Latest / WDAC Podcasts / Moody Presents - 2026-10-24 The Inauguration of Dr. Rick Melson part 1

Transcript

Moody Presents - 2026-10-24 The Inauguration of Dr. Rick Melson part 1 · WDAC Podcasts

• 0:02
  S1: Since 1886. It's only happened ten times on the Moody campus,
• 0:06
  S1: but today you're about to experience the 11th. Welcome to
• 0:10
  S1: a special edition of Moody Presents with highlights from the
• 0:13
  S1: inauguration of our new president, Doctor Rick Nelson. You'll hear music,
• 0:17
  S1: prayers and a message from Doctor Joe stole.
• 0:20
  S2: Colossians chapter one says that Jesus is preeminent in all things.
• 0:27
  S2: So let me encourage you to keep Jesus preeminent on
• 0:31
  S2: this campus.
• 0:33
  S1: Welcome to Moody Presents. I'm John Gager, and today on
• 0:36
  S1: Moody Presents, we have left our studio and joined the
• 0:40
  S1: capacity crowd in Moody Bible Institute. Tori Gray Auditorium. The
• 0:44
  S1: room really is jammed with students, faculty, staff, and many
• 0:47
  S1: special guests, all here for one reason to celebrate what
• 0:51
  S1: God has done in appointing the new president of Moody.
• 0:54
  S1: Doctor Rick Nelson in this Moody radio's 100th year on
• 0:58
  S1: the air, now gathered on the stage at Torrey Gray Auditorium.
• 1:02
  S1: Many of our former presidents at Moody there, their wives
• 1:05
  S1: in the audience and of course, the entire body of faculty, staff,
• 1:09
  S1: all here. We're going to begin with the singing of
• 1:11
  S1: a wonderful old hymn, Crown him with many crowns.
• 1:19
  S3: The Lamb upon his throne. Our color. Every emblem. All
• 1:29
  S3: you see is all the way, my soul. And see
• 1:37
  S3: of him who died for thee. And LSRSTURENC. R all
• 1:55
  S3: of us who sign up for Pray and pray for
• 2:05
  S3: us sinners and for those he came to save. His
• 2:13
  S3: glory shall be seen. Who died? And Wilson, who died
• 2:23
  S3: for all lives to bring endless and ending up. Now
• 2:34
  S3: in the glory of love. Behold his hands and side
• 2:43
  S3: which wounds death is all above in beauty, glory and power.
• 2:53
  S3: No angels in the sky and holy men The side
• 3:02
  S3: of town is Prairie. Not that it would be so proud.
• 3:31
  S3: Of all of. Us have exercised great influence on our interest.
• 3:48
  S3: Is above all, in. The power of. As part of their. Work. They.
• 4:21
  S1: Were led in prayer now by Doctor Brian Tucker, associate
• 4:24
  S1: provost of the Moody Bible Institute and Moody Theological Seminary.
• 4:28
  S4: Almighty God, our father, you are the King of heaven
• 4:31
  S4: and earth. You've crowned your son Jesus Christ with many
• 4:36
  S4: crowns and have given him a name that is above
• 4:39
  S4: every name. We have just lifted our voices to him,
• 4:44
  S4: and now we bow our hearts before you. Unless the
• 4:48
  S4: Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
• 4:52
  S4: So we confess at the start of this day that
• 4:54
  S4: Moody Bible Institute is your work, not ours. We thank
• 4:59
  S4: you for the faithfulness. In every generation since you've stirred
• 5:03
  S4: the heart of D.L. Moody to train men and women
• 5:06
  S4: in your word for the work of the church. You've
• 5:09
  S4: kept this school through changing times. You've sent its graduates
• 5:13
  S4: into cities and nations around the world, and you've carried
• 5:18
  S4: the gospel through its classrooms, its publishing, and its broadcasts
• 5:22
  S4: to people who will never meet this side of glory.
• 5:25
  S4: And we give you praise. Today we come to inaugurate
• 5:30
  S4: a new chapter, and we ask for your presence. Be
• 5:35
  S4: honored in every word that is spoken, every song sung,
• 5:39
  S4: and every promise made. We lift up your servant, Doctor
• 5:43
  S4: Rick Nelson, as he takes up the office of president
• 5:46
  S4: of Moody Bible Institute. Give him wisdom from above, a
• 5:50
  S4: shepherd's heart and a steady love for your word. Strengthen
• 5:55
  S4: him when the work is heavy, surround Him and His
• 5:59
  S4: family with your peace and joy. Bless our Board of Trustees, faculty, staff,
• 6:05
  S4: students and alumni. Unite us in the truth and make
• 6:09
  S4: us faithful to the mission that you've entrusted to us.
• 6:12
  S4: And as we gather in this place, may all who
• 6:15
  S4: are here this morning see that you are good and
• 6:18
  S4: that you are worthy. We ask this in the name
• 6:21
  S4: of Jesus Christ, our Lord and King. Amen. You may
• 6:24
  S4: be seated.
• 6:26
  S1: A special welcome now from Doctor Tim Sisk, provost of
• 6:29
  S1: the Moody Bible Institute.
• 6:30
  S5: Good morning and welcome to the inauguration of Doctor Rick
• 6:34
  S5: Nelson as the 11th president of the Moody Bible Institute.
• 6:44
  S5: Today marks a significant moment in the life of Moody
• 6:47
  S5: as we give thanks to God for his faithfulness throughout
• 6:51
  S5: this institution's 140 year history, and we look ahead with
• 6:56
  S5: hope and expectation to the years to come. on behalf
• 7:02
  S5: of the Moody Bible Institute, our faculty, staff and students.
• 7:06
  S5: It is my privilege to welcome Doctor Nelson's wife, Tammy,
• 7:11
  S5: and their daughter, Hannah. Members of the Board of Trustees.
• 7:15
  S5: All the living former presidents of MBI are here today.
• 7:20
  S5: Our many ministry partners, civic leaders from Chicago, including Alderman
• 7:24
  S5: Brian Hopkins. Presidents and delegates from other sister higher education institutions,
• 7:31
  S5: our alumni and all who are joining us live stream.
• 7:36
  S5: We are grateful that each of you have chosen to
• 7:38
  S5: be here with us this morning on this important occasion.
• 7:42
  S5: And as we begin, let us turn our attention to
• 7:45
  S5: God's Word and listen as Scripture is read.
• 7:48
  S1: A scripture reading now from Maggie Martinson, chief financial officer
• 7:52
  S1: and treasurer for the Moody Bible Institute.
• 7:54
  S6: As we celebrate God's faithfulness to Moody across generations and
• 7:59
  S6: ask his blessing on Doctor Nelson and the work ahead.
• 8:03
  S6: Hear these words from Psalm 90 and Lamentations three, Psalm 90,
• 8:09
  S6: beginning at verse one. Lord, you have been our dwelling
• 8:14
  S6: place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born, or
• 8:20
  S6: you brought forth the whole world from everlasting to everlasting,
• 8:25
  S6: you are God. And verses 16 and 17. May your
• 8:31
  S6: deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children.
• 8:36
  S6: May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us.
• 8:41
  S6: Establish the work of our hands for us. Yes, establish
• 8:46
  S6: the work of our hands. And from Lamentations chapter three,
• 8:51
  S6: because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed,
• 8:55
  S6: for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning.
• 9:01
  S6: Great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, the Lord
• 9:06
  S6: is my portion, therefore I will wait for him. The
• 9:12
  S6: Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
• 9:16
  S6: to those who seek him. It is good to wait
• 9:19
  S6: quietly for the salvation of the Lord. This is the
• 9:24
  S6: word of the Lord.
• 9:25
  S1: We're going to step away just for a moment, from
• 9:27
  S1: our coverage of the inauguration of Doctor Rick Nelson. By
• 9:30
  S1: the way, just ahead, a charge from Doctor Joe stole
• 9:33
  S1: seventh president of Moody. But we just had to give
• 9:36
  S1: you an opportunity to get your copy of Experiencing the
• 9:39
  S1: Land of the book. You know, to read it is
• 9:42
  S1: to feel like you are in the Holy Land. And
• 9:44
  S1: that's no accident. Because the book contains nearly 250 color
• 9:48
  S1: photos and maps. Doctor Charlie Dyer shares story after story,
• 9:53
  S1: insight after insight, and a fair amount of humor as well. Again,
• 9:57
  S1: it's called Experiencing the Land of the book. And we'll
• 10:00
  S1: send you a copy for a gift of any amount
• 10:02
  S1: in support of Moody Presents, you can give your gift
• 10:05
  S1: online at Moody presents.org. That's Moody presents.org or phone in
• 10:12
  S1: that gift to (800) 400-7022. That's (800) 400-7022. And we'll send you
• 10:21
  S1: a copy of Experiencing the Land of the book. If
• 10:24
  S1: you're just joining us on this special edition of Moody Presents,
• 10:27
  S1: we're covering the installation of the 11th president of Moody
• 10:30
  S1: Bible Institute, Doctor Rick Nelson, a full House and the
• 10:33
  S1: Treasury Auditorium, all kinds of special guests, including all of
• 10:37
  S1: the living former presidents of Moody Bible Institute, are on hand.
• 10:41
  S1: Randall Lightner is vice president of Moody Publishers. He shares
• 10:45
  S1: his thoughts now at this inauguration service for Doctor Rick Nelson.
• 10:49
  S7: 137 years ago or so. D.L. Moody knelt and asked
• 10:53
  S7: God for a small plot of land on which to
• 10:56
  S7: build a Bible school in the heart of Chicago. You're
• 11:00
  S7: on that plot of land right now, and the plaque
• 11:02
  S7: is about 400ft over that way. We are a school
• 11:06
  S7: and we love being a school. We're also a fantastically
• 11:11
  S7: intertwined group of Bible centered ministries working to make the
• 11:15
  S7: gospel accessible for everyone. A few years after he and
• 11:20
  S7: Emma Dreyer founded the school, Mr. Moody was in a
• 11:22
  S7: Wisconsin bookstore and asked something like, what have you in
• 11:27
  S7: the way of books to show and share the gospel
• 11:29
  S7: with young people? It turns out they didn't have very much.
• 11:33
  S7: And Moody, ever. The entrepreneur then started the Bible Institute
• 11:39
  S7: Colportage Association. Cole Porter's being people who traveled by wagon
• 11:44
  S7: and horseback or even by foot to get books into
• 11:47
  S7: the hands of everyday readers. Now, after all these years
• 11:51
  S7: of business and ministry, Moody Publishers mission remains the same.
• 11:56
  S7: Even if our delivery systems have changed just a little bit.
• 11:59
  S7: But several decades later, in the spirit of Moody's entrepreneurship
• 12:04
  S7: and gumption, leaders at the institute jumped in with a
• 12:07
  S7: brand new technology called radio amidst government difficulty and bolstered
• 12:13
  S7: by opportunity. A hundred years ago this year, Moody Radio
• 12:17
  S7: was launched with the intended purpose and the executed expertise
• 12:22
  S7: of helping regular people know Jesus Christ. Even the Non-believing
• 12:26
  S7: world showed admiration for the quality broadcasting that Moody put
• 12:31
  S7: into people's homes from the very first hour on the air.
• 12:34
  S7: Fast forward through the decades, we've seen change, and we've
• 12:37
  S7: concurrently experienced the steadfastness of God through it all. From
• 12:42
  S7: horses to overnight Amazon deliveries to on demand audiobooks, and
• 12:48
  S7: from single tube tabletop radio sets to state of the
• 12:52
  S7: art satellite feed delivery to video streaming live gospel centered
• 12:57
  S7: content at Moody Global Media. The great news, of course,
• 13:00
  S7: as the writer of Hebrews tells us, is that Jesus
• 13:03
  S7: Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Under His Lordship,
• 13:08
  S7: we all have big time jobs to do, and these
• 13:11
  S7: roles require adaptability, discernment, a learning posture, and most importantly,
• 13:16
  S7: a praying posture. We are here at Moody, after all,
• 13:21
  S7: on the shoulders of praying giants. And that brings us
• 13:25
  S7: to this very special morning. From all of us accountants
• 13:29
  S7: and maintenance specialists, editors and engineers, event planners and public
• 13:34
  S7: safety officers, developers and food service professionals, graphic designers and
• 13:39
  S7: marketing managers. On behalf of the employees and staff, I'd
• 13:43
  S7: like to welcome our 11th president, Doctor Rick Nelson and
• 13:46
  S7: his wife, Tammy to the Moody Bible Institute. He's already
• 13:49
  S7: jumping in with vigor and care, expertly taking the wheel
• 13:53
  S7: of this very special place with humility and vision. We're
• 13:58
  S7: so glad you're here. These days ahead are full of
• 14:00
  S7: potential and surely some uncharted waters. But a grand adventure awaits.
• 14:06
  S7: This is just how we like it all. To the
• 14:09
  S7: glory of God. Thank you.
• 14:16
  S1: Doctor Joe stole served as the seventh president of Moody
• 14:19
  S1: Bible Institute and was heard for many years here on
• 14:21
  S1: Moody Presents. Here's his charge to the president.
• 14:25
  S2: I feel highly honored to be asked to give you
• 14:27
  S2: a charge, but I have to admit, Doctor Melson, it
• 14:29
  S2: seems rather strange that you would need a charge. You've
• 14:33
  S2: come here with great credentials and phenomenal experience. You've led
• 14:38
  S2: an academic institution with wisdom and success. And you're 55
• 14:42
  S2: years old, which means that you have made most of
• 14:44
  S2: your mistakes and you come here with wisdom and confidence.
• 14:50
  S2: So I'm not sure what maybe I should do. What
• 14:54
  S2: one president did with his successor not having time to
• 14:57
  S2: break his successor in and said, by the way, I
• 15:01
  S2: don't have time to help you, but I put three
• 15:03
  S2: envelopes here in the top file drawer. And when you
• 15:06
  S2: get into a problem, just go to the envelopes. And
• 15:09
  S2: sure enough, he ran into a problem, went to the
• 15:11
  S2: first envelope and said, blame it on the faculty. And
• 15:17
  S2: he did, and it went away. Which now tells you
• 15:22
  S2: this is not a joke. And pretty soon there was
• 15:26
  S2: another problem. Went to the second envelope. Blame it on
• 15:30
  S2: the board. And he did. And the problem went away.
• 15:35
  S2: But as life goes, pretty soon he was into the
• 15:37
  S2: third one. It said, prepare three envelopes. But maybe I
• 15:48
  S2: ought to do a little more than that to maybe
• 15:51
  S2: just Doctor Milson to remind you of some things that
• 15:55
  S2: are really important, especially in the moody context. First of all,
• 16:00
  S2: I want to remind you to lead from your strengths
• 16:03
  S2: and the gifts that God has given you. You'll have
• 16:06
  S2: lots of stuff laying on your desk, some of the
• 16:09
  S2: things that only presidents can do. You're going to have
• 16:13
  S2: to do, but a lot of it can be passed
• 16:15
  S2: on to others who will do it very well. Lead
• 16:19
  S2: in the things that you love to do. Lead the
• 16:22
  S2: things that you're gifted to do. And if you do that,
• 16:25
  S2: you'll find great joy and energy and fruitfulness, and it
• 16:29
  S2: may even lengthen your tenure here at the Moody Bible Institute.
• 16:34
  S2: Remember that people count in a place like Moody. The
• 16:39
  S2: complexities of the bureaucracy are sometimes overwhelming, and we end
• 16:44
  S2: up getting lost in the policies and the procedures and
• 16:48
  S2: forget that it's really people that count lead to enable
• 16:53
  S2: the faculty to flourish, lead, to be able to give
• 16:58
  S2: the staff the The excitement of being joined into the
• 17:01
  S2: mission of a place like the Moody Bible Institute, and
• 17:04
  S2: especially pay attention to the people that are down on
• 17:07
  S2: the lower end of the administrative structure, the guy at
• 17:11
  S2: the top of a ladder. Just stop by and say
• 17:13
  S2: hi to him. Boy, you are so important to what
• 17:16
  S2: happens here. If you get those people to love you,
• 17:20
  S2: you'll have one of the best support groups on this campus.
• 17:24
  S2: And then there's the students. They're the best. Totally the best.
• 17:30
  S2: I have to admit that when I was here, it
• 17:33
  S2: wasn't the paperwork that fired up my passions. Well, I
• 17:37
  S2: did the paperwork to keep the job I loved. But
• 17:40
  S2: when the paperwork kind of got demanding and, you know,
• 17:43
  S2: the stacks were heavy. I used to like to sneak
• 17:46
  S2: by my executive assistant so she didn't see me and
• 17:51
  S2: go hang out with students. They were refreshing. Much to
• 17:55
  S2: the faculty's dislike. I'd bust into classrooms. Hey, how are
• 18:00
  S2: you guys doing today? You're so blessed to have a
• 18:03
  S2: faculty member like this when you go to the dining commons.
• 18:07
  S2: It's interesting. Everybody thinks you came to eat lunch with
• 18:10
  S2: them and that's good. Go to the sporting events. Be
• 18:15
  S2: the lead cheerleader for The Archers, and the students will
• 18:18
  S2: believe that you're on their team. In addition to that,
• 18:23
  S2: I would remind you to know what must change at
• 18:27
  S2: Moody and what must not change at Moody. And one
• 18:33
  S2: of the things that must not change is the theological
• 18:37
  S2: and doctrinal integrity of the Moody Bible Institute. 140 years
• 18:43
  S2: still right on target with God's Word and his authority
• 18:47
  S2: in his place and the kingship of Jesus Christ. That's
• 18:50
  S2: a great record. And the baton is now in your hand.
• 18:57
  S2: I might remind you as well that humility is a
• 19:01
  S2: virtue of leadership. Admit when you're wrong and when great
• 19:08
  S2: things happen at Moody, give other people the credit and
• 19:14
  S2: then make up your mind that not everyone's going to
• 19:17
  S2: like you. This is hard to believe, but every place
• 19:22
  S2: I've served, there's always been a group of people that
• 19:26
  S2: didn't like me. Can you imagine that? Nor did they
• 19:33
  S2: like the decisions that I made. But remember that you
• 19:39
  S2: have come here to serve the Lord and to do
• 19:42
  S2: what is best for Moody. If you know you have
• 19:45
  S2: what you have decided has been vetted by wise counsel,
• 19:49
  S2: and it's the best thing to do for Moody, then
• 19:52
  S2: do it. It's not a popularity contest, and if you
• 19:56
  S2: do that, you'll sleep a lot better at night. I
• 20:01
  S2: have a friend who wrote a book called turtle on
• 20:03
  S2: a Fence Post. Think about that. How do turtles get
• 20:09
  S2: on fence posts? Somebody puts them there. And I might
• 20:15
  S2: remind you, Doctor Nelson, that God has put you here
• 20:20
  S2: and that you should place your confidence in the fact
• 20:23
  S2: that he is the Lord that has brought you here
• 20:26
  S2: for a purpose and for his glory, and that it
• 20:29
  S2: is to him that you're ultimately accountable. So glad for
• 20:34
  S2: God bringing you here. All of us are rejoicing in it.
• 20:38
  S2: And I should mention as well that I think self
• 20:41
  S2: care is important. Eat right, exercise, sleep regular hours. Don't
• 20:50
  S2: let the busyness of moody crowd out your spiritual disciplines
• 20:54
  S2: and your time alone with the Lord, because you're going
• 20:57
  S2: to need to cry out, I need you, oh, I
• 20:59
  S2: need you. every hour I need you. Stay close to him.
• 21:05
  S2: And you need to know too, as well, that you
• 21:07
  S2: need to take a break once in a while. Getting
• 21:11
  S2: into the refreshment of something that you love. That's not moody.
• 21:16
  S2: I find it interesting that Jesus, even with more messages
• 21:19
  S2: to preach and more people to heal, went apart and
• 21:23
  S2: rested a while. Jesus knew that your tanks can't always
• 21:28
  S2: run on weary and still be effective for the work
• 21:32
  S2: that God has called you to. It's kind of like
• 21:35
  S2: that old hymn. What was it? Hymn number three. You
• 21:38
  S2: got to know when to hold em. Know when to
• 21:40
  S2: fold em. So build yourself a sandbox and find enjoyment
• 21:50
  S2: in something you love to do. That's not moody. And
• 21:53
  S2: go there. It's your retreat. You'll find it will give
• 21:56
  S2: you strength for the work that you have to continue
• 22:00
  S2: that I might say, just encourage you to guard your priorities.
• 22:06
  S2: I remember a few years ago, I woke up at
• 22:09
  S2: 3:00 in the morning and my mind just by the way,
• 22:11
  S2: what is it with 3:00 in the morning? And my
• 22:15
  S2: mind just starts going. And I started to think back
• 22:18
  S2: on my life, the seasons of my life. And this
• 22:21
  S2: metaphor came up. Like my life's been like a train ride.
• 22:25
  S2: And I got on the train when I was born.
• 22:29
  S2: And every once in a while I got off at
• 22:30
  S2: another station. I got off at high school station with
• 22:33
  S2: my friends and everybody got back on a train, waved goodbye,
• 22:37
  S2: never to see them again. I went to seminary, got
• 22:40
  S2: off at seminary station, and with my profs and my
• 22:44
  S2: friends when it was over, waved goodbye and never to
• 22:48
  S2: see them again. My pastorates, those stations temporary wave goodbye.
• 22:55
  S2: Never to see them again. The Moody station, which is
• 22:59
  S2: a very seductive station in consuming all that you are
• 23:02
  S2: and all that you have. All of the time. And
• 23:06
  S2: then something crossed my mind. There's only two people going
• 23:12
  S2: all the way with me, Marty and Jesus, and I
• 23:19
  S2: better pour my life into them. Because the stations are important.
• 23:25
  S2: But in the end, those two things are really important. So, Rick,
• 23:31
  S2: remember Tammy. Remember Jesus. Guard the priorities. And then I
• 23:38
  S2: remember lastly, but certainly not least, the Colossians chapter one
• 23:43
  S2: says that Jesus is preeminent in all things. And so
• 23:51
  S2: let me encourage you to keep Jesus preeminent on this campus,
• 23:56
  S2: to have the faculty walk in his steps and his
• 23:59
  S2: will to lead students to the glory of his plan
• 24:03
  S2: and purpose to make sure that he is the lead
• 24:06
  S2: attraction on the campus of the Moody Bible Institute. For
• 24:11
  S2: in all things our King is preeminent, and he rules
• 24:15
  S2: and he reigns, and may he rule and reign with
• 24:17
  S2: power in your presidency. That will be our prayer for you. So,
• 24:22
  S2: Doctor Nelson, God bless you as you launch this presidency.
• 24:27
  S2: You will be in our prayers and will be your cheerleaders.
• 24:30
  S2: God bless you.
• 24:40
  S1: What a meaningful time it has been sharing part of
• 24:43
  S1: the installation service of Doctor Rick Nelson, 11th president of
• 24:46
  S1: the Moody Bible Institute. A reminder that next week when
• 24:49
  S1: we get together, we'll hear a message from Doctor Rick Nelson.
• 24:52
  S1: That's all ahead on Moody presents a reminder that you
• 24:55
  S1: can get your copy of Experiencing the Land of the book,
• 24:58
  S1: a beautiful, colorful resource that will take you to the
• 25:01
  S1: Holy Land as you give a gift of any amount.
• 25:03
  S1: Right now at Moody presents.org, Moody presents.org, or phone in
• 25:09
  S1: that gift at (800) 400-7022 (800) 400-7022. On behalf of our producer,
• 25:18
  S1: Chris Sieghart, I'm John Gager thanking you for joining us
• 25:21
  S1: for Moody Presents, a production of Moody Radio, a Ministry
• 25:25
  S1: of Moody Bible Institute.
• 25:27
  S3: Great is thy faith. Great is thy faithfulness. Great is
• 25:38
  S3: thy faith.