Ben Haden (October 18, 1925 - October 24, 2013) was an ordained minister in the

Presbyterian Church in America The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Calvinist, Reformed in theolog ...

. He became internationally known through the religious broadcast, ''Changed Lives''.

Early life

Haden was born in Fincastle, Virginia, in 1925. to Judge Benjamin Haden and Anne Spiller Hadden. He had one sister, Lynn. The family later moved to

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, Texas. He received his law degree from Washington and Lee College in 1949 and became a member of the Virginia bar. He also studied at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

and

Columbia Theological Seminary Columbia Theological Seminary is a Presbyterian seminary in Decatur, Georgia. It is one of ten theological institutions affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History Columbia Theological Seminary was founded in 1828 in Lexington, Geor ...

Decatur, Georgia Decatur () is a city and the county seat of DeKalb County, Georgia, DeKalb County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, th ...

Early career

Before becoming a preacher, he was the owner and president of the Long Oil Company, he worked for the

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during the

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and was also

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Kingsport Times-News The ''Kingsport Times-News'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Kingsport, Tennessee, and distributed in six counties in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. It is owned by Six Rivers Media, LLC. History The first edition of ...

, He was an

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in his youth. He became a

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in 1954.

Preaching career

Haden joined Columbia Theological Seminary in 1960. In 1963, he published a non-fiction account of the people he met during his travels as a newspaperman in the Soviet Union,
I See Their Faces
'. He pastored Key Biscayne Presbyterian Church in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

from 1963 to 1967. He then became the 11th pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1968, taking over from James L. Fowle. Haden's preaching style was described as arguing a case before a jury. He also spoke on the ''Radio Bible Study Hour'', succeeding Donald Grey Barnhouse of Tenth Presbyterian Church in

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. Haden handled the news media for several of

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’s evangelism crusades.Chattanoogan.com website
/ref> When Graham’s mother was honored at the

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in 1971, she asked that Haden preach there and this was permitted.Heritage Funeral Home website
/ref> Haden served the church in Chattanooga for 31 years before resigning in 1998 to pursue ''Changed Lives.org'', an internet streaming video and audio on-demand ministry. The ministry produces "conversations", that last from 5–15 minutes He emphasized that these were not sermons, but simple conversations. This supported one of the aims of ''Changed Lives'', which is to reach the many Americans who claim to be Christians, but do not belong to a physical church. Haden died in Chattanooga on October 24, 2013.October 24, 2013
"Beloved Chattanooga Pastor Ben Haden Dies"
''The Chattanoogan''. Retrieved October 24, 2013. His daughter Dallas took over ''Changed Lives'' to continue his work.

Honors

Haden received an honorary doctorate from King College in Bristol, Tennessee. Haden received the ''Love of Chattanooga Award'' and the ''Sertoman’s National Heritage Award''. His 1970 sermon, ‘’Biopsy or Autopsy’’ (dealing with a Christian's duty to the government) won a ''Freedoms Foundation Award''.

Personal life

Haden married Charlyne Edwards on July 22, 1950. They had one daughter, Dallas.

Books by Haden

* ''I See Their Faces'' (1963). Royal Publishers: Johnson City, Tennessee. LCCN: 63025534 * ''Rebel to Rebel'' (1971). LOGOI: Miami. * ''Pray! Don't Settle for a Two-bit Prayer Life'' (1974). T. Nelson: Nashville. LCCN: 74005056

External links

Changed Lives website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haden, Ben American Presbyterians Presbyterian Church in America ministers American television evangelists 1925 births 2013 deaths Washington and Lee University alumni University of Texas at Austin alumni