The Greatest Man I Never Knew

            Wanda and I went to Armour to visit my parents over the Fourth of July.  It’s always good to see them, of course, but that’s not what I want to write about today.

            While we were there, my Mom gave me something.  It was a Czech language newspaper called The Slovak Presbyterian or, in Czech, the Slovensky Kalvin.  This was a Presbyterian newspaper in Czech that was published in the United States twice a month from 1907 through 1962.  My grandfather, Joseph Nadenicek, a Presbyterian pastor, was also the editor of this newspaper for about ten years, until his death on January 1, 1929.

            This was not the original of the newspaper.  Rather, it was an English translation done by my mother with help from my Uncle Paul.  The date on the newspaper is January 15, 1929.  In other words, it was the first edition of the newspaper published after my grandfather passed away.

            This edition of the newspaper was dedicated to him, but it was more than that.  It contains eulogies of my grandfather.  It contains a description of his funeral.  There was all kinds of stuff about him that I never knew.

            I’ve written a little bit about my grandfather in the past.  He’s the only one in my family, at least in my direct line, who was in the ministry.  I never knew him, of course.  My mother really has no memory of him, as she was only three and a half when he died.  Still, because we now share the same profession, he’s been something of an inspiration to me since I became a pastor.

            I keep a picture of him in my office and look at it from time to time.  I’ve wondered, what would he think of me?  I suspect he’d be pleased that I’d gone into the ministry—he’d had a plan that one of his children would become a pastor, and while that never happened, at least now he’s got a grandson who did.

            What would he think, though, of my approach to ministry?  What would he think of my views on theology?  Am I anything like him?  I would think about these questions, but I had no way to answer them.

            Now, I do, at least in part.  It pleases me to note that we are somewhat similar, at least in some ways.  Some of the things he believed, some of the ways he approached life and ministry, seem to have come down through my mother to me. 

It’s amazing to think about how we can influence people in ways that we never know or even dream of.  So, what I’m going to do over the next few weeks is share some of the things I’ve learned about my grandfather with you.  I know it will be meaningful to me.  I hope it will be meaningful to you, too.