice Meador” will feature several of Meador’s colleagues and friends reflecting on his life: Bob Chisholm, small group and spiritual formation minister, Prestoncrest Church of Christ, Dallas; Ken Durham, Batsell Barrett Baxter chair of preaching, Lipscomb University; L. Randolph Lowry, president, Lipscomb University; Dr. Myron Mizell, cardiologist, Springfield, Mo.; and Royce Money, president, Abilene Christian University. At 9 p.m., there will be a dessert reception and book signing of An Honest Cry, a newly released book that was written to honor Meador .

 

All Prentice Meador Distinguished Lecture events are free and open to the public.

 

For more than 40 years, Dr. Meador was an influential preaching minister serving large churches in California, Illinois, Missouri, Washington, Tennessee and Texas. Most recently, he completed 19 years as senior minister at Prestoncrest Church of Christ in Dallas.

 

Meador wrote for several publications and authored several books in the field of religion, including Walk with Me, Genesis: The Great Story, Promises to Keep, and Stories That Astonish: The Parables of Jesus. In 1992, Dr. Meador became managing editor of 21st Century Christian magazine. Meador earned his bachelor’s degree from Lipscomb University in 1960 and his master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Illinois, Urbana, in 1961 and 1964, respectively. He taught communication at UCLA, the University of Washington, Missouri State University, and Abilene Christian University. In addition, Dr. Meador was a member of the Chancellor’s Council of Pepperdine University and a clinical member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.

 

Since 1999, Meador has conducted more than 15 lectures on C. S. Lewis and his writings, including presentations in England and Russia. He has lectured on Lewis’ work, at Lipscomb and Pepperdine Universities and led a lecture series called “The Curious Life of C. S. Lewis—Man behind Narnia” for a Princess cruise. He also led a tour to Oxford University entitled “A Week with C. S. Lewis.” This study was presented by Abilene Christian University in 1999. As part of this tour, Meador and his wife led reflections on the works of Lewis each morning at Oxford.