Reed Delivers OBU Chapel Message Oct. 4

Rev. Dr. John A. Reed, Jr., senior pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, delivered the chapel message Oct. 4 in Raley Chapel’s Potter Auditorium. His message came from Luke 7 and was titled, “Are you the one?”

He taught about how John the Baptist sent messengers to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

“Are you the one? …this is one of the most crucial questions found in the New Testament scriptures,” Reed said. “We all know that the scripture teaches and really admonishes us to be faithful, to endure, and also to persevere, to hold on and hold out, until we overcome and until our deliverance comes. There are times when we can bear our burdens without complaint or without doubt, and even when our faith strengthens as well as conquers, but there are other times when we’re not sure. There are times when our faith gets a little shaken and we begin to really wonder and doubt.”

He talked about how even John the Baptist sought one more confirmation, just to be certain, that Jesus was the promised Messiah, comparing those doubts to doubts we all experience in our own lives. He also talked about how it was possible that rumors and news that came to John from Jesus’ ministry was likely filled with false stories, causing him to have doubts.

“Rumors can make you have second thoughts about things, people that you love, people that you believe in, people that you have confidence in. And next you don’t know who to believe or what to believe, and so, like John, we begin to question.”

He received his high school education from Washington High School in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He then earned a Bachelor of Theology from the Oklahoma School of Religion at Langston University. He has also completed further studies at Central State University and Midwest Christian College. Two Doctor of Divinity degrees were conferred upon him, one by the University of Central America in June 1989, and the other by Jackson Theological Seminary of North Little Rock, Arkansas, in May 2000. The Tennessee School of Religion conferred upon him the Doctor of Humane Letters in August 1994, and in 2004, his alma mater, Oklahoma School of Religion, also conferred upon him the Doctor of Humane Letters.

Reed is a dynamic and inspiring gospel preacher with 60 years of ministry experience. He has served as pastor of Fairview for more than 50 years. He has likewise served as a member of the board of directors of the Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City, and was appointed by past Oklahoma Governor David Walters to the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Commission. He has served as past president of the Coalition of Civic Leadership, the Oklahoma Baptist State Convention and the Oklahoma Baptist Congress of Christian Education; past moderator of the East Zion District Association; and past vice president of the National Baptist Congress of Christian Education.

He currently serves as vice president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, western region; president of the Baptist Minister’s Association; president of the Concerned Clergy for Spiritual Renewal of Greater Oklahoma City; board member and lifetime member of the NAACP; member of the Oklahoma City Public Schools foundation; and member of the Oklahoma County Community Sentencing Council, as well as a member of the board of directors of the National Baptist Convention, USA.

Reed has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe, South America, Asia, Israel and Egypt. He was married to the late Dr. Patricia F. Reed for 51years at the time of her passing on Feb. 13, 2014. He is the proud father of two daughters, LaShai Rhone and Johnneese Walter, and the grandfather of Kaubriana Walter, Derrick Walter, Jr. and Tonia Rhone.