Prentice Meador

Preacher – Teacher – Mentor – Counselor – Friend

Brother – Husband – Dad – Poppy

 

Prentice was a passionate teacher, telling students the Story of Jesus.  He was a gifted communicator who saw teaching as an avenue through which lives of young people could be touched and transformed.  He did it well.

He was an influential preaching minister serving large churches in California, Illinois, Missouri, Washington, Tennessee and Texas for more than 40 years. But his ministry was not always in churches; sometimes it was on the campus of a major state university, on a nationally syndicated television show or in the hostile environment of Rostov-on-Don, Russia.  Wherever God called him, he took the message of Christ and ministered to those who were there.

Prentice was a wise member of the Lipscomb University and Abilene Christian University Boards of Trustees.  He cared deeply about the work of Christian education.  He was perceptive about the unique work of each school, was enthusiastic about each school’s potential and provided wisdom as he brought counsel to them both.

He was a change agent who never stopped seeking and listening to God’s will for his life.  He was on fire for Jesus Christ.

After his love for his Savior came his love for his family:  Prentice was a big brother and confidante to his sister, Linda; a devoted husband to his wife, Barbara, who was his partner in life and the wind beneath his wings.  He was the proud father of Lori Ann, Mark, and Kimberly and loved their spouses, Scott, Shelli, and Doug, as his own children.  And he was absolutely crazy about his grandkids:  Hayden, Palmer, Cole, Chase, Baker, Carson, Hampton, Sutton, Rees, and Madison. 

Today, we celebrate his life!  

Saturday's Webcast

Please monitor the homepage of Lipscomb University for the webcast of Saturday's service at http://www.lipscomb.edu

Thanksgiving

I know many of you have been praying for our family the last few days and wondering how we are doing.  It's hard -- really hard.  Unless you've walked this path before, words can't explain how deep and raw and fresh the grief is.  It's like being on a roller coaster.  There are moments of calm and clarity -- God has given us those, especially when decisions are being made.  Then there are times when a memory or a picture or a blog comment can cause the waves of grief to hit us hard and strong.  We are resting in verses such as these:

Isaiah 40:28-31 

Do you not know? 

Have you not heard? 

The LORD is the everlasting God, 

the Creator of the ends of the earth. 

He will not grow tired or weary, 

and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary 

and increases the power of the weak.

but those who hope in the LORD 

will renew their strength. 

They will soar on wings like eagles; 

they will run and not grow weary, 

they will walk and not be faint.

Matthew 11:28-29 

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

I know you all are heartbroken along with us and may be wondering why God didn't answer the prayer that so many of us were begging him to answer:  Please heal Prentice!  

A few weeks ago after Prentice's sermon on intercessory prayer, an older lady from our congregation whose son had lost his battle with cancer approached Prentice.  She asked him if maybe she just hadn't prayed hard enough because He hadn't seemed to have heard her.  At lunch that day, I asked Prentice, "What did you say to her?"  I wish I could remember the conversation word for word and I know I won't do it justice, but he explained that while there may be more, he was aware of three ways in which God works his will:  personal, earthly, and eternal.  What might be our answer to a personal prayer does not exactly affect the earthly realm, such as "Please sell our house."  Then there are those prayers that may not seem like they've been answered personally, but their effect is in the earthly or eternal realm, like "Please heal Prentice."   Personally, we didn't get the answer we desired.  But we can already see the effect this has had in the earthly realm.  And who can even imagine the effect this is having in the eternal realm.  

God hurts with us, but His purpose right here, right now may have been bigger than our personal pain.  In one brief moment, anyone who has ever been affected or touched by Prentice is thinking about him right now.  Please use this for His glory.  As boldly as Prentice shared Jesus with all of us, let that fuel you to tell even one person about Him.  Use the story of Prentice as your icebreaker.  Do not linger in sadness but proclaim Jesus in his honor.  

Acts 4:29-31 

Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

We prayed, our house has been shaken.  So go out into this world, filled with the Holy Spirit, and speak His word boldly.  That's what Prentice would want.

A Celebration of Prentice's Life

Visitation for Prentice will be Friday, Nov. 28 from 3-6 p.m. in the Doris Swang Chapel located in the Ezell Center at Lipscomb University, One University Park Drive, Nashville, TN 37204-3951.

 

A celebration of his life will take place Saturday, Nov. 29 at 2 p.m. in Collins Alumni Auditorium, Lipscomb University, One University Park Drive, Nashville, TN 37204-3951.

Here's a link for directions to the Lipscomb campus:  http://www.lipscomb.edu/page.asp?SID=&Page=197 and the campus map http://www.lipscomb.edu/page.asp?SID=4&Page=3170  

To read a tribute from Lipscomb University, go to 

http://www.lipscomb.edu/filter.asp?SID=4&fi_key=704&co_key=14765

To read a tribute from Abilene Christian University, go to 

http://www.acu.edu/news/2008/081125_meador_obit.html

Notes of encouragement may be sent to the Meadors at P.O. Box 158706, Nashville, TN 37215. 

In lieu of flowers, information about donations to a memorial scholarship will be provided soon.

The funeral home is 

Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton

660 Thompson Lane

Nashville, TN 37204
Phone: (615) 383-4754

November 25, 2008

At 6:08 a.m. this morning, surrounded by his wife, all of his children and their spouses, his sister, brother- and sister-in-law, and cousins, Prentice finished the race and crossed the finish line into the arms of Jesus, where he was greeted, no doubt, by his mother and dad.

This is the moment he has lived his whole life for and we were so blessed to have had these last couple of days with him.

Pray for Barbara as she grieves the loss of her husband of 48 years.

We will update when we know more about arrangements.

Praise God for a life well-lived in His service. We love you, Prentice/Dad/Poppy!!

**E-mails can be copied and pasted from shellimeador@hotmail.com if you're having trouble posting here.

November 24, Monday, 10:00 p.m.

Today has been a hard day.  But even in the midst of the uncertainty, the blessings continue to be poured onto us.  Palmer came through her procedure and now has that behind her -- praise God!  Kimberly's husband Doug and kids arrived safely so we're all here -- praise God!  Lipscomb faculty, staff, and students gathered in the chapel to sing, pray, and read scripture over speakerphone in Prentice's ear for an hour -- praise God!  In 24 hours, there were almost 10,000 hits on Prentice's blog (very impressive to his grandchildren!;) showing us how much he is loved -- praise God!  We continue to be completely amazed by the love showered on all of us by way of prayer, food, visits, etc.:  a true testament to what God intended the church to be.  Our kids are seeing something we could never have adequately explained -- praise God!

Although medical science is not giving us a lot of hope right now, because we rest in the risen Savior, Jesus Christ, we are choosing to hope!

What to pray:  Pray for complete healing of Prentice's body.  Pray for an uneventful and restful night for Prentice, Barbara, and our family.  Pray for pain management for Palmer as she's hurting quite a bit right now.  Pray for peace that passes all understanding.

We have been honored today to spend a lot of time with Prentice aka Poppy.  Barbara, his sister Linda, and all of us kids have prayed, sung, read scripture, talked, and laughed at his bedside, holding his hand all the while.  What a privilege to serve him in this way!

Tonight, we are resting in the arms of the Great Physician.

The Meador Family

*For anyone having trouble posting a message to the blog, please feel free to e-mail Shelli at shellimeador@hotmail.com and she will try to copy and paste those messages into the blog.

November 24, Monday, 1:00 p.m.

Prentice is still on dialysis and is a little less responsive today.  His fever is down.  There is no detectable pulse in his feet -- the blood is going to the organs that need it the most.

Please pray for his blood pressure to go up on its own without more medication and increased response to everything.  Also for the effects of the dialysis to kick in.

Thanksgiving for Palmer who made it through her procedure and is home recuperating.  Please pray for her pain to be managed over the next couple of days and strength for her mom and dad especially, who are trying to divide their time and resources.  They are truly amazing people!

God has given us all more strength emotionally, spiritually, and physically that we could have ever imagined.  Please pray for this to hold up as we are especially growing weary physically and yet, no one wants to leave his side, especially Barbara.  She continues to remain strong and calm and we know this is only from Him.

Although we can't respond to everyone, please know that every post, e-mail, text message, and phone message has been read or listened to.  We are blessed!!

November 24, Monday, 7:00 a.m.

The plan right now is to start Prentice on dialysis.  He's back on 100% oxygen on the ventilator, but is still conscious and responsive.  As one doctor put it, "This is a setback, but it's not game over."

What to pray:  That the dialysis solves the problem and is effective.  For his heart and lungs to stay strong.  Thanksgiving that Barbara is already feeling your prayers and is remarkably peaceful.  For Palmer and her hip procedure as she's at the hospital right now.

Lori Ann was able to run in and talk and love on her dad before heading over to Vanderbilt Children's to be with Palmer which was a blessing.

We have NO DOUBT who is control and we're trusting in His wisdom.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  We know there is not a man on this earth who is more covered in prayer right now.  You cannot know the peace that gives us. 

November 24, Monday, 5:30 a.m.

At about 4:00 a.m., Prentice coded again.  His nurse was standing right next to him and was able to immediately give mouth-to-mouth and get his heartbeat back without having the use the paddles.  What does this mean?  It's a definite setback.  The doctor believes it's one of two things:  a blood clot in his lung, which we don't know yet how they would proceed with that, or too much fluid due to lack of kidney function.  This could be corrected by dialysis.  They have drawn labs and should have those results in the next few minutes to help them know how to proceed.

What to pray:  Quick and clear diagnosis and treatment, peace and healing for Prentice, and especially peace for Barbara.  This episode, after her hopes had been so high that she was finally starting to relax, has really affected her.  Also, please pray for their daughter, Lori Ann, as she's torn right now.  Her daughter, Palmer, is due at the hospital in 15 minutes for her hip procedure.  We know without a doubt that Prentice would want -- okay, demand! -- that Palmer's care comes first.  Lori Ann knows that, but not being next to her dad right now is extremely difficult.

Will post as soon as we know more.  

Knowing and trusting that the Lord is always faithful,

The Meador Family 

November 23, Sunday, 6:00 p.m.

It's amazing how small, baby steps seem like leaps and bounds. Today has been a very encouraging day in many respects. Prentice is now responding to his family's voices and also to simple commands -- squeeze my hand, move your toes, etc. As of right now, he especially knows and wants Barbara near. The doctor has explained to him what has happened, so he's now aware, we believe, of why he is where he is. His oxygen levels continue to improve and our hope is that he's able to be extubated tomorrow. This will be a relief to him because it's really beginning to annoy him -- also good. He continues to run a high fever.

Here is what we're asking you to pray: Positive results from the drug, Lasix, given to him an hour ago to improve his kidney function. Continued lung improvement so he can be extubated tomorrow. Relief from fever and blood pressure up. Deep rest for him and Barbara tonight. More baby steps!

Also, for those of you following our sweet Palmer, she has her second hip procedure (core decompression) at 6:00 a.m. Monday morning at Vanderbilt Childen's, just a few blocks from where Prentice is. Please pray for the procedure to be successful, reversing the necrosis in her hip joint. Her web address is prayforpalmer.com.

God is faithful and in Him, we trust completely!

Summary of Events

This blog has been created to keep all of our family and friends updated on Prentice's progress. Words cannot express how blessed our family has been by the outpouring of love and prayers. The calls and visits and e-mails -- too many to count. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We know without a doubt that Prentice is feeling it as well.

It has all been a very surreal couple of days. Prentice had a high fever on Thursday night and by Friday morning, was having burning in his chest and feeling pretty weak. Barbara took him to the doctor where x-rays revealed pneumonia in his right lung. He decided to go ahead and admit him just to keep an eye on him. He continued to be quite uncomfortable due to chest pain.

At about 8:30 p.m. Friday night, his difficulty breathing necessitated moving him to ICU. The decision was eventually made to intubate him, more to stay ahead of the situation, as the doctor said. Around 11:00 p.m. and during the intubation process, Prentice coded, meaning his heart stopped. Mark was here with his mom and they were allowed to be nearby while the doctors worked to resuscitate him for over hour. After three seperate codes, his heart began to beat on its own, but his other organs continued to fail.

After his heart was ruled out as the culprit -- the doctor said his heart looked really good for a 50-year-old. At first, we thought we was kidding, but we think he was serious and just didn't realize that he was talking about a 70-year-old! That was the first bit of good news. It has been determined that he has septic shock, which is an infection that starts in one location -- maybe the pneumonia -- and then rapidly spreads with fierce determination through the blood to all of the organs, thus causing the shutdown of even the heart. We were given our first bit of hope with that news because there is a chance at reversal. And due to Prentice's great physical condition, those chances were even greater. Those of you who know Prentice know what a fighter he is. He was and is in for the fight of his life.

All of Prentice's children are here and have been camped out at the hospital, along with his sister Linda. They keep Barbara surrounded and taken care of. Cousins, grandchildren, sons- and daughter-in-law, friends from Nashville, friends from Dallas -- unbelievable!

Our goal is to keep this blog updated as we get information. If we know it, you will too in a short period of time. Please feel free to spread the word and pray, pray, pray!! Prentice had just given a sermon recently at Otter Creek Church here in Nashville where Mark and Shelli attend on "does prayer really work?" Believe us, it does and Prentice knows that.