"Served with Grace" -- The Rev Dr. Richard T Hinz

The Rev. Dr. Richard T. Hinz

was

"served with grace"

thoughout his life by the 

Shepherd King -- Jesus Christ

.  

On Friday, August 31, we gathered 

at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 

in Springfield, VA

to give praise and thanksgiving to God

for all the gifts He had given to Rich.

On the day of his baptism

December 16, 1934, 

God gave Richard his first shipment of grace.

Through His cross and empty tomb,
Jesus poured grace into Rich.

God gave gifts that Rich eventually would 

discover, unwrap, and use:
forgiveness, faith, love, wisdom, and 
an ability to use Apple Computers, 
before they were even invented.

Eighty-three years later, on the day of his funeral
the stories that were told highlighted that

 Richard T Hinz 
not only was
"served with grace"
he also

 "served with grace." 

Rich had many vocations 
that became laboratories of learning.
He was Husband and Dad 

Grandpa and Great-Grandpa,

Theologian, Scholar, Teacher, Pastor

Mission Executive, District President/Bishop.

 My life intersected with Rich's in 1988-

as a whipper-snapper-33-year-old pastor.  

I had accepted the call to serve as 

Associate Pastor at Prince of Peace. 

Soon after I discovered 

President Rich and Deanna Hinz
 were also Prince of Peace-ers.  

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Springfield, VA

My servant-leader lessons began soon after. 

President Hinz surprised me when I attended my first 

Southeastern District (SED) Conference.

My bishop introduced me 

to hundreds of seasoned pastors saying:

"Let me introduce you to my pastor, John Denninger."

He could have said, 

"This is John, the new Associate Pastor at Prince of Peace," 

but he said -- I was his pastor.  

While Rich may have not even thought about it, 
I still remember his words and how it made me feel.

John Denninger and President Richard Hinz at a Professional Church Work Conference in the early 90s. 

Over the following six years 
as I served at Prince of Peace,
there were numerous opportunities to 
watch President Hinz from a distance. 
Looking back, it seems now as if the Lord arranged 
this servant-leadership curriculum just for me.  

Rich's favorite Bible passage 
had to have been Mark 10:42-45.  
 I saw it put in action-- and it changed my life.

In 1994, Parkinson's sidelined Rich

 from serving as a District President. 

He accepted the call to serve at Prince of Peace

and began wearing the same title as me:

Associate Pastor. 

It seemed incarnational.

The District President 

was coming down

in the flesh,

to be an Associate Pastor like me.

Years came and went.
Richard's Parkinsons 
slowly whittled his abilities away
leaving Rich homebound, 
while being cared for 
by the love of his life, Deanna. 
She put Mark 10 in motion.  

In June, 2012, the SED Convention 
had just elected me to serve
as District President.
It was humbling to receive 
this unexpected affirmation.  
 A few days later, Connie and I 
stopped in at the Hinz's for a visit.
 I peppered Rich with questions:
"What do I need to know to serve in this role? 
How do I prepare myself?
What do I need to do?
With difficulty Rich slowly stood up,
shuffled to his library, searched and found
 two books that he put in my hands.  
Both books are authored by Robert K. Greenleaf:
Servant Leadership
&
On Becoming a Servant Leader.
"Here read these," Rich said.
Rich was a man of few words
 but I got the message loud and clear.

Greenleaf defined a servant leader 
with these two questions:
 Do those served grow as persons? 
Do they, while being served, 
become healthier, wiser, freer, 
more autonomous, 
more likely themselves to become servants? 

Here, President Emeritus Richard Hinz 

presents a red stole for my 
Installation as District President.

God used Rich to send me

lots of shipments of His love.

Richard T Hinz -

"served with grace."