To most of my readers this will be a name you've never heard. That's why I am writing about him. Vance Havner 1901-1986. In the late forties, while attending youth camp at Siloam Springs, Arkansas I heard him preach. In fact, I heard him all week. He was fascinating and funny. He did not mince words. He was a rather small man with a whiney-type voice. Not at all the appearance of a great orator, but he was indeed a gifted speaker. Though gone for twenty-three years one can type in Vance Havner and get all kinds of information. That's what I did.
He was born in the vicinity of Jugtown in Western North Carolina, in 1901. His first school was at Hog Hill.( We are not talking uptown here.) His education continued at South Fork Institute and Boiling Springs High School. Later he would attend Catawba College, Wake Forest University, and Moody Bible Institute. As a child he would draw Bible stories and add his own comments. He would write 38 books. He preached in churches, large and small. He spoke at Bible conferences in all denominations. Vance Havner has probably been quoted by more preachers of the past than any other person. He was named "preacher of the year" in 1973 by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. When seriously ill in the 70's Billy Graham told him, "You can't go home just yet. We preachers need more sermon material!".
Let me share some his quotes. There are hundreds.
"We are the salt of the earth, mind you, not the sugar. Our ministry is to truly cleanse and not just change the taste."
"Plenty of church members are shaky about what they believe, while NOT MANY are shaken by what they believe."
"Doing leads more surely to talking than talking to doing."
"Many people are in a rut and a rut is nothing but a grave - with both ends kicked out."
"The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs."
"Life for the christian does not always run along in story-book style. The hero is not always crowned, the honest do not always get rich, nor does the noble knight invariably claim the princess and live happily ever after; sometimes it happens, but oftener it does not. This leads weak believers to question God's promises and live in the doldrums because their faith is not the password to every garden of desire..."
Vance Havner.... a man who marked the trail he walked so others could follow.
