Ron Dunn: His Life and Mission

What Some are Saying about

Ron Dunn: His Life and Mission

Here is a page-turner of a book about one of the most effective preachers the world has ever been given. Expect your own worldview to become credibly rounded off as you read Ron Owens’s account of an utterly loved preacher whom the apostle Paul would have called a messenger of the church and the glory of Christ.

Richard Bewes, O. B. E., former rector of All Souls Church,

Langham Place, London, England

When I shared Bible conferences with Ron Dunn, I used to think that he was so professional—smooth, competent, and effective. That view mellowed as I got to know him, and I came to realize that the secret of his ministry was that he was real. This book confirms that. It reveals in challenging detail the person behind the preacher, and I predict that it will be a means of great blessing to countless readers.

John Blanchard, preacher, apologist, and author,

Banstead, Surrey, England

When I read Manley Beasley’s biography by Ron Owens, I knew who needed to write Ron’s story. Kaye and I talked and agreed. This book is a treasure. It will give you insights into one of the greatest expositors of the twentieth century, a man with a dry wit and a great love for God.

Michael Catt, senior pastor, Sherwood Baptist Church,

Albany, Georgia

Ron Dunn’s clear, biblical exposition, coupled with his keen understanding of the human situation, made Ron a powerful instrument in the hand of the Lord. His theology of the Christ-life shaped my understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ. When I became a pastor, I wanted my churches to be exposed to the Spirit-anointed ministry of Ron Dunn. I am profoundly grateful that my friend, Ron Owens, has preserved the life and ministry of a great saint in Ron Dunn: His Life and Mission.

Michael Dean, senior pastor, Travis Avenue

Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas

This book, like others penned by Ron Owens, is written out of years of friendship and ministry, sharing hard times as well as good. Ron Owens has a rare capacity that few possess—the ability to tap the heart of his subject and somehow let his life flow from pen to paper. You will find the portrait painted in this book to be an amazingly accurate rendering of my friend and our prophet, Ron Dunn.

Tom Elliff, president, International Mission Board,

Southern Baptist Convention

Ron Dunn was a man whose intimacy with God was obvious. No one walks by faith, prays with power, or preaches with such divine anointing unless he has learned to cling to the Vine as did this prince among preachers. Ron Dunn lived his life in the crucible of sorrow and on the pinnacle of triumph, but he was always consistent in his surrender to Christ; and Ron Owens has marvelously captured the essence of the man with his poignant pen. This book will inspire you, challenge you, and very likely transform your life.

Gerald Harris, editor, Georgia Baptist Index

Future generations owe a huge debt to Ron Owens for putting Ron Dunn’s life into perspective in this biography. Through it all, Ron, like Barnabas of old, saw the grace of God and was glad. We would all do well, as the apostle Paul admonished, to imitate Ron Dunn as he imitated Christ. I love him and still miss him with each passing day and look forward to seeing him again in the morning.

O. S. Hawkins, president/CEO, GuideStone Financial Resources

Why is it that I can’t forget his voice or his sermons? Ron Dunn was used by Jesus to speak deeply and profoundly into my life and calling. He was impossible to forget once you met and heard him. I cannot wait to get my hands on this book. You are about to have the privilege of reading about one of God’s greats!

Johnny Hunt, senior pastor, First Baptist Church,

Woodstock, Georgia

This wonderful book should be read by every preacher and every Christian who loves good preaching.

R. T. Kendall, former minister, Westminster Chapel,

London, England

As a gospel singer for more than fifty years, I have had the joy of serving with hundreds of our Lord’s great preachers and Bible teachers, and Ron Dunn is my all-time favorite. Every time he spoke, living water flowed. Ron was a good friend who blessed and enriched my life. I miss him. My profound thanks to Ron Owens for writing this biography. It should be read by everyone in need of a blessing sent from heaven.

John McKay, gospel singer, Weatherford, Texas

As I read the draft, I thought of so many people we are praying for who need sections of this book right now to help them survive! I was sorely tempted to copy, paste, and send portions to those hurting so badly, but of course, I knew that would not be ethical. I predict this book will be a major force in God’s hand to help weary pilgrims, preachers in particular, not to mention the rich preaching material it contains.

Don Moore, former executive director,

Arkansas Baptist Convention

When I read the manuscript of Ron Dunn: His Life and Mission, my heart was set ablaze! This book is a MUST for any preacher or layman who is hungering and thirsting for revival. As Ron Owens tells the story of the great awakening in MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church, it once again created a hunger in my heart to see revival.

And it’s a must for every discouraged pastor. As Ron Owens tells the story of all the dark days Ron Dunn went through, it will motivate you to keep the faith. If you feel that your prayers are unanswered and that God is silent, this book will be well worth the money to you. The sermons are challenging and encouraging. Ron lives on through this biography. It just has to be read!

Jimmy Robertson, founder/codirector,

Milldale Conference Center, Zachary, Louisiana

My heart has been touched, and I have been deeply moved as I have read this truly inspiring book on the life of my friend Ron Dunn. Ron Owens has done a remarkable job in piecing together the complex life and history of one of the twentieth century’s favorite preachers. How can one not be moved again to be reminded of the challenges that Ron and Kaye had to face as parents—the spiritual battles fought, the victories won! If you never heard him preach or maybe have never even heard of him, please start turning the pages now and be gripped by this amazing re-telling of one of God’s giants in the faith.

Phil South, director, World Action Ministries,

United Kingdom

You’ll find people all over the world whose lives were transformed by the teachings of Ron Dunn. He was a man whose life matched his preaching, plain and powerful. Ron was my friend whom I trusted to the end. The visits late in his life were such as to form a reservoir of encouragement for the rest of my life. See you later, dear friend! Thank you, Ron Owens, for favoring the body of Christ with another powerful biography.

Jack Taylor, president, Dimensions Ministries,

Melbourne, Florida

This book is excellent. I wish I had heard Ron Dunn preach in person, but all I’ve heard are his tapes. He was a unique preacher. The hand of the Lord was truly upon him, and his messages made the victorious life plain and practical and encouraged us to trust Christ for the very best. Nobody can duplicate him, but anybody who knows the Lord can learn from him and turn trials into triumphs.

Warren Wiersbe, author and former pastor,

Moody Church, Chicago, Illinois

Ron Owens’s biographical sketch of Ron Dunn’s journey of faith in our God is amazing. He weaves Ron Dunn’s heritage, marriage to Kaye, the brokenness of Ronnie Jr.’s death, his ministry, and messages into a tapestry that encourages the reader to thirst after the much more of the Christian life.

John L. Yeats, SBC recording secretary

and executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention

Ron Dunn, Digital Edition

Based on Print Edition

Copyright © 2013 by Ron Owens

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

978-1-4336-8032-8

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Dewey Decimal Classification: B

Subject Heading: DUNN, RON \ CLERGY—BIOGRAPHY \ JOY AND SORROW

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © Copyright 1960, 1995, by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked kjv are taken from the King James Version of the Bible; English Standard Version (esv), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved; The Living Bible (tlb), copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved; New International Version (niv), Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide; New King James Version (nkjv), Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved; New English Bible (neb), C. H. Dodd, ed., The New English Bible, New Testament, Oxford and Cambridge: Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, 1961; and Williams, C. B. are taken from The New Testament in the Language of the People by Charles B. Williams, Copyright 1937, 1966 by Edith S. Williams, Moody Press, Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. Used by permission. Italics in Scripture have been added by the author for emphasis.

Cover photo is taken by Kaye Dunn in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ♦ 18 17 16 15 14 13

Dedicated to

Kaye, Stephen, Kimberly,

and to the memory of

Ronnie Jr.

Contents

Foreword by Michael Catt

Foreword by Tom Elliff

Acknowledgments

A Word from Kaye

Introduction

Prologue

PART ONE: Beginnings

Chapter 1: From Fence Post to Fort Smith

Chapter 2: One + One = One

Chapter 3: Crossing the Red River

Chapter 4: Another Crossing

Sermon: Which Side of the Jordan?

PART TWO: MacArthur Days (1966–1975)

Prelude

Chapter 5: A Providential Move

Chapter 6: A View from the Inside

Chapter 7: A Divine Encounter

Sermon: From Your Pastor’s Heart: A Watershed Moment

Chapter 8: Revival Years: A Place Shaken (1970–1975)

Chapter 9: The Birth of a Ministry

Chapter 10: When the Church Prays

Sermon: When the Church Prays (Acts 4:23–33)

PART THREE: The Best of Times and the Worst of Times

Chapter 11: The Best of Times

Chapter 12: The Worst of Times

Chapter 13: Surprise, It’s God! (Genesis 32:24–32)

Sermon: Surprise, It’s God!

PART FOUR: The Dark Night of the Soul

Chapter 14: Another Giant

Chapter 15: An Answer: Strangely Clothed

Chapter 16: Strange Ministers

Sermon: Strange Ministers

Chapter 17: What Now?

Sermon: What Now?

Interlude: Family

PART FIVE: Going International

Chapter 18: And Beyond

Chapter 19: The UK Calls

Chapter 20: LifeStyle Ministries—UK

Chapter 21: Don’t Just Stand There, Pray Something

Sermon: Just Do It

Interlude: Mentored and Mentoring

PART SIX: Ron Dunn—Author

Prelude

Chapter 22: Any Christian Can

Chapter 23: Faith Crisis

Chapter 24: When Heaven Is Silent

Chapter 25: Will God Heal Me?

Chapter 26: Surviving Friendly Fire

Interlude: Getting to Know You

PART SEVEN: A Prince Among Preachers

Chapter 27: Quick Start

Chapter 28: More Tributes to The Preacher

Chapter 29: Chained to the Chariot (2 Corinthians 2:12–17)

PART EIGHT: Heading Home

Chapter 30: Kaye’s Medical Time Line

Chapter 31: One More Sermon!

Sermon: Knowing God (Philippians 3:10)

Chapter 32: Back Home

Chapter 33: Earth Grieved as Heaven Rejoiced

Chapter 34: Will a Man Serve God for Nothing?

Sermon: Will a Man Serve God for Nothing?

Epilogue

Appendix: Tributes and Testimonies

A Continuing Legacy

Notes

Photo Gallery

Foreword

Everyone needs a hero, a mentor, a friend, a wise sage who can speak into our lives. By the grace of God, I knew Ron Dunn as all of the above. Many men have influenced and impacted my life but none more than Ron Dunn. Ron taught me how to see and seek God in the struggles of life. He did so through his preaching, his counsel, and my personal observations of a man who lived many days in the valley. Yet regardless of the trial or test, he would ascend to the pulpit to preach of the victory we have in Christ. I was with Ron and Kaye the day his father died because Ron was preaching at Sherwood at the time. I was privileged to be with Ron in a variety of circumstances. These experiences were enough to know that this man lived what he preached.

My friendship with Ron was one of the great joys of my life. I knew he didn’t like to talk on the phone, but he always took my calls. I lived with anticipation for every possible moment I could have with him during our annual Bible conference, which he preached for sixteen consecutive years. One of my funniest memories of Ron happened during that conference. We were having noonday services, and he was running late. I called him at the hotel, and he had fallen asleep (Ron found it impossible to sleep at night). He was scheduled to preach his final message on Habakkuk that morning. He took a deep sigh and said, Michael, you know the message and my points. You just go ahead and preach it for me. I rushed to my study, got my four pages of notes from that message, and did my best to impersonate Ron. He made me swear I would never tell Kaye. I didn’t until years later.

When Ron died, I experienced a great void in my life. It impacted me more than the death of my own parents. He held such a place in my heart, my life, and my ministry that I couldn’t imagine not being able to talk to him and seek his counsel. One of the hardest days of my life was preaching Ron’s funeral. It really wasn’t a funeral but rather a celebration of his life. Various preachers and friends spoke, and I did the final message. Over the years I find myself asking: What would Ron think? What would Ron say? I wonder how Ron would feel about that.

Calling Ron Dunn my friend was one of the greatest privileges of my life. Now, because of the extensive work of his friend Ron Owens and the contributions of many pastors and family members, you have in your hands a book long overdue. Several years before he died, Ron asked me to write his biography. I was honored, but I knew I couldn’t do it. When I read Manley Beasley’s biography by Ron Owens, I knew who needed to write Ron’s story. Kaye and I talked and agreed. This book is a treasure. It will give you insights into one of the greatest expositors of the twentieth century, a man with a dry wit and a great love for God.

These pages will also give you a glimpse into the life of a man who defined what it means to be an overcomer. As Ron said, I’ve been to the bottom, and it’s solid ground. Few people I’ve ever met have walked through more dangers, toils, and snares than Ron did. We are the recipients of what he learned from God in those moments. Read this book. Recommend it to friends. Give it as a gift.

—Michael Catt

Senior Pastor, Sherwood Baptist Church, Albany, Georgia

Foreword

Placing the phone down, I shook my head in disbelief. At first I hadn’t even recognized his voice, although I had listened to it more than the voice of any other preacher for more than thirty years. Perhaps it was because I sincerely thought he was in the hospital, seriously ill and maybe even dying. Or maybe it was because his normally soft, sometimes slightly raspy, but always penetrating resonance was growing weak on this, his final stretch toward home. So it had taken a few seconds to awaken to the fact that I was speaking to The Prophet.

Oh, I know well that most readers would agree that the foundational gift of prophesy, in the sense of foretelling future events, was set aside with the closing of the canon. But there is a definite and continuing place for the other side of prophesy, speaking forth the Word of God, and that gift remains with the church today.

Over the years I have believed that God has raised up prophets, men who boldly proclaim the Word of God, uniquely fitted to each church I have pastored. This would be a man in whom my heart safely rested, someone the church both willingly heard and deeply respected. Of that man (and on one occasion two men) I would say to our congregation, He is our prophet. Occasionally I would even remind him that, should God give him a specific message needed by our church, all he needed do was to call, and the pulpit was his as soon as he could get there. And so the prophet was calling.

I believe God has given me a message for the church, said Ron, his voice barely above a whisper. And I think I’m to preach it this coming Sunday.

Fittingly, First Southern’s pulpit was Ron’s that Sunday morning, and the message he preached from the first chapter of Philippians would prove to be his last. As was said of Robert Murray McCheyne, Ron preached as a dying man to dying men.

Shortly after that morning service, Ron returned to the Dallas area where he was soon admitted to the hospital in which he passed away only a few days later. All of us who shared in the memorial service and at the graveside found ourselves struggling to convey the appreciation we felt for the investment he had made in our lives. Ron’s life and death left us with eternity in view.

Prophet was not the only term used to describe Ron. During one of our annual August Days of Refreshing that I jokingly referred to Ron as Southern Baptist’s answer to Columbo, the disarming detective who had a knack for bumbling his way into the truth. The name stuck. Columbo, for those unfamiliar with the TV miniseries, was famous for his, Oh, by the way . . . statements that brought perplexity and fear into the hearts of his culprits. So was Ron. Oh, he would say, with a telling pause punctuated by a long sigh, Did I mention to you . . . ?

Gifted with a spontaneous and unforced sense of humor, Ron was never shy about exposing his own foibles and idiosyncrasies. God often used this remarkable quality to strip bare the pretenses with which people often armed themselves, allowing the Word of God to penetrate their hearts. Our First Southern family often noted that Ron was one of us, struggling to overcome the same challenges we faced in our own lives.

From the first time I heard Ron preach, I was captivated by his unique ability to mine truth from the Scripture. That ability, coupled with his openly transparent manner and remarkable capacity for practical application always seemed to leave Ron’s audiences wanting to drink more deeply from the Word of God.

Ron Dunn’s firm adherence to the Word of God enabled him to escape the theological flights of fancy that captivated the minds of other popular preachers and teachers in the earlier days of his conference ministry. He was a Bible scholar in the truest sense of the word. While never denying the mystical aspects of faith, Ron constantly brought personal experience back to the fundamental question: Does this correspond with the clear teachings of God’s Word? This simple practice produced a trustworthiness in his life and ministry that is so desperately needed today.

As most readers will know, Ron and his wife, Kaye, shared a faith that was, on more than one occasion, severely tested. These were tests that might leave the average Christian questioning the sovereign wisdom and love of God. Ron and Kaye possessed a faith that had been hammered out on the anvil of their own experience.

Because Ron’s was a tested faith, his audiences often included people searching for answers to their own very real struggles. Simply knowing that Ron and Kaye had also faced some of life’s extremities gave his message an authenticity that can be gained in no other fashion. In such settings I often saw tears running down the cheeks of people whose hearts found a genuine hope in what he was sharing.

It is only fitting that Ron Owens write this biography of Ron Dunn. Ron, and his wife Patricia, often shared ministry in settings where Ron was a featured speaker. This book, like others penned by Ron Owens, is written out of years of friendship and ministry, sharing hard times as well as the good. Ron has a rare capacity that few possess, the ability to tap the heart of his subject and somehow let his life flow from pen to paper. You will find the portrait painted in this book to be an amazingly accurate rendering of my friend and our prophet, Ron Dunn.

—Tom Elliff

President, International Mission Board Southern Baptist Convention

Acknowledgments

With deep gratitude I thank the following:

Kaye, Stephen, and Kimberly, for their encouragement and input, without which this story could not have been written. And to Dan Robinson who, out of his love for Ron and for Kaye, diligently prayed for and encouraged me throughout the writing of this biography.

Kaye and Michael Catt for giving me the honor of writing Ron’s story.

Michael Catt and Tom Elliff for writing the forewords.

To Kaye and Joanne Gardner for the years of scrapbook ministry and family history that have been an immeasurable source of information.

Those who took time out of their busy schedules to participate in the Friends of Ron Dunn gatherings in Albany, Georgia, and Euless, Texas, from which many of the tributes have been taken.

The others who provided personal tributes to the man who not only impacted their lives while he was with us but who continues to influence them to this day.

My wife, Patricia, whose listening ear, seeing eye, and input have been invaluable.

Those who read the manuscript and kindly wrote endorsement blurbs.

Those who prayed and those who sat through multiple reading sessions.

Thanks be to our Lord for the precious memories Patricia and I have of times spent together with Ron and Kaye over twenty-five plus years, beginning at the Encouragers Conference in 1973 at MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church.

A Word from Kaye

I thank my God upon every remembrance of thee. What a wonderful thing to be able to say when your sweetheart goes to heaven. Ron was a tremendous influence in my life because I was only sixteen years old when we married, and we spent forty-five precious years together, plus the two years that we dated. He had such a hunger for God and a love for His Word. After reading Jill Morgan’s A Man of the Word: Life of G. Campbell Morgan,¹ he committed himself to expository preaching and spent hours each week studying for new messages, doing a careful exegesis of each passage as he prepared to preach. He handled God’s Word with reverence, feeling a tremendous responsibility for his congregation that he get it right. Little did he realize that those same messages would still be going around the world years later.

Ron loved to preach, and he had a pastor’s heart. Even when he went into an itinerant ministry, he called himself a traveling pastor. He loved going back to the same churches year after year, encouraging the pastors and exhorting the people to godly living. He had a teachable spirit and was mentored by many godly preachers. Their influence on his life made him want to pour his own life into younger preachers.

Forty to forty-five weeks a year on the road was not easy for someone who loved home as much as Ron did. One of my joys was making our little motel rooms a home on the road. We didn’t stay in a lot of fancy places, so I would go to the nearest grocery store upon our arrival in a town, buy a bouquet of flowers, some fresh fruit, and candles in order to make our place cozy. When possible, we got two adjoining rooms with a connecting door so that one side could be used to spread out all his books for study and the other side as living quarters. That was important when most of Ron’s studying was done on the road. We always had more suitcases of books than clothes with us.

Ron allowed me the privilege of being not only his partner in marriage, but also his partner in the ministry. We were a team and loved spending time together traveling from meeting to meeting. God took the simple but profound truths he preached, and these were sent out on cassette tapes all over the world. This opened doors for him to travel to many of those countries. He hated his twangy voice, a mixture of lazy Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas dialects; and yet God used that voice on tapes to spread the gospel. He was always amazed and humbled that he was invited to preach with men he thought of as giants of the faith. How he loved to preach at the Keswick and Filey Conferences in England! He began reading sermons from the Keswick Journals as a young preacher and was thrilled when God opened that door through his friendship with Dr. George Duncan.

Ron, or course, would not have chosen the training school God put him through. The hurts and despair he thought were going to destroy him were the very thing that encouraged his listeners. How does a person living with heavy depression become known as a minister of encouragement? Only a sovereign, great God can do that.

Family was always important to Ron and he carved out time for us. Some of the most precious times we had together were during the summer at our farm in Arkansas. He loved to put a red bandana around his head, strap his pistol around his waist and mow on the tractor, shooting a few snakes along the way. Those were also special days of being with our extended family. He loved his children fiercely, and the legacy of his prayers of intercession for them are still before the throne.

Although Ron was only 5' 9" tall, he stood ten feet tall in my eyes because of his tenderness and gentleness toward me. I never doubted I was loved. I thank God for having put this special man in my life.

I heard him say so many times that God never wastes time or experience, and little did we know way back in the 1970s, when we met Ron and Patricia Owens, what an important part they would play in our lives. We not only had the joy of fellowship on the many international trips we made together, as well as ministering in Bible conferences through the years, but now I’ve had the great joy of working with Ron on this biography.

I believe he has beautifully and prayerfully captured the essence of my Ron’s life and ministry on paper. You will get to know the real Ron Dunn through reading this book.

Introduction

Nothing speaks so profoundly about a person’s life as what is remembered of him or her after death. In reality we write our own obituaries while we are alive, and how encouraging and edifying it is to look back on the life of one who has fought the good fight, kept the faith, and finished well. Ron Dunn’s life not only validated the message he preached, but it impacted thousands of lives while he lived, and it continues to reach around the world through CDs, DVDs, and books.

Ron mastered the art of communication in both speaking and writing. Anyone who heard him preach, or who has read his books, knows what I mean. There have been times in writing this biography that I have wished Ron were writing his own story, rather than me attempting to put his life on paper. Then I’m reminded that he is writing, or rather, has written his story and that this biography is but the extension of the life he lived.

But this is not only Ron’s story; it is also the story of Rita Kaye Mitchell who, while still in high school, married Ronnie Louis Dunn, a young aspiring preacher boy. It is the story of two lives who were called on to traverse the deepest valleys and to climb the highest mountains together.

Ron was an insatiable reader. He loved books. He was one of the most widely read evangelicals of his day. His interests covered classic literature, both secular and sacred, theology, history, fiction, including Louis L’Amour westerns. He read contemporary religious authors and not only those with whom he agreed. He was not afraid to read the works of those with opposing theological views, as he was secure enough in his own faith and doctrine not to be threatened by others’ opinions, always placing those opinions against the plumb line of Scripture. This he found stimulating. It not only strengthened his own faith, but it helped him understand why those with opposing views came to the conclusions they did.

Among Ron’s favorite authors was Charles Haddon Spurgeon from whom he received both inspiration and encouragement. This nineteenth century British Baptist pastor would have identified with many of the challenges Ron faced over the years. In his preface to his daily readings compiled in the Checkbook of the Bank of Faith, he says:

I commenced writing these daily portions when I was wading in the surf of controversy. Since then I have been cast into waters to swim in, which, but for God’s upholding hand, would have proved waters to drown in. I have endured tribulation from many flails.