John L. Farthing
John L. Farthing—my friend, mentor, and colleague at Hendrix College—died on January 8, 2026. He was a scholar, preacher, husband, father, and an extraordinary teacher. Across generations of Hendrix students, John shaped lives through his intellect, generosity of spirit, and rare ability to be fully present to others. Many alumni still speak of the way his teaching—and his kindness—left a lasting mark. I was among those shaped by his presence, in more ways than I can count.
John was, above all, a deep listener. He spoke from the heart, and he knew how to have heart-to-heart conversations. He took students seriously—intellectually, spiritually, and personally—and modeled a way of inhabiting the life of the mind that was inseparable from care for others.
I was grateful to spend time with him this past week. He was at peace. We laughed together, and we prayed together. I trust that he is now continuing his journey into love.
John often wrote and preached about the depth of attention required for a faithful life. He once described praying without ceasing as
John was, above all, a deep listener. He spoke from the heart, and he knew how to have heart-to-heart conversations. He took students seriously—intellectually, spiritually, and personally—and modeled a way of inhabiting the life of the mind that was inseparable from care for others.
I was grateful to spend time with him this past week. He was at peace. We laughed together, and we prayed together. I trust that he is now continuing his journey into love.
John often wrote and preached about the depth of attention required for a faithful life. He once described praying without ceasing as
“living continually out of an awareness that we are his and he is ours; a refusal to live on the surface of life anymore—to stop sleepwalking through our moments and days without encountering, at the deepest levels of who we are, the One who loves us unspeakably and longs to know us, and be known by us, with an intimacy that it will take all eternity to explore.”
He also challenged students and congregations alike to resist easy or sentimental faith. One of his favorite t-shirts said: "If you are more fortunate than others, build a longer table, not a taller fence."
John was a builder of the long table. He urged us to follow not a sugar-coated Jesus, but one who transforms lives from the ground up. He writes:
“Salvation is not just sweeping away the cobwebs in the corners of the house. It’s tearing down the old house to make room for a palace—a new creation, the new you, the place where Christ will perfectly reproduce himself in a life of justice and mercy, love and peace. When Jesus offers his grace to us, he is determined not just to improve us around the edges but to remake us from top to bottom, inside and out.”
John never pretended to be an entirely new creation. He knew that it takes a lifetime, or more, to become who we are beckoned to become. But he was, to my mind, 'newer' than many of us, at least of me. I will always be learning from him, as he calls me from ahead, through the example he set in his life and, more deeply, his presence, his manner of being "John" in heart-to-heart conversations, of which there were so many. Those conversations continue, prompted by his teachings.
This page features an archive of John Farthing’s sermons, along with an interview, offered in gratitude for a life that continues to teach, challenge, and inspire.
- Jay McDaniel
John L. Farthing (B.A., the University of Tulsa; M.Div. & Ph.D, Duke Divinity School), served on the faculty at Hendrix College from 1978 until 2009, teaching Latin, Greek, and a variety of courses in the Department of Religion. During most of those years, he also served as pastor to United Methodist congregations in Plumerville, Mayflower, Redfield, and Greenbrier, AR. He now lives with his beloved wife, Norma, on the shores of Beaver Lake in Northwest Arkansas.
