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Benjamin Wade Allen, Jr.
February 28, 1949 - October 20, 2009
Disciple ~ Brother ~ Friend |
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Almost all of an iceberg's mass lies beneath the water, unseen and under appreciated. Meanwhile, the tip of the iceberg - which receives all the attention - owes everything to its unseen base floating below. And so it is for our sermon project here at Tell The Word. Brother Wade is our base.
We are now poised to make a half century of sermons available online at no cost to those who come here to enjoy and learn from them; to preserve forever God's counter-cultural words spoken through His meek servants at the Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC. This site, however, is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg, the part everyone will see. What few will ever be aware of is the enormous, thankless effort by Brother Wade to rescue these sermons and prepare them to be available here. Brother Wade is our base.
Modern technology allowed the last of these sermons to be recorded digitally as they were given. The vast majority, however, were captured on old reel-to-reels and audio cassettes. After several decades in a cramped, hot room above Church of the Saviour's headquarters, these old sermons were rotting, soon to be lost to the community and the world. With a sense of calling, love, and an investment of untold hours, however, Brother Wade tirelessly converted these old reels and cassettes to digital recordings that will last forever.
When the reels tore (as they always seem to do), he patched them. When the aging reel-to-reel machine broke, he repaired it. When the audio quality was poor, he used technology to improve it. For Wade, this was not a menial task that had to be completed. It was a mission, a labor of love. It was an important season in his spiritual journey. Wade listened attentively to each and every sermon, sometimes more than once, diligently recording the scripture references so sermons could be indexed, while also listening for God's message to him. For the years this work required, Wade invested a large portion of his life. And for that, we should all be thankful. Brother Wade is our base.
If you would like to give a gift in memory of Brother Wade and help complete the work he lovingly and tirelessly began, you are invited to contribute to this effort. To do so, click here.
Brother Wade, we love you and we miss you. You are our base upon which we build.