Written by John Dobbs has encouraged us to blog about ministers who have influenced us. Looking back, I can think of two who have had a profound influence on my faith and ministry.
During my sophomore year at Harding University, the College Church of Christ hired a new minister named Mike Cope. He was a young man — only a few years older than me. It didn’t take long to realize that the College Church had made a good choice. I had never heard preaching like this before (and I had grown up “going to church”). He dug deeply into the Word, using humor, stories, cultural references, and practical applications.
He was able to connect with teens, college students, young families, empty-nesters, and the elderly. But he seemed to connect especially well with the college students. He was the preacher for a very large church, yet he was very personable. While talking with him my junior year, I learned that I was living in the same dorm room he had lived in when he was a student. He started a Wednesday night “Peak of the Week” class on Harding’s campus that had to keep switching to larger venues because of it’s growth. Everyone I knew looked forward to that class each week. His teaching had a profound influence on my faith — helping me to see things in a whole new way. He seemed to be asking the same questions that I was asking. I think I learned more about preaching from listening to Mike than from any class I took at Harding — and I had some very good classes and professors while I was a student. But Mike was able to “show me” how it’s done. I will always be thankful for Mike’s influence.
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