John R. Claypool - The First to Follow: The Apostles of Jesus

The First to Follow

The Apostles of Jesus

John R. Claypool

Edited by

Ann Wilkinson Claypool

An imprint of Church Publishing Incorporated

Harrisburg New York

Copyright 2008 by John R. Claypool

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Morehouse Publishing, 4775 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg, PA 17112

Morehouse Publishing, 445 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016

Morehouse Publishing is an imprint of Church Publishing Incorporated.

www.churchpublishing.org

Cover art: Giotto di Bondone (12661336). Washing of the feet. Fresco. Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy. Credit: Scala/Art Resource.

Cover design by Jennifer Glosser

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Claypool, John.

The first to follow : the apostles of Jesus / John R. Claypool ; edited by Ann Claypool.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-8192-2296-1 (casebound w/o jacket) 1. Apostles.

I. Claypool, Ann. II. Title.

BS2440.C53 2008

226'.0922dc22

2008000363

In grateful memory
of
dearly beloved John

T his book evolved from a study of the twelve apostles that my husband, John, presented at Saint Lukes Episcopal Church in the fall of 1992, and that was the only time that he gave all twelve of these presentations about the original disciples. He did have the occasion to lecture on Peter, John, Thomas, and Judas at The Furman Pastors School in South Carolina, in 1998, and at The Chautauqua Institute in New York, in 2000, where he added talks on Andrew, Matthew, and Simon, also. These teachings on the apostles helped me to understand and identify each of them better than I ever had before. Their individual personalities came alive to me as I gained a greater appreciation of the challenges they faced and the ways they were affected by Jesus. The series was so enlightening to me that I encouraged John to put it in book form for the benefit of many more people than the limited groups with whom he had been able to share it personally. Sadly, he did not have the opportunity to do so.

In June of 2003, John was diagnosed as having a form of cancer called multiple myeloma, and our lives were caught up in a medical vortex, as he described it. He underwent a stem cell transplant in March 2004, and we were ecstatic when we learned that it had been successful. Naturally, we hoped he would remain free of cancer, but the disease reoccurred and he needed a second stem cell transplant by June 2005. Worse yet, he experienced serious complications from the second stem cell transplant that he had not suffered during the first one. By the grace of God and Johns incredible courage, he made it through many grueling weeks in the hospital, and we were full of hope and joy when he came home cancer-free again. Only one week later, an abdominal aortic aneurysm ended his life on earth, after two years of bravely battling cancer. Within a six-month period, my mother had died; John and I had watched the television coverage of Hurricane Katrina, in horror, as it devastated my hometown of New Orleans and overwhelmed my family and friends living there; then just days later, John passed away on September 3, 2005. My world was turned upside down, and learning to live without him was the most difficult thing I have ever had to do.

Soon after his passing, Johns long-time friend and former editor, Cynthia Shattuck, offered me the opportunity to put more of his work in writing, by transcribing and editing his audio recordings for a manuscript to be published by Church Publishing Incorporated. I was still experiencing an enormous amount of grief when we talked about such a task, but I remember thinking that she and her colleagues were giving me a rare chance to honor Johns memory in a very special way. I felt close to him as I listened to his recorded voice and converted his spoken words into a manuscript to be published. I had helped John type and edit the last eight of the eleven books that he wrote and, in that process, had many telephone conversations with his publishers and editors to save him some time and effort. He was extremely loving and generous, and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him. I am thankful for the opportunity to share more of his work through this book, in hopes that his words will be a gift to many readers.

I appreciate immensely those friends whose interest, encouragement, and help made this book possible. I am indebted especially to Keith Miller, Barbara Brown Taylor, George Wirth, Hardy Clemons, Alan Culpepper, William Hull, Fisher Humphries, Russell Levenson, Nancy Ford, Cathy Randall, Macon Riddle, Allen Samford, Carleton Sokol, Brooke Wallace, Carole and Howard Hovde, Dorie and Pat King, and Judy and Guy Parker. I am truly blessed by my familys support and understanding during my long periods of preoccupation with this project, especially our children and grandchildren, Rowan and John Claypool VI, C. T. and Ashley Williams, Laura Williams and Marty Vanderploeg. Most of all, I am grateful to Cynthia Shattuck, Ryan Masteller, and Church Publishing Incorporated for their confidence in me and for all they have done to bring The First to Follow to fruition. My personal thanks go to Cynthia for not only doing the hard work of editing, in order to produce something worthy of being published, but also for her friendship and encouragement through much of the emotional roller coaster of grief.

Last, but definitely not least, I have special gratitude for Johns dear sister and her husband, Marie and Bob Piper, who read every draft of every chapter, corrected many mistakes, and made brilliant editing suggestions to improve the clarity and flow of the manuscript before I sent it to Cynthia. They helped me research the references, as well, and the three of us shared a strong commitment to honoring the memory of our John by making this book a reality. Their help was invaluable, and working with them on this project was an unexpected gift that deepened the loving family bond we already shared. Our collaboration was one of many blessings that I received in the process of bringing about this book, and I hope that you will be blessed by reading it.

Ann Wilkinson Claypool

O ne of the first things that Jesus did in his ministry was to reach out to twelve individuals and draw them into a circle of close companionship with him. This book is about those twelve apostles, their relationships with Jesus and each other, and what the dynamics of that community can mean for us today. It is obvious from the gospels that Jesus was deeply connected to other people; Saint Augustine said that Jesus loved each person he ever met as if there were no one else in all the world to love, and he loved all as he loved each. I have never known which aspect of Jesus is more incredible, his capacity for individual affection or the amazing inclusiveness of his love.