In his book, Holy Sweat, author Tim Hansel tells the story of Clarence Jordan, a man with unusual talent and a total commitment to serving God and the poor.
Jordon was incredibly intelligent and had an amazing work ethic. He earned two PhD’s; one in agriculture and another in Biblical Greek. He could have chosen almost any profession, but he chose to serve the poor. In 1942, he founded the Koinonia Farm in Americus, Georgia, a community for poor whites and blacks.
His idea of loving the poor regardless of race did not go over well in Georgia at the time. Many locals attempted to stop his work. His farm workers had their tires slashed. In 1954, the Ku Klux Klan showed up with guns and set fire to every building on the farm. Only Dr. Jordon’s home was not burned and it was riddled with bullets. The KKK chased everyone away except for one black family who refused to leave. Though the Klansmen wore masks, Dr. Jordon recognized many, including one who was a newspaper reporter.
The day after the violence the reporter returned to do a story on the attack. Amid the smoldering rubble he found the farm’s founder in a field hoeing and planting. He said, “I heard the awful news and I came out to do a story on the tragedy of your farm closing.” As Dr. Jordon ignored him the reporter tried to make him lose his temper. Finally, he asked in a haughty voice, “Well, Dr. Jordon, you got two of them PhDs and you’ve put 14 years into this farm and there’s nothing left of it at all. Just how successful do you think you’ve been?” The godly man replied, “About as successful as the cross. Sir, I don’t think you understand us. What we are about is not success but faithfulness. We’re staying. Good day.”