Craig Nash

I met Craig soon after walking into Feagin Hall, the freshman guys dorm, at East Texas Baptist University for the very first time. I believe Robert and I were just walking through to check it out, not even moving in quite yet. And Robert had apparently met Craig at Super Summer that summer before, so when they saw each other, one or the both of them recognized a familiar face and proceeded to cordially say 'hello,' 'good to see you again,' and Robert introduced me to Craig as his friend from Atlanta that would also be living there.

Craig was my new and first Resident Director there in Feagin Hall, where I would live that first year at ETBU. And it was a great year! Some, or even most, of my most memorable experiences that year had Craig in them. You see, it was just the week after we had moved in that Craig let me, Robert, and Aaron (the Atlanta guys) know that we were welcome to come watch Seinfeld with him if we wanted. Thinking how cool it was to be able to go watch Seinfeld (which I had really never watched) with our new important powerful authoritative Resident Director, I went at the first invite with, I believe, Aaron... or was it Robert? Anyhow, one of the two of them. But, after that first time, it varied between the three of us, but I almost always went, as I remember.

I remember that year Craig working so hard to perfect his chili recipe for the Fry Hall chili cookoff, and I remember how good his chili ended up. I remember him experimenting with cooking quite a bit that year and making much progress.

I remember one Friday night that I was supposed to be at a campout for the college ministry at Mobberly Baptist Church in Longview. I went all the way to Longview, couldn't find anyone (and didn't know anyone's cell phone that would be there), so I, alone and bored, went back to ETBU, about 8:00 at night, wondering what in the world I would do with my weekend. Most of my friends were gone that weekend. So, I just sat in my room and started reading And the Word Came with Power by Joanne Shetler, which was the story of her time spent with the people of Papua New Guinea as a missionary. It was wonderful, and I didn't take a single break (as I remember). I finished reading it around 3:45 or so the next morning and remember having energy and not being able to sleep.

So, I put on running clothes and went for a run through Marshall: around campus, down to the square, through the surrounding neighborhoods... And I only mention this story because I have this snapshot in my head of finishing up my run near the Student Center in the middle of campus and seeing Craig Nash walking up a hill toward the Student Center. I said "hey Craig!" and he asked me what I was doing up so early. I told him, and he said he was going to get breakfast. I told him I would go with him, but it turned out it wasn't open quite yet, so, I think I ended up going to get showered and dressed before going back to eat breakfast with him. This was one of the first one on one conversations I ever had with him.

This sort of memory is important to me because it reminds me of such a crucial window of time in my relationship with who has now become one of my dearest friends in the world. It was important because we did not really know or feel comfortable with each other yet, but I was sure that I WANTED to know him. So, despite feeling awkward with myself in small talk and conversation around a new person, I was certain that this was a person whom I should risk the awkwardness with.

You see, with Craig, you learn pretty quickly that it is not important to try to be someone you're not, to put on a mask or persona, to advertise your accomplishments or network, or that sort of thing. He is easy to be present with. Even if the situation might feel awkward, like if you don't know him well yet, or if it is awkward simply because you are close friends but haven't seen or REALLY been in touch with him in what seems like forever, you still know that he is at least SAFE.

That sort of statement is really a powerful statement about a person in these days and times. I mean, folks with whom you can REALLY feel safe are few and far between. SAFE is good, because it means that there is a lack of pretention, a lack of competition, a lack of intimidation, a lack of agenda. SAFE is also good because it means there is a presence of acceptance, of sincerity, of sensitivity, and of grace. I say "grace" because you can screw up pretty bad as Craig's friend, say something stupid, forget his birthday, not get around to calling him when it is your turn, or get into some other kind of fix with him because of poor planning or bad decision-making, and the fact of the matter is that he will most likely still be your very good friend, still care for you, forgive you, love you, call you, miss you, and all that. Because Craig is so incredibly loyal. And for this and more, he is such a good friend.

Craig is NOT very clean or organized, which is something that I always kind of appreciated about him. You see, everyone always thought that if they were not very clean or disorganized that I would be repulsed by them. But the truth is, this gave me the opportunity to do something for Craig that I DO enjoy, while we were in Feagin. I remember one day sneaking into his apartment to clean up his kitchen and living room before he got back from his office. I was so excited to hear what he thought after coming home to the surprise. I once reorganized David Ritsema's large book library before he got home from work for the same reason. Cleaning and organizing is something I enjoy. So we are given opportunities to share what we enjoy with our friends. Like Craig, for instance, shares with me his easy presence, loyalty and acceptance, and wisdom about following Christ and understanding politics.

I'm assuming that Craig will remain in Waco for a long, long while now, if not the rest of his life. He moved to Waco after leaving Marshall and ETBU. And though he didn't care for it that much at first, he got used to it, invested in people, and became integrated into a meaningful community of Christ followers. And so he'll probably stay around. Not because he's not ambitious or because he couldn't go somewhere neater or do something "better" or anything like that. But because he realizes that the grass is just damn fine on this side and more beautiful every day.

Aaron O'Kelley

I officially met Aaron in fifth grade at a junior varsity football game (the Atlanta Rabbits!). His brother Adam and my brother Jason were both in seventh grade and on the JV team at the time. His mother knew my mother, and since we were sitting near them, Aaron and I were somehow introduced. At this encounter, I asked Aaron if he wanted me to show him the secret way to get under the bleachers. If you are from Atlanta, you must remember that this was at the old Rabbit stadium near the Junior High. The area under the bleachers had a fence around it, but you could slip under there at a place near the bleachers entrance to get under and find "half-time footballs" that had been thrown by the cheerleaders at the crowd, only to have fallen under to my satisfaction.

From that point on, Aaron and I were friends, and I began to be included in the "in crowd" of guys that played Nerf Turbo football everyday at recess. Guys in that crowd included Aaron O'Kelley, Mason Steger, Dustin Kirkland, Clint Crowder, Chris Schaeffer, Aaron Lofton, Luke Addington, Greg Fouche, Daniel Welch, etc. I remember that Chris would get "injured" frequently during these games, and we would threaten to go get Mrs. LaFevre to take care of him (we won't talk about how she carried her lunch trays) so that he would immediately get up and shake it off.

Things that everyone remembers about Aaron from going through school with him are (1) he was a straight "A" student, bright as all get out, (2) he was an extremely nice guy whom every teacher and student liked, both cool and smart, (3) he had a deep faith and a sharp knowledge of Scripture, and (4) he was quite the lady's man until he settled down in seventh grade and started dating Joni, who seven years later became his wife. Things like brains, friendliness and sincerity, being well-liked, talented and loyal stick out when I think of Aaron.

But you have quite a mix of things going on with Aaron in Junior High. He is all of these things mentioned, but he was also the "trouble student" for Mrs. Donna Rice, who invented "Skid Row" in her classroom in his honor. I don't even remember how or why, but he sure did wreak havoc in her class in seventh grade. He also started a "devotional" time outside the JH in the mornings out by an old oak tree near the tennis courts. He would give a five minute or so spill from the Bible, and we would pray and sometimes sing. I don't remember it so well, but I remember at some point it became somewhat controversial among certain teachers that we were doing this.

Aaron was the kind of guy that I started to hang around as much as possible after meeting him because he was neato, well-liked, popular, you know, but soon felt very comfortable with as a friend... while at the same time, he continued to intimidate me through the years, because he seemed to be perfect at everything, and it seemed that I could beat him in nothing, academics, sports, social life, etc. And it is very important to note that it was Aaron's faith, perhaps more than anyone else's, that influenced my own through Junior High and High School. I considered him both a friend AND a spiritual model or mentor, of sorts.

After Aaron met Joni, he continued to stay close to his closest friends, but pretty much faded away as a social entity. I remember being so proud when he let me be his cross-examination debate partner, and we had quite a run of it through the four years of high school. We had this tradition in debate that about once a year when we were doing especially bad during a round, I would stand up for the rebuttal and, rather than giving a formal speech as usual, would say something ridiculous and irrelevant.

My freshman year, while debating about global warming, I had stood up and told the judge to vote for us because the polar ice caps would never melt, and that I was certain of this because God sent a rainbow to Noah and promised to never again flood the earth. Of course, we believed this but mostly I just said it to be radical and for shock value, so that we would have a story to tell later. Another year, we were losing so bad (something about juvenile violence) that I just stood up for my rebuttal and said, "Purple cows don't go 'Moo,' they go 'Oom.'" I got told on by that judge to Mrs. Tomberlain, our coach. She was not happy.

I was in a Christian band with Aaron all through high school, Fishers of Men, and we even made a couple of cd's. Aaron wrote all the songs but two, which I wrote, and we had a jolly good time, especially when we got to practice at the Blue House, an old shack out by Chris Schaeffer's old house.

I then roomed with Aaron at East Texas Baptist University until he got married to Joni, my cousin. I remember that I used to take a nap most days after lunch, and he eventually started taking naps in the afternoon as well, following my lead. So, I would go all out and blacken out our windows, put on background music, and we'd do the nap thing. Sounds gay, but don't worry, we were in separate beds, and he never did the "No, you cannot have the mango" unless two or more friends were around.

Aaron is quite a fellow. A pastor now at Corn Creek Baptist Church in Milton, Kentucky, and a seminary student finishing his M.Div. at THE Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Conservative and fundamentalist as all get out, and about a fifteen point Calvinist... and I guess you can blame that on me, because I'm the one that bought him Desiring God by John Piper for his 19th birthday. Now whether you fall in line with Aaron's beliefs or not, you must know that he is brilliant and knows his stuff backwards and forwards. Remember, he was in debate in school, and boy, let me tell you, he'll school YOU if you aren't careful. (But for goodness sake, don't let that stop you... in fact write a blog about anything and let the goodtimes roll.)

For reals though, if you want someone who is always thoughtful about everything he says and does, who will be a loyal friend through the years until you're old and gray and dead, who will have all sorts of questions about your salvation if you're a liberal or a Northwesterner or disagree with Al Mohler or John Piper or but will never let that get in the way of your friendship, you've got to know that this Aaron guy is quite stellar.