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Conferrance
When I was nine, my family moved from north Lexington to Nicholasville. Shortly thereafter my brothers and I were invited by a neighbor to come to church with them. Every week the Methodist Church van would come by our house and pick us up. Over time my brothers stopped going, but, for whatever reason, I did not. All through high school the van regularly stopped, blew its horn, and out the door I would come.
Shortly after I started attending Nicholasville UM I met a man. To a nine year old he looked like a very old and wrinkly man. This ancient man came up to me between Sunday School and Church announced that he was C. R. Hager, shook my hand, asked my name, which I answered, and he welcomed me to the church. In my short life I had not experienced someone that old, nor had I experienced someone so strange to me. 
The second or perhaps third time I saw Dr. Hager we had a short conversation, which I have never forgotten. He told me that he knew two things. First, that I was going to graduate High School and the he would be there, and second, that I was going to go to Asbury College.
At the brilliant young age of nine or ten, I too knew two things. Graduating High School seemed obvious to me, so it never crossed my mind as anything else. What I did know, however, was, one, I didn’t know who this crazy old man was, but I didn’t want to have any thing to do with him, and, two, I didn’t know what this Asbury College thing was, but if it had anything to do with this crazy old man, I didn’t want to have anything to do with it either.
I didn’t see Dr. Hager that often, perhaps every four to six weeks. When I did see him, he would always stop, ask how I was doing, and then would do that thing. He would do that thing that was so far outside of my understanding of reality that it only reinforced my notion as to his lack of mental stability. This nosy old man with all his wrinkles would ask a question – whether it be “How are you doing?” or “How was school?” and, if that wasn’t enough, this man would stand there and wait for you to respond! He would then ask me about something that I had mentioned in one of our previous conversations!
As I moved into Junior and Senior High this crazy old man seemed to not be quite so old. Almost like he was growing younger as time passed. Also over time it seemed maybe he wasn’t as crazy as I was led to believe. In fact, I began to watch out for him each week and looked forward to sharing my life with him. Occasionally, I even had the opportunity to hear about his life. In particular, I remember him telling me of how he would get to college – each day taking a horse from the farm east of town to Elm Street where the stable was. From there he would get on the train – “it only cost a nickel” – that would take him to the edge of Wilmore. He would get off the train and walk the rest of the way to the college. In the evening he would do the reverse working his way back across the county to his home.
In 1985 Jessamine County High School commencement ceremony was held at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington. Up in the seats behind my graduating class was C.R., as he asked me to call him.
Two years later on April 1st, through circumstances too long to go into here I walked into the Administration offices of Asbury College’s campus and applied for admittance. None of my family, friends, or even people at my church knew I had applied. In July I received my acceptance letter and dormitory assignment.
Intelligence wise, I was more than capable of handling Asbury. However, scholastically, emotionally, and discipline wise, I was not. I had never learned how to “do school”. I graduated High School with a 2.27 GPA, but scored in the 99th percentile on my ACT’s. My grades at Asbury were not much better.
One day I was called to the Registrar’s office. There, Dr. Thomas and C. R. were having a pleasant conversation. Apparently they had been discussing my academics and also my finances. C. R. told me that I needed to improve academically, and that he would talk to Barb Smith about my finances.
I found out later that C. R. had gone to the Director of Financial Aid’s office with check book in hand. Barb and he discussed things and it was “miraculously” determined that that I was eligible for the Church Match Program to which my church had given over $500 and the school matched it.
I finally “walked” graduation in June of 1992 and finished that December In that year Asbury had had some administrative issues and Dr. Hager had stepped in as interim President – for the forth time. When I walked I received a diploma cover. Inside was a note that said that I would receive a diploma when I had met the academic requirements and had met my financial obligations to the college.
Three days after walking graduation I got married. A little before, Mrs. Hager had brought us a wedding present to church one time when we visited and gave it to my fiancé in the parking lot as they were heading into the church. It was a recipe holder and a rolling pin. Not just any rolling pin, this one had a non-stick surface. My fiancé didn’t know how to cook, and I am sure she gave Ruth a questioning look concerning the present. She just grinned and said, “Well, I thought you might need something to beat him over the head with, and with the non-stick surface the blood will just wipe right off!” and into the church the grinning couple went.
In 1997, we finally paid off the Asbury portion of our school loans – leaving only the $87,000 we owed in federal loans. We were living in Washington State at the time. One day in the mail I received a package. The contents of which has been my most prized possession ever since. Inside was a diploma from Asbury College. What has made this my most prized possession is not the diploma itself, although I am proud to have earned it, the value it has to me is that it was signed… it was authorized by… it was approved by… it was given the blessing and conferred upon by the President of Asbury College.
Sure enough, I graduated High School, and he was there. I went to Asbury College, and he was there. I graduated Asbury and this man who had been so loving, caring, compassionate, and active in my life since my childhood showing me what it looked like to be a man of God was there.
I have his stamp of approval, his signature, and I have his life as a tremendous witness to me. I am thankful for the life and influence that C. R. has had on my life. I joined the Orthodox Church several years ago. As I learn and mature and discover what a “spiritual father” is, I keep coming back to stories and experiences that I have had with my spiritual father and how fortunate I have been to have C. R. in my life.
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