Barnabas. The one who believed and introduces the apostle Paul to the world. Without Barnabas the apostle may have never been given a chance. Paul is a terrorist, extremist, a known threat to every Christian. In an instant he is transformed by the power of God on a Damascus Road. Unfortunately, few were there to see and experience his conversion. This brought about much uncertainty, fear, and many saw it as a ploy to antagonize more Christians. Barnabas, who isn’t one of the 12 apostles and is someone we know very little about, will believe in Paul. Barnabas does not realize it in the moment but his act will be the catalyst behind the man who will write over half of the New Testament and spread the gospel to much of the known world. I would suggest that many leaders have been impacted by “Barnabas’” those who are overlooked and forgotten, but have been critical in shaping the character and influencing many successful leaders.
My Barnabas was Tom O’Daniel. He and his wife had been successful missionaries to Kenya. At the time I met him, he was the vice-president of Indiana Bible College. After leaving Indiana Bible College he would go on to be an impactful part of Great Lakes College in Auburn Hills, Michigan and Urshan Graduate School in St. Louis, Missouri.
Above all your talent, skills, education, and creativity one of the most critical elements to success is having someone who believes in you. This is what Tom did for a 27-year-old man. I’m not sure I will ever fully grasp why, but for some reason he saw something in me and decided to invest in me. He brought me on as a college dorm supervisor. He empowered me, gave me opportunities, and continually spoke words of encouragement to me. Many days he would invite me into his office, share stories, and pour his wisdom into me. I quickly realized that Tom O’Daniel was incredibly brilliant, one of the most wise and intelligent men I have ever met.
Over time he slowly began to release my talents. Though computers were relatively new, and something I had little experience with, he convinced me I had the skills not only to learn basic computing, but suggested with training, I could build an academic data base for the college. Surprising even myself, it was a highly successful endeavor and was used for over 20 years. About a year after coming on board an instructor became ill and he asked me to fill in. While educated, I felt terribly inadequate to teach, having knowledge but not experience. He pushed me, and because he did, teaching became an interictal part of my ministry. By the time I walked away from the college I was teaching five courses and had a gained a profound appreciation of God’s Word. It never happens if Tom O’Daniel is not in my life.
Beyond pressing me to learn the technical skills and pushing me to go into instruction, Tom saw a creative side in me. It was something I knew I had inside of me but wasn’t sure how the gift would ever be released. Tom began sending Mary and I to conferences and meetings to promote the college. He released me to do creative give aways, promotions, and allowed my gift to flourish. At national conferences we brought high end sports cars, climbing walls, and print and video projects that were cutting edge at the time. People would literally stop us and ask, “what’s it going to be this year Hudson?” He allowed me to reimagine the footprint of classrooms, build a volleyball pit, and asked me to build the colleges first print catalog. Thanks to Tom O’Daniel I was living beyond what I thought was possible.
Tom is a man of incredible integrity. I witnessed how he would defend the underdog, stand up for what was right, and take the high road when it often meant it would impact how people viewed him. I will never forget one of our last conversations as he was vacating his role as vice-president. I had gone through a very rough three-hour meeting and the next day as I was tentatively making my way on campus, I was met by Tom and in a stern voice he says, “Hudson, in my office, now.” Fear instantly gripped me, thinking, here we go again. He shut the door of his office, turned with tears in his eyes, and said, “I’m sorry for what you had to go through.” I was stunned.
Tom’s life has not been easy. Mary and I will never forget the fateful morning we found out that his son J.J. O’Daniel had lost his life in a horrific car accident. We watched in amazement as he and his wife bravely walked through their sons shocking death with such faith, integrity, and humility. He taught, not in the classroom, but by his life example in good times and bad.
Nearly 20 years removed from my time with Tom, the world needs to know about my Barnabas. Without him Jon and Mary Hudson would not have impacted over three thousand ministry students in our 15 years at Indiana Bible College. Without Tom there would have been no startup church in Fishers, Indiana called Life Connections. We would not have impacted thousands of lives in central Indiana. His releasing of my creativity, building of our confidence, and giving us incredible opportunities to grow, were all critical to its success. His belief in us set in motion our future and the impact we have had on our world.
Truth be told, I am not one, but one of many, whose life has been impacted by Tom O’Daniel. There are pastors in churches, missionaries in foreign fields, and musicians that fill churches because of the Barnabas, Tom O’Daniel. Tom, thank you for believing in Mary and I and countless others. Your impact will not be fully known and exposed until we all get to heaven.
In their day they were the dynamic duo. One was the pastor, the other the assistant. One was charismatic, the other the work horse. Both could hit a softball further than about anyone else I’ve ever met. Get them on the same team and they were unbeatable. Both had incredible talent and million-dollar smiles. They and their wives merged at the perfect time, built a multi-million-dollar building, and took Calvary Tabernacle to a different dimension. In their day, they were an unstoppable force.
Thank you, Jim Brannon, for doing what so many aren’t willing to do, be the second man. You set the gold standard for the role. You have led with excellence as a pastor, dad, grandpa, and businessman. I admire and appreciate you, and I am thankful for your example. You have not only been someone that I look up to, but someone I wanted to emulate. Mary and I are proud to be able to call you and Janet our friends. Your reward in heaven will be greater than you could ever imagine.
As I reflect on back on important people in my life and ministry there is a man that impacted my life in such a profound way and is the reason I decided to walk with God. I was twelve when my parents left a small church and brought me to a large church in Indianapolis. The pastor at the time, N.A. Urshan, while a great man, was in my eyes, old. He was in his early fifties, his messages seemed to be over my head, and church seemed to be all about what I couldn’t do. It was just a couple years after we started attending that pastor Urshan left for a position in St. Louis and a new pastor was voted in. The new pastor instantly arrested my attention. He was 25, had a smile that wouldn’t quit, was energetic, 6’7”, played basketball, and had a passion for sports. I was 15, loved sports, especially basketball and needed a person of influence.
Within months of James Larson becoming my pastor, I had surrendered my life to Jesus, was filled with the Spirit, and my life was forever changed. He was fun, charismatic and creative, loved to worship, and his messages were convicting, yet relative to me as a teenager. I didn’t think that fun and God could go together, he showed me differently. In his daily life I saw his humanity, he didn’t mind mixing it up when playing basketball, in fact, he instigated some of the fights during the games, he was highly competitive. Playing softball, he was brash, and could hit a ball a country mile. His messages often brought up the Minnesota Twins baseball team or the Vikings football, all which appealed to me.
He and his wife were incredible people of prayer. My passion and commitment to prayer is directly a result of watching their lives. Multiple times a year we would have prayer and fasting revivals and every night the place filled to capacity. Miracles happened, lives were changed, but most of all, those who set under James Larson developed a lifelong love for prayer. Beyond the prayer revivals, he would be in the prayer room before every Sunday service, crying out, circling the room, praying, and pleading for God to move in the service. His passion for prayer was contagious, the place would be packed, so much so that people would be waiting in line to get in the prayer room. It was commitment to prayer that fueled my love for prayer, my ministry, and caused me to teach so passionate about the need to have a daily prayer life.