Written by Michael Claxton
When I moved to Searcy in 2003 to teach English, I knew only a handful of people. Naturally, I made the rounds of churches in town, and it did not take long to find a spiritual home at College Church. I was soon assigned to a care group shepherded by Howard Norton.
I had no idea he was considered an elder statesman in the brotherhood, with a record of devoted service over many decades. All I knew was that he and his wife Jane were kind, gentle souls, who instantly made me feel welcome and smoothed my transition into a new church family. It would not take long to realize how blessed I was to live in their neighborhood.
Howard and Jane were both children of the Great Depression from small towns in Texas. Howard was a fourth-generation Christian who was raised to be a preacher and early in life demonstrated an aptitude for leadership.
He and Jane met at Abilene Christian College (now University) and married in 1956. Inspired by missionaries who came to their school, they began forming a team for long-term mission work. They spent four years preparing, while also beginning a family. In 1961, they joined 12 other couples and moved to São Paulo, Brazil.
It was an era of political turmoil and high inflation, but the Nortons and their team focused on building up the small local church and planting others throughout the area. During their 16 years of full-time ministry in Brazil, the group opened a Bible School and camp, sponsored radio programs and correspondence courses and started a preacher-training program. On his “days off,” Howard pursued a doctorate at the University of São Paulo.
When they returned to the U.S. in 1977, Howard began teaching Bible at Oklahoma Christian University, where he was a popular professor for 20 years and took many groups of students on mission trips to Brazil. He spent 15 years as the editor of The Christian Chronicle and became dean of the College of Bible in 1992.
He and Jane moved to Searcy in 1997, when he joined the Harding Bible faculty. For years, he directed our annual Lectureship — a massive undertaking that relied heavily on his many contacts throughout the brotherhood. He directed the Institute of Church and Family and edited its magazine, all while serving as an elder, a position he held for 23 years.
He retired from teaching in 2013, having taken over three years off to move with Jane to Honduras to serve as president of the Baxter Institute, a preacher training school. The courage to uproot their life again, learn a new language and take on a new leadership challenge — all while in their 70s — was typical of the Nortons. Jane was especially gifted with languages, having taught Portuguese at Harding.
Two years after I came to Searcy, Bruce McLarty left our pulpit to become vice president for spiritual life at Harding. While we searched for a new minister, Howard ably filled in for six months. It’s hard to follow a popular preacher, especially when the church is anxious about its future. But Howard was a steady presence.
His sermons were masterful. I never told him this, but I used his notes when I was called upon to preach one Sunday during my semester at Harding University in Europe. I would only steal from the best. A longtime chair of the World Bible School Board, Howard was forward-looking about evangelism and encouraged the development of a contemporary outreach tool using social media and well-designed videos. Check it out at Methetis.org.
Larry Long, retired provost at Harding, spoke for many when he penned this tribute to Howard: “He was a constant encourager, building others up and challenging them to dream big. Howard was the voice of reason, moderation and empathy in dealing with anything controversial. His leadership style was characterized by a mildness that emanated from experience, wisdom and humility . . . Doubtless, his gentle demeanor calmed many emotional storms over the decades.”
Noel Whitlock, who preached for College Church for 17 years, recalled his early days when he was intimidated to speak in front of so many gifted ministers and Bible scholars. Howard took him aside and said that “preaching is not about what they think — it’s about speaking God’s truth, which even great speakers need to be reminded of.”
There were poignant moments in Howard’s final days. Jane died in October, and on being told that his wife of 67 years was free of her suffering, Howard softly sang “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow,” which had been an anthem for their life together. He himself would pass away at 88 three weeks later at home on a Sunday, while his three children — Laurie, Thomas and Ted — were having communion in the next room. Fittingly, it was “Great Commission Sunday” at College Church, where we made a special annual offering for missions.
Howard and Jane gave their life to such work. Praise God for their legacy.
