Ben Haden was pastor of Chattanooga's First Presbyterian Church for over 30 years and founded Changed Lives. The broadcast is still on the radio and internet.
He told me he hired the best for his broadcast, Glenn Draper music director, Herschel Nation announcer and Merrill Parker engineer. Mr. Parker was my mentor. Mr. Haden died six years ago.
Denomination wasn't important to Ben but a personal relationship with Jesus Christ was. Oct. 18 would have been Ben's 94th birthday.
I have a lot of memories with Ben. He enjoyed his media friends having coffee with us at the Signal Mountain Road Waffle House. Ben ate breakfast at Wally's on McCallie Avenue most every morning. The server just wrote on the ticket "Ben" and turned it into the cook.
Ben spent a lot of time in area hospitals, especially around Christmas. He visited members and friends. My dad was one of them.
He was President and Mrs. Nixon's pastor in Florida and good friends with Billy Graham, George Beverly Shea and Cliff Barrows. He was not my pastor but a very close friend.
The are just a few things I remember about Ben Haden. I miss him so much. I interviewed Ben on "Bev" Shea's birthday Feb 1, 2011. I invite you to watch.