We received the sad news that our great friend, Ronney Wheeler, passed away while we were in South America. The world has lost a wonderful, loving, inspiring, joyful, passionate and godly presence. We'll miss you Ronney!

We lived with Ron & Slyvia for almost three months at one stage of our ministry. The Wheelers always provide the greatest examples of servant-leadership and Christ-centered living. Silvia passed along this message that I thought you'd enjoy (even those of you who didn't know Ronney):

Tribute to The Wheeler Dealer
by Tao Baker (from his Facebook page)

July 28 at 10:37pm
Ronney Wheeler never knew a stranger. He had an infectious smile and his charismatic attitude sucked you in. You couldn’t help but smile back at him. You just couldn’t. 

I first met Ronney when my wife (at the time girlfriend) started attending Northwest Church of Christ. She was at a crossroads in her life and Ronney was right there to make her feel welcome.

She told me about this Preacher at her new Church, and I had to see it for myself. 

He was born for televangeling!! In his fancy suits and his slick style, Ronney used to do a thing I fondly called Ronney-robics. He would get to the edge of the stage and he would raise up on his tip toes and he would preach. Not just your run of the mill Sunday sermon. Ronney made sure that it was an impossibility for you to sleep during his lesson. His voice would raise in volume and he would yell out. There were many a time my name was used in a sermon…and he always gave me a look so I knew that it was coming. 

Ronney was the only person that made religion make sense.

Growing up, Christianity wasn’t something that my family talked about. I tried a couple of Churches but no one answered my questions. Ronney broke it down to its simplest form for me. Jesus Christ went to the Cross and surrendered His life because He looked 2000 years in the future and saw that I needed Him. Ronney walked me up to the Lord’s house, stood up on His front porch with me, rang the doorbell and then jumped into the bushes. Jesus opened the door and said, “come on in” . If Ronney hadn’t walked with me down the path I would have continued to walk past the Lord’s house.



When LeAnn and I decided we wanted Ronney to perform our Wedding ceremony, LeAnn warned me about the “equally yoked” speech I was inevitably going to get. I had thought about Baptism. Ronney and I talked about it a lot. When I decided to make the decision, I wanted to do it quietly without a lot of Hoopla. Ronney would have nothing to do with that. ” It was a celebration “, he said “we need to share it with your church family”. So that Sunday night, there I was up in the Baptismal with Ronney in his waders ready to dunk me for the Lord. He whispered to me to take a deep breath and let him do the rest. Now for those of you who didn’t know me back then, I tipped the scales at about 370 lbs. With me holding my breath to say I was buoyant, was an understatement. Ronney decided I wasn’t immersed enough and he pushed me in the rest of the way. I panicked and grabbed for the first thing I could to pull myself up…that was Ronney. We both got baptized that night. No matter where I went if Ronney and I were in the same room and there were other people there --- they heard that story.



Ronney performed our ceremony and it was perfect…well…almost. Ronney called me Taho. I don’t know why, but he did… 11 times. Now when ever anyone watches our wedding video everyone gets a big laugh. Ronney asked me before he pronounced us Man and Wife if I had brushed my teeth. It was a strange thing to say and I laughed so hard at that. That was Ronney. He made you feel comfortable in whatever surroundings you were in. 

Ronney was a man on fire. He was passionate about everything in his life. From his Wife Sylvia, to his family, to his Church but most importantly he was passionate for the Lord. He made it possible for a sinner like me to know that I had everlasting life by believing that Jesus Christ died for my sins. Ronney was my spiritual adviser and my friend. I cherished him and I only hope that he knew how much he meant to me and my family. There will never be another man like Ronney Wheeler. I know that he’s up there right now telling the story about how he almost drowned Taho Baker and he’s smiling that infectious smile …

What a dream come true to attend this driving school!

I love playing guitars and own a couple of Gibsons.  Of course, most of you know how much I love to sing.  I'm a tenor and was the original lead singer for Acappella.  I love leading groups, and have led various kinds of bands in the past.  Dealing with voice rest and voice overuse is a regular experience for me.  Recently I posted about how I enjoy Paul McCartney's creative talents and I recently posted a story about Beach Boy's Brian Wilson.  My friend, Roger Ferguson, shared some of these things with me.

What do all of these things have in common?  I believe many of you will find this Gibson Guitar Magazine interview that Courntey Grimes conducted with Jeffrey Foskett, Brian Wilson's band leader, to be most interesting.  Here are some excerpts:
 
CG: What has it been like being the Musical Director for Brian Wilson? What has been your biggest challenge there?
JF: With Brian, I am the one in charge on stage. Brian looks to me to make sure that everyone is at sound check on time, is singing the correct part and basically has it together. Of course he is totally capable of doing these things himself and often asks "who just sang that note?" when he hears something amiss. I think it's easier for him to rely on me to do the day to day business of keeping things flowing smoothly on stage. Everyone in this great band is a pro. There are no ego hang-ups, (except mine), and we have grown into a very tight knit group of singers and players. I think one of our highest compliments came from Sir Paul McCartney. I was having a conversation with Cameron Crowe recently and he told me that he was talking with Sir Paul about Brian and his band and McCartney's response was, "Oh they're the best band in the business, everyone knows that." That's quite a statement from such a luminary.
 
My biggest challenge is to keep my voice fit for the shows. As was the case when I was with The Beach Boys, in Brian's band I sing all of the highest notes in the show. I was never a guy to go hang out in the bar or stay out late, so I think that has served me well over the years. I don't talk after shows and talk as little as possible during the day. Although the guys in the band are used to my weird habits, sometimes that is misunderstood by the general public. I'm not trying to be rude by making hand gestures instead of carrying on a conversation with fans after the shows, I am simply trying to preserve my voice for the next night.
 
. . . Later in the interview Jeffrey goes on to say:

JF: I love that God has given me such a great gift in my voice and guitar playing ability. I sometimes say I hold the guitar as a way to get on stage and sing. I love playing guitar but I am not nearly the guitar player that I am singer. God has truly gifted me with a great voice. What I love most about my career is that I get to make a living doing something that I really love to do. I don't consider my job ... a job. It is truly a joy!

* * * *

To top off this interesting article, Jefferey Foskett has chosen at least one song written by my good friend Roger Ferguson to use on a future project.  Way to go Roger!  Now I have to post the star photo I took of you on our trip to New Zealand, so I can get a jump on the paparazzi.

They attended the VERY FIRST Acafest in 1986.  The Herndons have been special friends to the Lancasters ever since then.  Most people who are associated with Oklahoma Christian will be acquainted with campus doctor, Michael Herndon and his wonderful family.  I wanted to let you know about something the twins have been involved with.

I started the process of uploading all the photos (and there's a bunch!) from the recording session and became sidetracked with the portraits I captured on Saturday.  I've already started my first "Portraits" gallery here.



This is a shot I took of some of my Madison friends who joined our recording in Oklahoma this past weekend.  When I grow up, I also want to be a professional photographer.