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Never Again Complacent
I was a freshman at a small women's college in Georgia in 1941. One day Clarence Jordan spoke. During that hour I experienced the greatest learning experience of my life. It was a true conversion experience. All the contradictions of being southern, Christian, white, educated, and a woman confronted me. I was spellbound and fascinated, but my mind was on fire. For the first time it all made sense, and the message and mission for a Christian in the South was clear. I could never again be so complacent, or sit still, or be quiet in the face of oppression or injustice.
Helen Lewis, Highlander Center, New Market Tennessee
Ol' Coot
One of Clarence's special attributes came out when he was telling stories to children. He had a lulu about his Ol' Dog Coot. Ol' Coot was a mongrel with three legs. When he was small, he lost one foot and had the remaining stump fitted with a wheel. Whenever he got tired of running, he would put down the wheel, pull up the three legs, and just coast.
Ol'Coot had been taught arithmetic so well that when the minister mentioned the Trinity at his funeral, Ol' Coot knocked thrice on the box in which he was laid away. Humor was a release for this man of God, as I imagine it must be for God himself in order to put up with the trials, tribulations, and irregularities of life.
C. Conrad Browne, Atlanta, GA
Shaped By Scripture
Discipleship, in Clarence's mind, was not another command upon an always reluctant believer. I was the inevitable consequence of inner conviction that Jesus is Lord. Clarence's life was shaped by the Scriptures. It's always refreshing, in a day when small groups and pop psychology parade as koinonia and gospel, to hear a scholar at work in biblical exegesis. Clarence wrapped the Word in the overall of a southern preacher and taught us about another kind of Bible translator -- the kind that can get a man shot at and lynched in a hundred ways. I shall be forever grateful that God led me to Clarence Jordan. From him I learned something about Christian integrity--living your insides out.
William Pannell, Fuller Theological Seminary
Leaving Your Net Gains
It was January, 1969, before I left my job as a business executive. As I thought about being with Clarence for a few hours, I felt a lot of joy and more than a little apprehension. With La Guardia airport's snarl of traffic behind us, I plunged into conversation. "You know, Clarence, I've been thinking a lot about the kind of discipleship you taught us last August, and I'm really troubled. My life is so complicated today. Sure wish things were as simple as leaving your nets." "Awe, I dunno, Ladon," Clarence drawled, "I'd guess old Rock and Andy found it as hard to leave their jobs as you would to leave IBM." Rationalizations unmasked, I glanced over. We exchanged grins, and I changed the subject.
Ladon Sheats, Baltimore,Maryland
Creative Witness
Clarence's biblical interpretations were non-traditional, and he felt that the Christian witness had to be similarly creative. The interpretation of biblical truth was not as sacred to him as the application of it. This latter area of discipleship was where Clarence proved the merit of his studious and disciplined approach to the Scriptures.
Bill Lane Doulos, Pasadena, CA, co-author of The Cotton Patch Parables of Liberation
Off the Mount
Clarence used to play the trumpet and ride with the cavalry as part of his ROTC training in college. He started memorizing the Sermon on the Mount while sitting on his horse. At the end of a maneuver on day he got off the horse, never to get back up on her again, saying, "I've done too much reading in the Bible to ride again." Clarence was sometimes accused of being a Communist because of the way the folks lived at Koinonia, and because of the people with whom he chose to associate. "Why, being around those people doesn't make me any more a Communist than being with you makes me a jackass."
Neil Shorthouse, Atlanta, GA
A Place of Equality
Koinonia was one of the few places in the South where social equality could be experienced. It took understanding of how people are transformed as well as personal courage to provide a place where equality could be practiced, especially at a time when most professed believers felt that it was more practical to theorize, research, and discuss the matter.
Myles Horton, Highlander Center, New Market, Tennessee
The Swap
Clarence was speaking with a pastor once, and the pastor was bemoaning the fact that he couldn't get his deacons to give any more money for the janitor's salary. So Clarence asked, "How many children does your janitor have?
The minister replied, "Eight."
"And how many do you have?"
The minister responded, "Four."
Clarence continued, "Do you make more money than the janitor?"
"Yes"
"I can solve your problem. You swap salaries with the janitor."
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Briars in the Cottonpatch
