Influences: Max Rees

It was a true blessing in my career to work with some incredible Senior Pastors (and some real duds!).  The character and devotion to Christ of your leader has a huge impact on all aspects of a church, including the student ministry.  When Marilyn and I arrived at Springfield Friends Meeting in 1986, Max Rees  had already been there over 2o years.  The Meeting was coming out of a very difficult time, and many people had chosen sides between the departed Wallace Sills and Max.  Attendance was down, and so was enthusiasm.  But Max did not waiver in his faith in God or in the people of Springfield.  And his wife Avis was just as strong.  Both of them were of great encouragement to Marilyn and me, and we worked as a team to help bring Springfield back.

That is not to say that they were perfect.  They had been there a very long time and had many preconceived notions of how everything should be done. They were in bed by "Quaker Midnight" (10pm) and up before the sun.  Avis never threw anything away, so we had Sunday School materials dating back to the Ice Age!  She also made me wear a bunny suit one Easter (pictured above).  Max often disappeared in the afternoons to go feed his cows.  These were minor flaws.  The fact is, they gave their lives each and every day to serve the people of Springfield, and in doing so set a standard for me to live up to.  Through blessed times and struggles their faith did not waiver, and their love for God, for each other, for their family and for their "flock" never changed.  They were indeed the "First Family" of Springfield.

The late Rich Mullins wrote a song about his family in 1989 called First Family, from his album Never Picture Perfect.  In the early 90's I rewrote part of it to fit the Rees family, planning to sing it when Max retired.  He was still going strong when I left in 1994, so I never performed it.  But I would like to share the words now.  They don't all fit perfectly- and some of it is how I imagine things to have been- but they express how I see Max and Avis...

Those folks they were always the first family to arrive

with 9 people jammed into a car that seated 5

With one bathroom to bathe and shave in eight of 'em stood in line

There was no hot water for laundry, but they all did just fine

Talk about your miracles, talk about your faith

Max, he could make things grow out of Indiana clay

and Avis could make a gourmet meal out of homemade bread and beans

They worked to give faith hands and feet, and somehow gave it wings

I can still hear Max fussing, he's working late on on the farm

the cows are out of the fence again and the tractor just won't start

and Avis is doing laundry, I can see it waving on the line

They just counted on Jesus through the pain and strain of hard times

Talk about your miracles, talk about your faith

Max, he could make things grow out of Carolina clay

and Avis could make a gourmet meal out of pecan pie and beans

They worked to give faith hands and feet, and somehow gave it wings

Somehow they raised 7 children, and you know that some things went wrong

but the pain didn't leave them crippled, and the scars just made them strong

Never picture perfect, just a preacher man and his wife

who somehow knew the value of hard work, good love and real life

Talk about your miracles, talk about your faith...

Thank you, Max and Avis, for giving the faith of so many so much encouragement for so many years.  You and your family will forever hold a special place in my heart.  And thanks, Rich.  I know the angels are singing your songs these days...

Because of Jesus,