I wanted everyone to take some time over the next few days to talk to Bob. Bob is not a man of many words, but I know he has a huge heart.
I have one memory that stands out in my mind. It is a little cloudy but I’m hoping someone can help fill in the details. When we were in AIM we went somewhere and did a VBS type thing. I believe Rex was doing a gospel meeting and we were doing classes with the children at the same time.
There were about 72 AIMers and maybe 10 classes so we weren’t really short on help. I don’t remember who was with me … I believe it was Heather or Maggie. We were wandering around outside (not hiding, but it might have looked that way 🙂 ) when we saw Bob coming toward us. Of course we immediately thought we were busted. He walked up and said, “Do you want to go get some ice cream?” WHAT?! We thought we were in trouble, but instead we were going to get ice cream. He took us for ice cream and we were back before the services were over. That has always stuck out in my mind … anyone that buys me ice cream instead of making me teach a class is #1 in my book. Go Bob!!!
I know that Bob is a man that would go out of his way to help anyone and the extra mile is his regular route. Please take some time to encourage him with a story or thought. I don’t know that he is much of a “blogger” but I will make sure that he receives all the comments.
Thanks for stopping by – feel free to camp out on BASE with me for a while. (but I can no longer guarantee that you won’t get tagged 😦 )
i'm on BASE !!! 
Comments on: "BOB RENNE IS IN THE HOT SEAT" (12)
I was not an AIM student, so the people that have been in the Hot Seat that I have known, I know in a different context than most of the folks here on BASE. I met Bob a little over two years ago at the Boom Boom Church on the Strip (the nickname of our Open Church before we moved to the building with the Open sign). I was immediately struck by his quiet calmness. Unassuming. Making sure things were done, without any hoopla surrounding him. When he did speak, his words carried deep meaning. I am very blessed to have met Bob. I needed people like him at that point in my life especially.
One time he made lasagne for our pot luck dinner (maybe for the first one, come to think of it) and my daughter loved it so much!! She still says “I love Bob! He makes wonderful lasagne”. I tell her “I love Bob too”…and I do.
Thanks for putting him in the hot seat Paige. I can’t wait to read some more of the AIMer’s stories about him.
BOB WAS ALWAYS IN CHARGE OF FOOD WHEN WE WERE IN AIM … I LIKE THAT RACHEL ASSOCIATES HIM WITH LASAGNA. I LIKE YOUR DESCRIPTION: MAKING SURE THINGS WERE DONE WITHOUT ANY HOOPLA SURROUNDING HIM. THAT TAKES A LOT OF CHARACTER.
When I was in AIM, especially in Lubbock, I had what seemed to be chronic bronchitis. I was sick all of the time. I remember one day in chapel, I was not feeling well and was coughing continuously. Bob came a got me and said that we were going to the doctor. He took me to a clinic. It seemed like we were there forever. When they finally called my name to go back, Bob went with me. Of course, when they asked my to put on the gown, he excused himself. But he was so good to me. I was sick and I was missing my mom. But Bob helped me get through it. He made sure that I had everything that I needed to get well. I will aways remember what he did for me.
THOSE ARE THE KIND OF STORIES I LIKE TO HEAR.
Bob was the AIM Dad. He was always checking on me, making sure I was doing OK. Once, Hope and I decided to not go to class and just hung out in our apartment all day. We came and told Bob that it was stress, but I’m sure he knew we were just slacking. He didn’t reproach us, he just said he hoped we were doing better. 🙂
Anytime I was going home on the weekend, he would tell me to be careful and every day he saw me he said, “I’m really glad you are here.” If I missed a class he was always concerned about me. I knew that if I needed anything, I could go to Bob. I love you bunches, Bob!!! 🙂
WHAT A GOOD MAN. GLAD THAT HE MADE YOU FEEL AT HOME WHEN YOU WERE IN AIM.
I love The Bob.
Sometimes I thought AIM stood for Adventures in Moving. I think Bob invented seminars and luncheons (spell check anyone?) just so we AIMers would have to lug tables and chairs accross Sunset. Once, he even pimped us AIM guys out to a land-scaping company to haul dirt and grass around for a day. I’m sure we complained (alot!) but Bob was always working harder than any of us. That made it easier to get in line behind him, roll up our sleaves and get to serving. Little did I know then that hauling tables, chairs and dirt is the foundation for ministry. (and I’m not joking about that.)
I remember running into The Bob one Sunday in the parking lot at Sunset and introducing him to my new wife. I was overcome with this strange sense of excitement and sadness. I couldn’t explain to Kim the fullness of my respect for him and was saddened that she didn’t get to have Bob as part of her AIM experience. Who can really explain the beauty of Bob? You don’t just meet the Bob, you’ve got to LIVE the Bob.
This is longer than I intended, but one great memory of Bob is how he always doted on Radonna and questioned her fondness for James, while visiting with the BOTH of them when we were AIMers.
side note… Someone should write a book entitled, “When We Were AIMers” and give Bob his own chapter.
THANK GOD FOR BOB … AMEN.
I love these stories of appreciation of Bob.
The note from Tim about Bob giving them to a landscape company for the day, happens to be Lynn and Kelly’s landscape company. And they much appreciated the help that day. I am sure we were short of help, or on some kind of deadline, either that or Bob just wanted the AIMers to know hard work.
That is just how Bob thinks. He thinks of others all the time. Bob is a true servant.
And I can totally see him taking an AIM student to the doctor.
Bob has been there for my family in more ways than I can count.
Bob took my two little girls, Carrie and Nicci ages 4 & 2 to the airport to pick up my mom, while Lynn and I were at the hospital waiting for Kelly to be born. He was hoping that my mom would recognize Carrie and Nicci cause he did not know if he would recognize my mom.
Some of my best memories are trips to Camp Blue Haven with Bob and Gail and a group of other servants to cook for the Sunset youth group. We did this for at least 10 years.
Bob put in a lot of work with Bible Bowl at Sunset too.
One year Bob went to our house while we were out of town and put together the Tyco Play Kitchen set thing, so it would be there from Santa when we got home from grandma’s house.
It is stuff like that, that Bob would do for you. You could ask him anything I think, and he would do his very best to help you get it done.
If space allowed, I could go on and on about all the wonderful things that Bob has done for me and my family and a bunch more people too.
I want Bob to know how much he and Gail and his family mean to me and mine. He has been a great influence on my children and a good friend to Lynn and I.
Bob, we love and appreciate you.
I’M SO GLAD THAT YOUR FAMILY HAS SOMEONE LIKE BOB TO SHOW YOU JESUS. SOUNDS LIKE HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN ENCOURAGEMENT AND HELP TO YOU AND YOURS.
I never doubted for a minute that Bob loved me…I just wasn’t too sure he liked me…I think he lumped me in with Tim and his ilk! (ha)
One thing that Bob does is that he sees what a person “can be” and he’ll make sure you have the experiences as well as put you in situations in which you’ll stretch and grow into the person you can/will be. (Personally, I loved the landscaping day…I was shocked at how many in our class had never actually “worked” a hard, full day in their lives…it was so good for us all!)
Some time way after AIM, Russia, etc…we lived in Gruver, and one Saturday night, RaD and the kids stayed in Seagraves and I was traveling by myself from Seagraves back to Gruver. At the overbuilt rest stop between Lubbock and Plainview, I blew the transmission in the car. I sat there, by myself, realizing that almost every person I knew that had lived in Lubbock didn’t live in Lubbock any longer. I thought of Bob…I hadn’t seen him in like 4 or so years…how do you call a guy you’ve not seen in 4 years, and ask him for help with your car on a late Saturday night? Well, you can…if it’s Bob. His response? “Give me 30 minutes…” By the time he got there, he had a mechanic lined up and told me “don’t bother RaDonna”–yes he always like her best–and he took me back to Seagraves. He got upset when I asked him how much the towropes were, and when I tried to give him money for gas…in fact, before I could say thank you, he said, “thanks for calling me!”
It’s been said…Bob is a servant. He is, definately…but his example makes a person want to be a servant too.
Like I said, I don’t know if he ever liked me…but I’m sure glad he loved me and challenged me to be what he saw I could be.
GOD SURE DID GOOD WHEN HE MADE BOB … HE HAS A UNIQUE SPIRIT OF SERVANTHOOD THAT NOT MANY OF US HAVE.
When I saw Bob’s picture and name in the hot seat…so many things flooded my mind!! What an amazing servant of God. I will ALWAYS love Bob.
I have never seen anyone work so hard and expect all around him to do the same. I have never seen someone love so much and expect NOTHING in return. I have not known anyone as willing to open his eyes and SEE the needs of those around him and then follow through…..FIND a way to meet those needs.
If I wrote all the ways Bob has been there for me and my family alone…you would be reading for days or just skipping my comment all together…here are just a few:
When trying to plan our wedding, (AFTER AIM….okay…the day after we graduated from AIM) Sunset had a standing policy to not have weddings in the building on Sundays….Bob went ‘upstairs’ and said he would personally be responsible for the building that day and make sure it was ready for evening services. We had a Sunday wedding at the Sunset building.
Many years later, after VERY little communication with Bob….just lost touch…James was traveling back to Gruver after a trip to Seagraves and somewhere on I 27…our car died…who do you call for help? Bob…..he was there in a flash and took care of the car and James.
I will stop there but there are so many more….
Bob, I love you! You have been a friend, a brother and SUCH an example to me.
RaDonna
THANKS RADONNA … NEVER FEEL THAT YOU HAVE TO STOP TELLING GOOD THINGS … WE CAN NEVER HEAR ENOUGH …
I don’t remember when, exactly, that I met Bob Renne. I cannot remember if it was when I was an AIM student – or when I came back and married into the assistanthood of AIM. However, I know that from the time I met Bob – he has always been a friend and someone that I knew I could count on to help me if I ever needed help. I spent lots of hours in Bob’s office talking, helping with tapes, and anything else I could get Bob to let me do. He taught me how to be a servant…how to work hard…and to put others first. Over the last few years, God has blessed me again and again with opportunities to be with Bob – whether it was working on his computers in the nursery he managed – or working side by side in other businesses. Bob has taught me how to be dependable and trustworthy in your job no matter what the consequences. I was with him on a trip where we drove in really late at night – and on the trip our boss mentioned that he would like the flower beds fixed in front of the building sometime…before I got to work the next morning…the flower beds were done! That is the type of man Bob Renne is…a servant. I hope that I am there when the Lord gives him his “well done thou good and faithful servant”…and I am sure there will be countless numbers of folks who Bob has touched without ever seeking something in return.
I love Bob Renne!
WHAT AN EXAMPLE BOB HAS BEEN FOR ALL OF US … THANK GOD WE HAVE BOB TO SHOW US HOW TO BE LIKE JESUS.
Paige,
Thanks a bunch for doing this for Bob R. Even though I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with Bob, I found that it really didn’t take much time to see the huge heart of the man. He welcomed me warmly when I first came to teach for a week in the AIM program one Fall. All he knew about me was that I was one of Rex’s friends. And that was all he needed to know. He treated me as a true friend. When I think of Bob, I think of strength…strong physically (I wouldn’t even pretend to mess with him), but also strong in his loyalty to Jesus and to family and friends. Bob is also strong enough to allow his heart to be broken when people he cares about suffer. I will never forget the way Bob entered into the grief of the family who lost their young son to a fall in the mountains of New Mexico. Bob climbed down to the boy and carried him out. Bob, your example in all that deep sorrow, changed me forever. And when I think of you I also think of giving. I still have two prized gifts in my possession that you gave me. Remember the day when you and Rex and I played golf at (was it) Shadow Hills in Lubbock? I thought that was such a strange name for a Lubbock golf course. There was no shade. And I really don’t recall any hills either. You loaned me a putter (the now famous “Black Cougar” putter) to play with that day. I proceeded, in a rare feat of destiny, to defeat you and Rex…mostly because I putted unbelievably well. When I tried to return your putter, you told me to keep it. I did. I still putt with it whenever I get to play. AND I have never putted as well as I did in that match in Lubbock so long ago. You also gave me Lagard Smith’s devotional book, Meeting God In Quiet Places. It was a book that meant so much to you. I was and am grateful that you gave it to me. I hope you are still having those wonderful meetings with Him in a quiet place somewhere. I also hope that as you see yourself thru the eyes of us, your friends and loved ones, here on Paige’s blog and elsewhere you will be glad in your heart for the long and ongoing list of goodness God works because of you. I miss you, brother. God bless you and yours.
DOUG THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS, I GOT TO SEE A NEW LEVEL OF “BOBNESS” THAT I DIDN’T KNOW. YOUR WORDS AND BOB’S KINDNESS CHALLENGE ME TO CONSIDER THE NEEDS OF THOSE AROUND ME.
I don’t remember a time without Bob in my life…he is a continous fixture in my life that I love, respect, appreciate, and admire. I have loved him, his wife and his children forever. I played countless hours of Barbie with Tiffany at their house. They trusted me to babysit and loved me throughout my life. The memory that still sticks out in my mind is this…when I lost my first baby…I was so broken and I received a little note from Bob…his words carried so much wisdom and insight, but mostly they carried his understanding of what I was feeling and that he felt it too. I don’t know if everyone who sees Bob realizes how tender his heart is…they should…they would be blessed by that. I love you Bob…and all of yours…Cheri
CHERI, I’M GLAD THAT YOU HAD THOSE WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT IN SUCH A DIFFICULT TIME. GOD SURE KNOWS WHAT WE NEED WHEN WE NEED IT … SOUNDS LIKE HE USES BOB QUITE OFTEN TO DO HIS ENCOURAGING.
Paige, when I first saw that you put Bob in the “hot seat”, I was so pleased that people (who were his very heart, AIMers) would have a place – a time – a chance to remember all of the good that came to them through his strong arms and compassionate heart. (Then, I was a little frightened for you; because when I give him a copy of these comments – at breakfast in the morning – and tell him that you did this, he may come looking for you. Ask Tim what it is like for “The Bob” to come looking for you.)
Now to Bob: My brother, my golf-pro, my driver, my book giver, my counselor, my partner in the gospel, my teacher, and my friend. I love you. I miss you. I see you – almost every week. (Thank you for the breakfasts.) But I miss you. I miss the work that we did together with the Sunset teens – making disciples of young people that others only wanted to entertain. I taught them the Word, but you prepared them for life. Many of them, living all over the US, are honoring God and your part in their “raising” by being active in their churches, reading good books, and serving others – when no one else wants the job. You taught them that. I watched you – up close – and was taught, blessed, and changed to be more like you … more like Jesus. I miss the work we did together with the AIM students – making disciples of young people that others only wanted to “keep safe at home”. I taught them the Word (you did too. I bet they all remember what you taught them from Philippians.) You taught them to serve. From you they learned to serve – planting grass, moving tables, washing dishes, visiting widows and orphans, and doing whatever needed to be done, especially on a Sunday – because Sunday is a “work day”. They could learn what I taught by reading a book – The Book – but they couldn’t learn to “lay down their lives” from a book. They had to see it – experience it, and they did – in you. All over the world there are people who bear the mark of your love and example – and they are sharing it with their children and with those they love and serve.
I have been honored to be your friend – to be known by others as your friend … for in you is the spirit of the men, who held up Moses’ arms until the battle was won … the spirit of Joseph, who worked hard for years to make sure that people had plenty to eat … the spirit of the men, who were gifted by God to construct the tabernacle, according to the pattern of God … the spirit of Boaz, who noticed when others needed a little extra … the spirit of the mighty men of David, who would go anywhere – do anything to please their King … the spirit of Jonathan, who loved his friend to death .. the spirit of Elisha, who did not want to lose sight of Elijah – but continued to work when others would have quit …the spirit of Nehemiah, who worked hard in spite of ungrateful people and insensitive critics … the spirit of John, who tried to stay out of the limelight so others could focus on Jesus … the spirit of the little boy, who gave his Long John Silver’s happy meal to Jesus – so others could have lunch … the spirit of the Samaritan, who didn’t pass by but got his hands and his heart “dirty” to bind up the wounds of the bruised man and take him to a safe place … the spirit of the family, who loaned the Christ the colt of their donkey … the spirit of Simon from Cyrene, who helped carry the cross … the spirit of Peter, who stumbled a time or two – but refused to turn from following the Master … the spirit of the disciple Jesus loved, who couldn’t stop the trial but didn’t want his Lord and friend to be alone … the spirit of Joseph, who gave up his final resting place, so that Jesus would have a place to rest until it turned into “the empty tomb” … the spirit of Barnabas, who gave of his possessions and his heart so others could be encouraged … the spirit of Stephen, who served widows so others could preach … and the spirit of Thomas, who had a hard time believing but never stopped believing … the spirit of Stephen (and 6 other deacons), who served tables so others could preach … the spirit of Aquila, who with his wife Priscilla (Gail), made tents so Paul could build churches … the spirit of Onesimus, who was useful to employers and preachers … the spirit of Onesiphorus, who tirelessly sought and served to refresh the hearts of those who were hurting … and yes, the spirit of Jesus, who was (and is) a friend of sinners – as you have been and are a friend to this sinner. Thank you for taking me to breakfast – like Jesus did Peter. I love you, Bob. Rex
p.s. This is all Paige’s fault.
WHAT MORE CAN I ADD … WHAT AN EXAMPLE BOB IS FOR ALL OF US … BEING LIKE JESUS 24/7.
Ok, so I can’t write as well as Rex, wish I could put into words how I feel about Bob as well as how I see Bob, as well as Rex. (did that make sense?)
I am not sure if Rex has shown all these comments to you yet, if not, then I sneaked in under the wire again.
After reading my first comment, and then some of these others, I had to add, Amen to all of the above and I could not have said it better.
I have seen and experienced everything that everyone has said, and know it all to be true.
I thank God for you Bob, I am thankful to call you my friend and brother, and I know Lynn is too, even if Lynn does not know how to read a blog, find a blog or comment on a blog, if he were here, he would want to say the same things.
Ok, just so you know, and when are we going to do lunch again? I am pretty flexible.
HE TOOK THE COMMENTS TO BOB ON SATURDAY … I WILL MAKE SURE HE GETS THIS ONE. CELIA I THINK YOU WRITE FROM YOUR HEART AND THAT’S THE BEST WAY WE CAN SAY ANYTHING.