 Robert L. Howard Lay
Committee chair optimistic about
World War II was being fought, and little Bob, a shy and scrawny youngster, was playing soldier with his friends. But the Methodist preacher forbade their use of sacred ground for childish battles. Pressing his complaint, the minister implored the Widow Howard to improve her rearing of young Bob, lest, without divine intervention, he be bound for below in a hand basket. There was divine intervention. The next week, Mrs. Howard, Bob and his older brother Bill became Presbyterians, even though it was a bit rich for their blood. Since the death of her husband, when Bob was 5, Mrs. Howard had eked out only enough as bookkeeper to provide shelter and food. She seasoned the necessities with no-nonsense piety and works righteousness. Today, Robert L. Howard, prominent Midwestern lawyer, neither shy nor scrawny, is a certified, full-fledged Presbyterian. What began as an exile from Methodism was nurtured by a fling at preaching during his college years, a strong sense of duty and a growing and deep passion for the Reformed tradition, especially the marvel of God’s grace. Howard is the new chairman of The Presbyterian Lay Committee. He has confidence that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is beginning to return to its theological moorings. And he has a warm heart for Presbyterians with whom he might have disagreed on some issues but who are now returning to a more orthodox expression of the faith. He has read the story of the prodigal well: only the self-righteous elder son is criticized after the prodigal regains his senses and returns home. No compromising But Howard is not one to compromise in matters of faith. He is not into relationship building that exempts biblical integrity. Recently, Howard was in Dallas for a meeting of renewal leaders in the PCUSA. He was digging into breakfast and The Dallas Morning News. Suddenly, his courtroom persona surfaced. “The court has ordered the Diocese of Dallas to pay $119 million to two men who were molested as children by a parish priest,” Howard said as he read the newspaper and churned the implications of the lead story. “This is exactly the kind of liability we are asking for if the PCUSA approves Amendment A.” For Howard, the trial had begun. In a few days, Howard would write a legal analysis of Amendment A that would be published in The Presbyterian Layman and be reprinted in a Catholic weekly. His analysis contained the deft strokes of an acclaimed trial lawyer, but its essence was from the heart of a Christian and a Presbyterian who believes the “church should joyfully conduct its affairs under the grace of Jesus Christ and honor His truth.” Vibrant ministry Howard has been a Presbyterian elder since 1959. He has been a Sunday school teacher, trustee, chairman of numerous committees and ardent spokesman for the evangelical faith at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Wichita, Kan. “I don’t know of anyone who has fulfilled his ordination vows more fully than Bob Howard,” says Bob Henley, the pastor of the 1,800-member Eastminster Church, a congregation that has grown more than tenfold in the 36 years Bob, Joanne and their children have been members. “From the outside, you see a distinguished trial lawyer, a senior partner in the largest law firm in the state of Kansas. On the inside is a person who has a warm heart, who loves Christ, who loves the Presbyterian Church,” Henley adds. Howard may be best known among Presbyterians for working for renewal and opposing denominational policies and activities that are not grounded in biblical and Reformed theology. But that is only a snapshot. At Eastminister, Bob and his wife Joanne conduct a vibrant ministry. Both are elders. They have been leaders in the church’s mission, help for the disadvantaged, teaching and evangelism. On five occasions, totaling 20 years, Joanne has taught a four-year through-the-Bible study that has been attended by hundreds of women in Wichita. Joanne is a director of Presbyterians for Renewal and on the steering committee of the Network of Presbyterian Woman in Leadership. On some occasions, Bob and Joanne have taught classes together. He notes that she excels in biblical content; his strong suit is doctrine. They are inseparable. They are the parents of four daughters and one son, all of whom are married and have established strong Christian homes. They have 13 grandchildren. Growing up in Emporia, Howard became a Boy Scout, earned the rank of Eagle and attended the World Boy Scout Jamboree in France. Back in Emporia, he was asked to make a speech at a civic club. He won an appreciative audience and invitations from numerous civic clubs and organizations. Howard discovered his gift of speaking. At Emporia State University (then Emporia State Teachers College), Howard was on the debate team that advanced to national collegiate finals. Through debating, he met Joanne Elaine Parker, a member of the debate team at Nebraska Wesleyan. They would marry just after his graduation from Emporia. Howard’s debate partner at Emporia was Bob Kaiser, who arranged for Howard to preach as a lay pastor at a rural church in Kipp, Kansas. Howard has mixed reactions about his summer preaching: “I knew how to deliver a message,” but “the message was works righteousness.” Howard earned his B.A. degree from Emporia in three and one-half years. He was one of two Kansas candidates for a Rhodes Scholarship. He joined the Navy, won an appointment to Officer Candidates School, and, later, his commission. He was assigned to Naval intelligence, investigating security risks. L.L.B. with distinction Navy duty honed his appetite for a career in law and provided the GI bill for tuition at the Kansas University School of Law. With a scholarship, a stipend for teaching Western Civilization to undergraduates, some law clerking, and income from rooms that he sublet to students, Howard managed to earn enough so that Joanne could be a full-time mom for their twin daughters. He laughs that he was making more at the end of his law training than his starting salary as a lawyer. He finished law school in two and one-half years, collecting several awards to go with his L.L.B. He was number two in his class. Upon graduation, Howard joined the then nine-attorney firm of Foulston, Siefkin et al in Wichita. Today, the firm has 70 attorneys. Howard, whose speciality is business litigation, is chairman of the firm. A close friend and former Eastminster member, Don Hofmann of Chattanooga, Tenn., says Howard has been extremely loyal to the firm. “Bob Howard is a rainmaker lawyer,” says Hofmann, who adds that Howard could have left the firm, hired a few lawyers and have become very wealthy. Howard dismisses any temptations to have done so: “This firm is very important to me. It was a fine law firm before I started here.” Theology grows In Wichita, the Howards joined Eastminster Presbyterian Church, and Howard’s theology began growing. “I was committed to the church,” he says, “but I did not have a passion for the gospel. I wasn’t theologically sophisticated.” Howard credits then Eastminster pastor, Keith Seelig, and his friend Don Hofmann as the key influences in helping him understand what it meant to be a Christian and a Presbyterian. Seelig’s preaching, and Howard’s teaching Sunday school with Hofmann, helped him come to grips with the great doctrines of the Reformed tradition. “The Gospel was faithfully preached and taught,” Howard says. “Eastminster was built on a solid foundation. And it has flourished. We’ve had strong lay leadership. Session not only supports and advises our pastor, but it also exercises authority and significant leadership.” Eastminster is in a growth corridor in Kansas, “but there are other churches in the same corridor that did not flourish,” says Howard. The difference, he believes, is essentially faithful preaching and teaching. The Presbyterian Lay Committee was organized in 1965, principally to oppose the early draft of what was later adopted, with revisions, as the Confession of 1967. The Lay Committee launched a national advertising program to spell out its concerns. Not surprisingly, Presbyterian Life, a denominational publication, sharply criticized the committee. Without having had any contact with The Lay Committee (publication of The Layman would begin in 1968), Howard wrote a letter in 1967 to Presbyterian Life, criticizing the unfairness of its report about The Lay Committee. Selection to Lay Committee Later, Howard served as trustee of Sterling College. Another member of the Sterling board was Bob Campbell, then president of The Lay Committee. Campbell invited Howard to become a director of The Lay Committee. “I believe The Lay Committee for the past 30 years has been called to be a prophetic critic of the drift of the denomination,” Howard said. But he does not see The Lay Committee or The Layman as merely a critic. Rather, “The Lay Committee and other renewal ministries have a growing impact on the denomination. I think there is a marvelous opportunity for the faithful people of God to respond to the crisis of culture,” Howard says. |
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