By Michael Freeman, Managing Editor
Whenever Dr. Prentice Meador Jr. would call his longtime friend Dr. Royce Money after going through the switchboard to reach the president of the university, he would not begin the conversation by stating his name.
“He would not say, ‘Hi, this is Prentice;’ he would start by saying, ‘There was this salesman…’ And he would start out with this long rambling joke,” Money said. “He loved to laugh. He was very fun-loving.”
Meador, a former ACU board of trustee member and the Batsell Barrett Baxter Chair of Preaching at Lipscomb University, died Nov. 25 in Nashville after a brief illness. He was 70. But many will remember him for more than his sense of humor; they will remember his influences at ACU and on Churches of Christ.
“In my opinion, he was the most effective, all-around minister I’ve ever known,” Money said. “He could do it all. And he was a professor so he had the heart of teacher. But he had the voice of a prophet, of a public proclaimer of the Gospel. It’s rare that you find both those gifts in the same person.”
Meador earned his bachelor’s degree from Lipscomb University in 1960, and his master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Illinois, Urbana. Meador began teaching at UCLA as an assistant professor of communication in 1963. He then went on to teach at the University of Washington, Missouri State University and ACU, throughout the way specializing in Greek, Roman and Medieval studies.
Meador met and served as a pulpit minister with Money in Missouri during the mid-1970s.
In 1986, he was elected to the ACU Board of Trustees after making a favorable impression at a speaking engagement at the school the previous year. He served on the Board of Trustees for 21 years, retiring in 2007.
“I would call him a spiritual stabilizer on the board,” Money said. “He was always positive, always inspirational, always challenging ACU to be better and more effective and to have greater impact in the Kingdom [of God]. I think his advice was often sought out by the board.”
Meador also was known for his ministry work. He made several mission trips to Russia, before and after the fall of Communism there. He often appeared on the American Religious Town Hall Television Program, a weekly television program where clergy from different religious denominations debate religious, political and social issues. Meador also wrote several religious books, including Walk With Me, Genesis: The Great Story, Promises to Keep and Stories That Astonish: The Parables of Jesus. Meador became the managing editor of 21st Century Christian magazine in 1992. Twelve years later, he served as guest chaplain in the U.S. Senate.
“His circle of influence went far beyond Churches of Christ,” Money said. “He always reached out to people of other persuasions and backgrounds and felt very much at ease doing that. And I always admired that in him.”
Meador is survived by his wife, three children and their spouses and 10 grandchildren.
“He helped us to see the broader religious landscape and how ACU could have global impact,” Money said. “He was one of the early encouragers of that.”
