The Open Door

The Georgia Baptist Convention sustained a great loss on Palm Sunday afternoon when Diane Reasoner, specialist in Communications for the Convention, lost her life in a tragic automobile accident in Atlanta. Even as I type these words, they seem so unreal to me. Through nearly fifteen years of working closely together, Diane and I had developed not only a very close working relationship, but a deep and abiding friendship as well.

Early in my ministry, I recognized the unique abilities of Diane Reasoner. She was well trained and experienced in the field of communications. Her personality was magnetic. I believe that everyone who knew Diane loved her. She captivated hearts through her winning smile, outstanding sense of humor, and dedication to serving Christ and His Kingdom. Diane was very serious about her work. She was fun to be with, but it was clear when she was ready to get down to business and her focus was laser-like.

My mind reflects upon the many things that Diane has done to enhance my own ministry among Georgia Baptists. An expert in media relations, Diane was invaluable in providing consistent communication to the media through the several controversial issues we have navigated as a Convention. The clarity of information and position that has been reported from the Convention in the midst of these issues is a tribute to Diane’s leadership.

Further, Diane was responsible for the outstanding success of Good News, a television broadcast about the good things that are happening in Georgia and Southern Baptist life that we produced for two years. Diane worked diligently to get outstanding coverage for this television program that aired in every major market in the state.

Many were not aware that we taped those programs on Saturdays at the North American Mission Board studio. This meant that Diane had to sacrifice many of her personal Saturdays for the work of the Convention. She would arrive at NAMB around 7:30 a.m.. and work for the better part of the day on production. I never heard from her even a hint of regret over those Saturday taping sessions. We would generally laugh all day long about first one thing and then another. She absolutely made it a delightful experience.

For six years now, Diane has accompanied me to the radio station for the recording of my Sunday morning radio messages. She reviewed every message, made helpful suggestions, and if a particular recording didn’t go to suit her, we did it over.

One of the projects we have been working on lately was the publication of these radio messages in a book that will be available at this year’s annual Convention meeting in November.

At the March meeting of the Executive Committee the Committee voted to move forward on initiating a new Convention ministry, an Internet radio ministry. Slated to begin in May, this ministry will communicate the Gospel of Christ literally around the world 24/7. It is also intended to be a source of encouragement to Southern Baptist missionaries as they serve worldwide. When I discussed this innovative ministry with Diane, she jumped on it with great energy and within hours presented the plan to me describing how it could be accomplished.

As you can see from these brief references, Diane Reasoner was an incredibly fine employee of the Georgia Baptist Convention. She will be missed more than words can describe. Please be in prayer for our staff as we are all hurting from this great loss. Pray specifically for our communications staff who will be assuming additional responsibilities in the midst of a profound sense of personal sadness.

Of course, the joy of the message of Easter is that through the resurrection of Christ we have the promise of our eternal security in Christ. We know that Diane Reasoner is in heaven. As in the loss of any dear Christian brother or sister, our confidence in eternal life in Christ dries our tears and brings peace to our hearts.