RALPH EASTERWOOD

Ralph and Gwen Easterwood

   Ralph Easterwood was born in 1935 and when he came to Glen Haven Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia, at the age of twelve, he came---to use his own words---" to meet girls".
   To meet girls.  Can you stand that?  Can you stand that a preacher would admit that he came to a church to meet girls?
   You don't know Ralph Easterwood.  He told us the truth about meeting girls as he also told us the truth about everything else he believed to be true. 
   Linda and I met the Reverend Ralph Easterwood in 1983 when we lived in Stone Mountain, and, to us as well as to the church, he was known as simply Brother Ralph.
   Brother Ralph understood the purpose of the pulpit, he understood the value of prayer and study, and he also understood the value of not wasting time.
   To help us to understand better, or to see a nugget of truth, he was always saying, "mark it down," "write it down," "make a note of this in the margin of your Bible," or "underline this in your Bible."
   No matter if Brother Ralph was preaching on Sunday morning, Sunday night, or Wednesday night, his technique was always the same:  to teach the word of the Lord.
   From 1983 and for the next fourteen years, we learned more about the Bible from Brother Ralph than from any preacher we have ever heard, including up to this day; for even after we left Glen Haven and retired and eventually moved to Illinois, we still remember all that we learned from him in those days.
   When I began writing the 7th Highway five and a half years ago, the rock of my understanding Biblical truth was built in me through the teaching and preaching of Brother Ralph.  Had it not been for this foundation, it is doubtful that the 7th Highway would have become what it is today.  For this, I am always thankful to God for having me in that place so many years ago.
   In closing, let me share Brother Ralph's favorite Bible verse:
      "I am crucified with Christ:  nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:  and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."  (Galatians 2: 20)
   Thank you, Brother Ralph, for all the giving that you have unselfishly given to hundreds or perhaps thousands of people in our lifetime.
   We heard you, Brother Ralph.  We marked it down!