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Remembering Diane Knippers:
A Respected Leaderin Church Renewal
By James V. Heidinger II

All of us involved in mainline renewal lost a friend and a highly-respected leader in the death of our colleague and sister in Christ, Diane LeMasters Knippers. She died Monday, April 18, in Arlington, Virginia, of complications related to cancer. She was 53.

For twelve years, Diane had served as president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD), where she had been on staff since 1982. While at the helm of the IRD, Knippers influenced national political and church leaders on numerous public policy issues and had emerged as a respected and articulate advocate on behalf of orthodox Christianity and biblical moral teaching.

We were reminded of the breadth of her influence in February of this year, when Time magazine included Diane in its list of the 25 most-influential evangelicals in America-a list that included such well-known leaders as Billy and Franklin Graham, James Dobson, and Chuck Colson.

Knippers was reared in a United Methodist household. Her father, the Rev. Clarence LeMasters, was a Navy chaplain and her mother, Vera, an elementary school teacher. Diane was a graduate of Asbury College and the University of Tennessee. In 1972, she married Edward Knippers, a noted artist, who would become a member of the faculty at Asbury College.

From 1975 until 1982, she served as editorial assistant to Good News' founder, Dr. Charles W. Keysor. In 1982, she and Ed moved to the Washington, D.C. area, so Ed could pursue his career as an artist. They soon became members of Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, Virginia. She served in numerous leadership positions at Truro and became the first female senior warden of that historic, evangelical church.

In addition to her leadership at Truro, Diane made significant contributions as a respected member of many organizations and renewal ministries, including boards of the National Association of Evangelicals, the American Anglican Council, the Religious Liberty Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance, the Five Talents initiative of the Anglican Church, the Association for Church Renewal, and the steering committee of Anglican Mainstream International.

Diane's articles appeared in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, and Christianity Today. She also appeared on CBS's "60 Minutes," CNBC's "Capital Report," and PBS's "Religion and Ethics Newsweekly."

Kevin Eckstrom, writing for the Religion News Service, described Diane as "an intellectual heavyweight who rallied opposition to the liberal drift of mainline churches." In recent months, even with declining health, she worked with the National Association of Evangelicals as co-editor (with Ron Sider) of Toward an Evangelical Public Policy, a political manifesto urging evangelical Christians to broaden their policy agenda and involvement.

In the days following her death, I was struck by the sheer number of tributes offered about Diane and the widely varied constituencies from which they came.

IRD Vice-President, Alan Wisdom, a Presbyterian, said about Diane, "She was firm in her conviction of God's truth, and that firmness enabled her to show a great serenity and warmth towards others. One of her consistent emphases was the importance of nurturing a new generation of church reformers."

Diane Stanton, wife of the Rt. Rev. James Stanton, Episcopal Bishop of Dallas, said, "I feel privileged to have known her and counted her as one of my friends. She was the most articulate woman I have ever heard, and she lived her faith with boldness and gentility."

Robert P. George, IRD board member and professor of ethics at Princeton University, said, "What a sadness. What a loss for us all. Had she lived in Israel at the time of Christ, surely she would have been one of the faithful women at the tomb, and among the first to whom the Lord's resurrection was disclosed. While the men were in hiding, trembling with fear, she would have been fearless in approaching the Roman soldiers, spices in hand, no doubt demanding that they roll away the stone so that she and her friends could accomplish what needed doing. May angels take her by the hand, and at the gate of heaven, may the martyrs greet her."

Helen Rhea Stumbo, IRD board member, publisher of Bristol House Ltd., and close friend, said, "Diane was a remarkable person-deeply grounded in her faith, courageous in defense of historic Christianity, always warm and caring in her relationships with others. God gave her unusual gifts and abilities; she gave them back to him and allowed him to use her as he saw fit, for his kingdom's sake. She was a dear friend."

Michael Novak, IRD board member and director of social and political studies at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, said, "Under her gentle but always brave leadership, IRD was very often the mouse that roared, terrifying the great grey elephants of national church bureaucracies into frantic panic. Calmly, Diane told the truth, and those who had been disguising suspect politics under cloaks of outward piety had to defend themselves in public, and often couldn't."

When I came to Good News in 1981 to assume the leadership responsibilities, Diane was still on staff and continued there during my first year. She was an extraordinary help to me as I was getting settled in and learning the tasks of writing and editing. Diane was always patient and affirming with this pastor-turned-editor. I learned much from Diane and still feel deep gratitude for her help in my first months at Good News.

Those close to her will not soon forget how she continued with her busy,  demanding schedule after the discovery of her cancer in 2003, and even after beginning early rounds of chemo treatments. She faced all of that calmly, openly, prayerfully, and with a realism that deeply moved and inspired us all. 

Those of us in renewal ministries will miss her leadership and wise counsel. But we are profoundly grateful for the gift of knowing her and sharing in ministry with her. We have been enriched by her life, her friendship, and her faithful witness to our Lord.

On Saturday, April 23, some 500 of us gathered in the sanctuary of Truro Episcopal Church for a magnificent and inspired celebration of Diane's life. It was a service rich in Scripture, liturgy, music, prayer, words of tribute, and the celebration of the eucharist.

In his stirring homily, senior rector, the Rev. Martyn Minns said that Diane was a Sinner, and she knew it. And she also knew she had been redeemed. She was a Sister in Christ to all of us. The church was her extended family. And she was a Soldier in the Army of the Lord, serving where she had been sent. And she knew it was a spiritual battle.

As we worshipped, wept, laughed, and gave thanks, it seemed all of us were saying, "Thank you, dear friend Diane, for all you have meant to so many of us. Thanks, Clancey and Vera, for rearing such a wonderful, godly daughter. Thanks, Ed, for being a loving husband and for sharing Diane with so many others in her far-reaching ministry. And thank you, Heavenly Father, for your faithful servant Diane, in whom we saw Christ living so winsomely and so beautifully."

James V. Heidinger II is the president of publisher of Good News.

 



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