I remember Joyce
telling me that Ardell Lanier was on the phone.
If Ardell is calling me, I thought, it must be something important. It was.
One of Lexington’s
most generous and faithful servants is being laid to rest this weekend. Ardell Lanier was a successful businessman
who believed in giving back to the community who supported his business. He was a cornerstone in First United
Methodist Church. Ardell and Edna have
been generous benefactors of numerous agencies, charities, and worthy causes in
the community. My son’s agency, Carolina
Cancer Services, is indebted to the Lanier’s for the house where they are
headquartered.
Lanier Hardware
is an institution in our town. No visit
to Lexington is complete without time to browse through Lanier’s. If Lanier’s doesn’t have it—you probably don’t
need it. A few years ago I was getting
ready to go to Belize when I got a phone call from a missionary in Belize
telling me about a part he needed. I had
never heard of it.
“It will be hard
to find,” he told me.
I went to see
Ardell. He knew exactly what I was
talking about, but did not have it in stock.
“When do you need it?” He asked.
“I’m leaving for
Belize in two days,” I told him.
When I got on the
plane I had the part with me, thanks to Ardell.
But perhaps
nothing tells you more about the heart of this great man than the reason for
the phone call that day. Ardell told me
that the prison needed a chapel and he was committed to raising the money to
make it happen. He wanted me to serve on
the committee.
I had every
reason to say no. I was already serving
on two hospital boards, several community boards, and had more on my plate than
I could remember. But saying no to
Ardell never entered my mind. As Max
Walser said, “The members of the prison board all told me that God was leading
them to do this. I wasn’t sure I heard
the voice of God, but I heard Ardell’s voice and that was all I needed.”
Raising money to
build a chapel at the prison was an impossible task. Lexington’s economy was at an all time
low. The recovery from the recession had
not even started to materialize. And
this was a very unpopular cause. Many
people would not even consider investing in a chapel for prisoners.
But Ardell didn’t
worry about popular opinion or economic forecasts—he had a greater
calling. He accomplished the impossible
and a beautiful chapel is in use at the prison today. I don’t know of anyone who could have
accomplished that other than Ardell Lanier. And nothing tells you more about the heart of
this humble servant than his desire to build a prison chapel for the “least of
these.”
Hear the
words of Jesus from Matthew 25.
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his
glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his
glory. 32 All the nations will be
gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd
separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and
he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right
hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for
I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to
drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick
and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when
was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you
something to drink? 38 And when
was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you
clothing? 39 And when was it that
we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell
you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my
family, you did it to me.
Well done, good and faithful servant.
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